How to empower your Finance team
One of the fundamentals of being human is a desire to work with or alongside others. By working as a team, we can often achieve more; and the process of focusing on achieving a shared goal can be a positive experience too. Although Finance teams have traditionally sat together and worked in groups, the world of work is changing. The onward march of technology, a tsunami of data, and the rise of remote working, have all had an impact on the Finance function. In this brave new world – how can you empower Finance to work effectively as a team?
1. Create an easy environment for the Finance team to work together
Introducing new technology is a natural progression for Finance professionals who have long been used to working with financial software tools. But there is so much more available now to enhance teamworking.
Collaboration tools are perhaps one of the most striking innovations in workplace technology in recent years. Put simply, a collaboration tool is a platform or a device that helps those in a group or a team to work in conjunction with each other towards their joint goals. The main goal of the collaboration tool is to encourage better workflow through content management and sharing. For example, a new finance strategy will need input from multiple parties including the CEO and specialist managers as well as Finance. By using collaborative content management software, each individual contributor or reviewer will be able to add notes and act on each other’s recommendations in real-time.
Collaboration tools can also support team members working on shared projects without duplicating any work. It removes the time delays and inefficiency of email ‘ping pong’ by constantly providing real-time, up-to-date information. That’s good news for your Finance team because it can save everyone time and ensure even those who choose to work remotely can still work alongside others effectively.
Lastly, let’s not forget that project management software can also deliver real benefits for Finance professionals working as part of a wider project team. These tools provide excellent visibility across projects including milestones, tasks and responsibilities, timescales, resources etc. This makes it much easier for the Finance team to stay updated and involved as costs and budgets are adjusted whilst a project is underway (rather than waiting for project review update meetings for example).
2. Arm your teams with powerful data
Taking a data-oriented approach to solving problems is a powerful way to facilitate faster and more robust decision-making. For example, say the company has decided that cutting back on spending is necessary due to a dip in revenues: a data package which draws together accurate information from across the business is wise. Asking colleagues to submit their own data in various formats runs the risk of manual keying errors. In contrast, using automated tools to pull data from one central source leaves little room for mistakes and offers a much clearer picture.
With easy and effective access to data, the Finance team can juxtapose it and work out what is happening where. It might be possible to see, for example, that low salaries in the admin team are causing high staff turnover. Or the procurement team is locked into expensive contracts above the market rate and causing a significant cash drain.
Data-driven insights not only empower your team, they also provide the evidence needed for Finance to work with colleagues around the business and present an honest, rigorous assessment of financial health that draws upon a single version of the truth.
3. Ensure that each job role is clear and specified
Setting up distinctive job roles helps to promote a sense of purpose which boosts morale and enthusiasm within the Finance team. So, for example, you might give responsibility for company tax returns to one or more individuals; others might be focused on developing a profitability strategy or finding new cost savings. It is important to ensure that these roles are not siloed – instead the interaction and communication between individuals and teams is to be encouraged. Once individual employees are clear about their role, as well as the focus of everyone else’s role, they should feel comfortable knowing who to approach about particular problems and for swapping perspectives and feedback. And that in itself is good for fostering teamwork.
For more support on the specific issues facing Finance right now, contact Access. We have a host of ways to make life a whole lot easier for your staff and your business.
