When your business hits financial headwinds a Finance Director who specialises in turnaround can get you back on track.
But this isn’t your average hire. So where do you start? What should you look for?
Here are my top 5 tips:
Forget industry experience
You need situational experience.
You’ve probably got loads of people in your business already who know your industry inside out. The skill set you’re missing is knowing which actions to take to get business performance out of the danger zone. Don’t get stuck on trying to find a match with your industry – it’s not the priority.
It should feel like they’re interviewing you
A true turnaround finance director knows which questions to ask to uncover how severe the issues are and what do to next.
Be brutally honest and don’t take offence if some difficult questions come up, as giving a rose tinted view at this point can cost you valuable time and possibly, your business.
Look for IFT or TMA membership
Which stands for the ‘Institute For Turnaround’ and ‘Turnaround Management Association’
Many Finance Directors have dealt with distressed businesses but specialist turnaround FDs have seen many more. An affiliation with the IFT or TMA also shows a conscious commitment to this type of work. These people are the people most unlikely to leave you half way through because it’s ‘too full on’.
Get verbal testimonials
You should be able to speak on the phone to at least 2 or 3 recent clients who can vouch for their turnaround skills. They should tell you they were decisive but diplomatic and worth every penny.
Remember some factors mean that a successful turnaround is impossible so listen to what was done and how rather than focus on the end result.
Don’t get hung up on rates
These people are expensive and that can seem at odds with the fact that your business is probably struggling with cash. Don’t be tempted scale up their rate into a salary because they’re not an employee, they are professionals offering a service. They’re also likely to be the highest paid person in your business, but that’s because they’re going to rescue it. Cheaper imitations can be disastrous.
So those were my top 5 tips on hiring a turnaround finance director. Good luck
