Developing a Job Mobility Program for Finance

In an earlier post, we talked about using job mobility as a cost effective means to develop a company's talent, particularly the CFO and other finance professionals.

Given the expanding reach of CFOs and finance, job mobility is particularly important for developing finance talent. For example, developing and using analytics in HR is a key challenge in many companies, so moving finance professionals into HR is a natural move that can benefit both parties. "This can give finance people a broader sense of people issues in the organization," says Gerry Ledford, president of HR consultancy Ledford Consulting Network in Redondo Beach, Calif. "Having these professionals handle analytics for HR capitalizes on finance professionals' strengths."

There are plenty of other opportunities to develop Finance professionals through job mobility. Here are some ways to get started.

Focus on developing both finance and company leaders. Job mobility can be a great tool for developing the next generation of finance leaders by moving them around. However, it can also be effective in developing the next generation of potential company leaders. "You wouldn't want someone to go from working in finance to being CEO or COO without having worked in another part of the organization," says Ledford.

Identify the candidates. Companies often struggle to identify and keep tabs on their current and potential stars. When it comes to identifying candidates who could benefit from job mobility, companies can focus on those who demonstrate high potential and an interest in learning new things and mastering new skills sets. The performance appraisal process and input from line managers can help identify these individuals.

Let them know their options. Once companies have identified rising stars or employees with high potential, it is important to discuss career paths and communicate available job mobility options. This way, employees can make their own decisions about what they want to pursue. Managers can drive these conversations by focusing on what those employees need to do to round out their skill sets and credentials and what that can mean from a career perspective.

Get them out into the field. To be effective, job mobility should take these professionals beyond corporate headquarters. By sending them out into the field or into business units, these professionals can gain an important understanding of day-to-day operations.

Manage the length of the assignments. Employees can have a number of job rotations throughout their career. However, each assignment should be for a finite length of time, two or three years at most. "You need a number of rotations over the course of a person's career if they are going to be ready in time to be a high-level executive," says Ledford. "Therefore, they cannot afford to spend too long in one place if they are going to master all of the skills they need."

Movement within finance is also important. If some individuals do not show promise or interest in job mobility outside of finance, there are still ways to leverage job mobility for these individuals within finance. "CFOs want people who are not just narrow specialists but who are able to handle the different parts of finance," says Ledford. "Someone is not going to become a CFO unless they know more than one subspecialty in finance any more than they would get to a very high level in the organization without having experience in other functions."