How to Hire for Soft Skills When Building Lean Finance Teams

It’s no secret that AI and automation have ushered in a new finance and accounting reality. Tasks that once took days now take minutes; for example, manual invoice processing dropped by almost 30% from 2023 to 2024. If that rate continues, it’s enough to make people nervous that AI is coming for their jobs.

However, an AI-filled future isn’t the end of the world. 66% of finance leaders are skeptical that AI and automation will replace their existing workforce. We are also seeing leaders struggle to fill critical finance roles, especially in the face of ambitious strategic priorities. Right now, there are more jobs, not fewer.

Though there will be a partial reduction in headcount, AI is expected to empower current finance professionals to accomplish more within their working hours. As time goes on, financial services companies are going to have to do more with less—and AI provides ample opportunity to maximize a lean, agile workforce.

But none of this can happen without capable teams. So how do you hire professionals who are prepared to tackle the new finance reality? Soft skills like adaptability, change management, learning agility, and emotional intelligence in the face of near-constant transformation will set top professionals apart.

The new finance reality: AI, lean teams, & agility

The new finance reality is best described by three interdependent attributes: AI, lean teams, and agility. As financial services companies both struggle to fill critical roles and, at the same time, have more autonomous solutions at their disposal, they’re able to function in a more agile way.

The third attribute—agility—is driven not only by internal factors like lean teams and AI adoption, but also by a number of external factors:

• Economic and policy uncertainty, including ongoing geopolitical tensions and unpredictable changes in monetary policy
• Volatile regulatory changes, including in tax, trade, and energy policies
• Market concentration and narrow gains combined with modest performance among the average stock
• Technological disruption and digital transformation that’s reshaping many customer expectations and competitive dynamics

Not only do finance professionals need to blend their subject matter expertise with AI literacy, but they also need the soft skills that enable them to embrace, absorb, and remain resilient in the face of near-constant change.

Why soft skills are critical when leading in this new finance reality

Soft skills are essential for success in any role. But change, by its nature, creates uncertainty, resistance, and complexity—all of which require a steady hand, creative problem-solving, and emotional resilience to manage. In today’s uncertain financial environment, the following soft skills are indispensable.

Change management

The finance landscape today looks dramatically different from just a few years ago. Government policy and regulation changes, market disruptions, new consumer expectations, and economic crises create so many shifting variables that it’s easy to fall prey to analysis paralysis.

Effective change management not only helps organizations navigate a tumultuous market, but also figure out how to get the most value from AI-powered tools:

• Seamlessly transition to and adopt new technologies (especially AI-powered tools) with minimal confusion and resistance
• Boost productivity and efficiency by helping employees embrace new tools and processes
• Reduce organizational risk and cost by curbing project delays, budget overruns, and talent loss
• Building a culture of change that remains adaptable within an ever-shifting financial market

Emotional resilience

Volatile markets often lead to volatile emotions. It’s hard to maintain clear judgment when strategic goalposts are constantly changing and stress is high. Leaders who are able to stay calm, think rationally, and provide steady leadership can be invaluable.

Emotional resilience is a complex concept, and there are many ways of defining and identifying it. Some of the most important elements include:

• Self-awareness and management of one’s own reactions, which prevents leaders from projecting stress onto their teams
• Self-regulation and maintaining composure under pressure can help teams feel secure and focus on solution-building rather than fear of the future
• Empathy and awareness of team members’ concerns can create a supportive culture that empowers everyone to be their best selves
• Relationship management and strong interpersonal skills that enable leaders to manage conflicts and motivate the team—especially when the future is uncertain

Learning agility

In a similar vein to change management, learning agility encompasses the ability to absorb new information, technologies, or methodologies. As AI and automation evolve and become more advanced, finance leaders need to adapt and integrate these new capabilities. To do that requires continual learning.

Learning agility is more than just the ability to process new information (although that’s important). It also requires curiosity, humility, and comfort with ambiguity. Leaders who surround themselves with smarter people boost the overall knowledge base of their organization.

Creative problem-solving

Lean finance teams are always going to find themselves having to do less with more. Traditional approaches to solving finance problems, especially those predicated on increasing headcount, aren’t going to cut it in the new finance reality.

Finance professionals need to be proficient in a number of elements of creative problem-solving include:

• Using constraints as a catalyst for innovation and prioritization of strategic objectives
• Iterative improvement based on real-time data and customer feedback (whether quantitative or qualitative)
• Cross-functional collaboration to bring more diverse perspectives into the mix
• Optional: Implementing formal creative problem-solving techniques (like SCAMPER) to help guide teams in generating and evaluating ideas systematically

Hiring strategies for lean teams & adaptive planning

Identifying soft skills is one thing. Hiring for them is something else entirely. Here are some strategies for identifying top tier, adaptive professionals for your lean teams.

1. Hire for skills, not roles

The vast majority of companies—including financial organizations—are implementing skills-based hiring, either alongside or in lieu of traditional job descriptions. For lean teams specifically, it’s important to find people who can wear multiple hats, like someone who can do both data analytics or AI orchestration and financial planning.

2. Go beyond the resumé

It’s virtually impossible to screen for soft skills via resumé, especially if you use an AI-powered screening platform. Figuring out whether a candidate has the emotional intelligence or experience in change management to lead a lean, adaptive finance team is something you need a human hiring manager (or recruiting partner) to find out.

3. Use flexible workforce models

Depending on the structure of your organization, there are certainly going to be busier seasons than others. Using a mix of full-time employees, contractors, and specialized consultants can be a great way to maintain a lean team without sacrificing scale.

4. Invest in upskilling and reskilling

Hiring new talent is expensive, especially among critical finance roles. You may find some advantage to upskilling and reskilling some members of your existing talent base. Not only can this help to create a culture of continuous learning within the organization, but it can accelerate your adoption of and value creation from new tools and methods.

Final thoughts on soft skills & the new finance reality

Finding the right fit is harder now than it’s ever been. If you want someone who’s not just technically proficient, but has the soft skills needed to navigate a continually shifting and changing finance environment, it’s even harder.

One way to accelerate your talent acquisition process is to work with an search agency who has the experience and talent networks to identify professionals who drive this degree of innovation. If you’re ready to build a resilient, adaptive team, contact us to get started.