Sandra Clarke, Blue Shield of California's chief financial officer, tells Forbes she's trying to build a exceptional team of finance pros in a labor market with low unemployment and competitive pay.
Blue Shield’s headquarters are located in San Francisco*, where the unemployment rate is less than 2% and where they have the highest salaries in the country. Her competition is the entire innovation sector of the economy. Imagine trying to recruit an intelligent and ambitious financial professional who is also considering offers from Facebook, Google, or any of the dozens of Silicon Valley unicorns. While Blue Shield’s mission is compelling and their culture is strong, Clarke realizes that the opportunity to make millions with a sexy startup is at least something a candidate would have to consider. Clarke has built a very talented team at Blue Shield…. but that just makes her team targets of recruiters. So it’s not only about finding new talent, but recruiters are always trying to lure away members of the strong team she has already assembled.
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*Blue Shield of California moved its headquarters to Oakland in October.