Talent attraction concept with wooden figurines facing one red figurine and chalk markings showing a drawing of a magnet and lightning symbols.
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Talent attraction and retention main concern for Irish CFOs, Deloitte survey

8 Jun 2023

The amount of Irish CFOs predicting that they would hire more staff this year increased by 22pc from the previous survey.

More than two-thirds (67pc) of Irish chief financial officers (CFOs) say workforce skills is the biggest obstacle preventing their organisation’s progress towards digital finance transformation.

While the Irish sample size was only 75 CFOs, it was part of a larger survey by Deloitte of 1,366 CFOs in 16 European countries. The professional services company obtained CFOs’ thoughts on issues from staff retention to ESG reporting.

The data for this report was collected in March and April of this year. Of the Irish CFOs surveyed, 87pc said talent attraction and retention was a significant risk for business.

The percentage of Irish CFOs that forecasted hiring more employees (42pc) was higher than Europe’s 35pc. It was also a 22pc increase on Irish CFOs from the previous survey last Autumn.

A third of Irish CFOs said they were feeling more optimistic or significantly more optimistic about their company’s finances, up 21pc from the previous survey six months ago. This figure is on a par with Europe’s 34pc.

“While an uncertain economic future and the cost-of-living crisis has made the past six months challenging for businesses, there are plenty of positive indicators in this survey,” said Daniel Gaffney, Deloitte partner and CFO programme lead.

He said one of the reasons to be positive was that Ireland continues to “offer a skilled workforce”. However, when it comes to things like digital transformation and ESG reporting – both topics the survey delved into – the ability to invest in talent and skills will prove crucial. A lack of skills in the workforce was a major factor hindering the effective reporting of ESG figures.

Orla Dunbar, sustainability data and technology lead with Deloitte said “ESG reporting is one of the most important tasks facing organisations. It’s clear that a skilled workforce is one of the critical steps in enabling ESG reporting so it’s vital that businesses foster an environment of continual learning and focus on hiring the right talent.”

Likewise, organisations need to invest in “digital competencies and capabilities” to ensure they remain competitive in the digital era, said Gaffney.

Earlier this year, several employers from tech workplaces including Workhuman, Fidelity Investments and PwC, shared their plans for attracting and retaining talent.

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Blathnaid O’Dea
By Blathnaid O’Dea

Blathnaid O’Dea joined Silicon Republic in 2021 as Careers reporter, coming from a background in the Humanities. She likes people, pranking, pictures of puffins – and apparently alliteration.

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