A lot of companies get this the wrong way around.
When they need to hire someone, they reach into the bottom drawer, pull out the treasury job description from five years ago, change the date at the top, freshen up a few words and post it.
But businesses change.
Treasury challenges change.
And the person you needed 3 years ago is unlikely to be the EXACT same person you need now.
I was working with a client who’d already interviewed several candidates. Some had brilliant CVs, big company names, and excellent credentials on paper…
But I kept asking them one thing:
“What problem are you actually trying to solve over the next two years?”
That’s the real question.
This particular company has a huge treasury funding and capital markets program coming up. Billions to raise and a massive focus on debt capital markets activity over the next couple of years.
That’s the business-critical issue sitting on the table right NOW!
Interestingly, one of the strongest candidates didn’t necessarily tick every traditional treasury box.
They were fantastic on funding strategy and capital markets, and had brilliant relationship skills.
But…
They had less exposure to cash management, NO treasury systems implementation, and limited experience across some operational treasury areas.
Most businesses would immediately reject that profile.
Too narrow ❌
Too specialist ❌
Not broad enough ❌
But with a bit of nudging, the CFO realised the candidate would have the exact skills they’d need for the next two years.
THAT is the key 🔑
Because hiring the “best” treasurer on paper and hiring the right treasurer for your business right now are not always the same thing.
Sometimes businesses hire for completeness.
The fully rounded treasury leader who’s done, seen and managed everything.
And that can absolutely be the correct decision.
But sometimes the smarter decision is hiring someone who solves the biggest current problem exceptionally well.
The other areas of treasury can often be supported by the wider team.
And I think this is where treasury hiring is evolving.
I’m having more conversations now where clients are stepping back and asking:
“What does success actually look like in this role over the next 12 to 24 months?”
Not:
“What did the previous person do?”
That’s a completely different question.
One of the best questions Katie asks our clients is:
“What would success look like from this person in the first 90 days?”
I’ve talked about that in newsletters before. It’s such a simple question, but it changes the entire conversation.
Because suddenly you stop hiring around a job title and start hiring around outcomes.
And I’ve seen the reverse happen as well.
I’ve seen treasury professionals take jobs that looked fantastic on paper but were completely wrong for them culturally, strategically or operationally.
Sometimes you can just tell.
The role sounds impressive. The title sounds bigger. The money looks good.
But the environment, expectations or actual business challenges are wrong for that individual.
Then six months later, they’re back on the phone saying:
“Yeah… you were right.”
The best treasury hiring decisions usually happen when both sides properly understand the challenge sitting underneath the role. Not just the job description.
Especially right now, when treasury is rarely static.
- Some businesses need stability.
- Some need transformation.
- Some need funding expertise.
- Some need commercial influence across the wider business.
So when it comes to hiring, the question shouldn’t be:
“Who’s the best treasurer?”
What you should REALLY be asking is:
“Who is best equipped to solve the problem we actually have right NOW?”
Best regards,
Mike
P.S. Hiring a treasurer starts with understanding the problem you actually need solved. If you want help figuring that out, let’s talk.
