However, more interesting is the proportion who cited telecommuting and flexible schedules - emblems of the iconic "work-life balance" movement - as the biggest draw for candidates. It plummeted to just 13 percent this year, from 33 percent in 2003. Meanwhile, soaring medical costs are making the benefits package almost as important to job candidates as salary. While a mere 2 percent of CFOs named benefits as the top influence on candidates' choices in 2003, the figure jumped to 33 percent in 2008.

"Companies that do not provide comprehensive employment packages, including competitive compensation and insurance programs, risk losing top job candidates to other opportunities," said Max Messmer, Robert Half International's chief executive.

Less popular incentives considered in the survey were signing bonuses and extra vacation days, each named by 4 percent as the top influence.

An independent research firm polled more than 1,400 CFOs by telephone, from a geographically stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees