Twin Cities CFOs Reveal Hiring Plans For Next Six Months

Survey Finds 95 Percent of Twin Cities CFOs Confident in Company Growth Prospects

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Apr 02, 2015, 08:10 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The just-released Twin Cities Professional Employment Forecast from Robert Half indicates 14 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area expect their companies to create new jobs in the next six months. Another 77 percent plan to hire for open roles, compared to 74 percent during the previous six months.

CFOs were asked, "What are your company's hiring plans for full-time, professional-level employees in the next six months?" Their responses:

	Sept. 2014 – Feb. 2015	March – Aug. 2015*
Expanding – adding new positions	17%	14%
Maintaining – only filling vacated positions	74%	77%
Freezing – not filling vacated positions or creating new ones	6%	6%
Reducing – eliminating positions	2%	3%
Don't know/no answer	1%	1%
*Responses do not total 100 percent due to rounding.

"Minneapolis boasts one of the lowest metro-area unemployment rates in the country, which has made highly skilled professionals increasingly hard to find," said James Kwapick, district president for Robert Half in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. "This has created the need for companies to move fast and offer competitive compensation packages. We continue to see strong demand for professional-level positions, particularly in the financial services, technology and retail sectors."

Recruiting Challenges
Organizations looking to add staff may face difficulties, Robert Half's research shows. Fifty-eight percent of CFOs surveyed in the Twin Cities said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled candidates for professional-level positions today.

Staffing issues remain a concern for companies. In a study by Protiviti and the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Initiative at the North Carolina State University Poole College of Management, board members and senior executives cited the ability to attract and retain top talent as one of the top risks facing their businesses. The majority of respondents, 56 percent, felt it had a significant impact on their organizations.

Business Confidence
According to the Professional Employment Forecast, CFOs in the Twin Cities are optimistic about their companies' growth. Ninety-five percent of executives reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies' prospects for growth in the next six months. That compares to 93 percent in the previous six months.

About the Professional Employment Forecast
The Professional Employment Forecast was developed by Robert Half, the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm, and conducted by an independent research firm. The local results reflect a two-period rolling average based on interviews with 200 CFOs from a stratified random sample of companies in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area with 20 or more employees. Executives were asked about their hiring and business outlook, including plans to add professional-level employees, for example, staff in the accounting, human resources, administrative, legal, marketing and information technology fields.

About Robert Half
Founded in 1948, Robert Half is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company has more than 340 staffing locations worldwide and offers online job search and management tools at roberthalf.com. For career and management advice, follow our blog at blog.roberthalf.com.

Robert Half is also the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm.

SOURCE Robert Half