Although Detroit area CFOs (Chief Financial Officers) are optimistic about their companies – with 15 percent planing to add jobs in the next six months and 66 percent hiring for open roles, there’s a cloud hanging over the success of many Detroit area businesses, and that cloud is finding talent.
According to a Robert Half survey of 200 CFOs of companies with twenty or more employees, 58 percent of Detroit CFOs surveyed said it’s somewhat or very challenging to find skilled candidates for professional-level positions today. This compares to 53 percent in the previous six months.
Detroit executives (36 percent) also cited maintaining employee morale and productivity as an additional challenge when hiring and managing staff.
“More Detroit employers are feeling the effects of the intense competition for talent,” said Robin Ankton, regional vice president for Robert Half, a national staffing firm with offices in Detroit. “Hiring managers need to streamline the hiring process, moving quickly and communicating the pros of working for their company.”
Local networking groups are seeing that it’s a candidate market, too, if you have the right skills.
“We are still seeing a strong demand for specific IT skills including .NET, Java and mobile app development,” said Bob Waltenspiel, co-founder of IT in the D, an area networking group founded in 2001. “It is very much a candidate’s market and we don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”
There’s also demand in the finance sector.
“We’re seeing high demand for professionals with general ledger, large corporate tax compliance, audit and financial reporting skills, especially in the manufacturing, real estate and healthcare sectors,” said Ankton.
Eighty-nine percent of surveyed Detroit executives reported being “somewhat” or “very confident” in their company’s prospects in the next six months.
Full infographic below.
