The common misconception about productivity is that it relates to staff apathy, but this is not what productivity measures. Instead, productivity improvements are created through investment in technology, supporting staff and considering new ways of working. Here, we take a look at some of the things that Finance Directors can do to boost productivity.
Process Automation
Business process automation is becoming one of the most popular and important forms of digitisation. The simple premise behind process automation is taking business procedures that take a lot of repetitive manual effort from human staff, and transferring those tasks to software and other technology.
Naturally, there are a number of simple and repetitive tasks that take a lot of effort from finance department workers. So the move to automate these processes can save staff a significant amount of time. This frees them up to take on tasks that are more functionally valuable and productive for the company as a whole.
Artificial Intelligence
While process automation is one form of digitisation that has become important to the finance department - it is also crucial to look at emerging technologies and possibilities. One area that Finance Directors really need to be investigating is artificial intelligence. Transformative technologies such as machine-learning algorithms and natural language tools can not be easily implemented.
One overlooked area in terms of finance is the power of AI chatbots. These can save members of the team a great deal of time in explaining concepts and simple details to people who have questions. Of course, when the chatbots aren’t able to answer a question it can be passed on to a member of the team. But for simple queries, it can save a lot of time and boost productivity.
Invest In Cybersecurity
The finance team can be at risk from something known as Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks. BEC attacks are often designed to trick members of the finance team and therefore disrupt processes. “BEC is a specialist type of phishing attack that is becoming increasingly prevalent,” says Simon Monahan of cybersecurity specialists Redscan, “BEC attacks are designed to impersonate senior executives and trick employees, customers or vendors into wiring payment for goods or services to alternate bank accounts.”
As well as being frustrating to deal with, the threat of this type of attack can significantly reduce productivity, as members of the team have to confirm identities even before processing payments from familiar people. Investing in cybersecurity can minimise this risk and free up valuable staff time.
Focus On Morale
It is often underestimated just how important morale is to a finance department’s efficiency and productivity. The world has gone through the Covid-19 pandemic and come out of the other side with many things changed. Finance Directors must recognise this and accept that they might need to do something to help refocus and improve the morale of staff.
It is no controversy to say that when staff are happy and feel good about what they are doing, they can be more productive and efficient. This could be something as simple as ensuring more regular meetings between members of staff, overhauling how the department works, and ensuring that staff feel comfortable with any changes.
Embrace Remote Working
With finance departments operating remotely now as the new norm, many businesses are finding that their productivity levels have increased. With flexible working patterns, employees enjoy the balance of hybrid working.
Some companies choose not to move in that direction, preferring staff to work at the office wherever possible. If you are in this position, it is important to recognise the benefits of promoting remote working.
It is necessary not only to invest in technology and software to help finance teams become more productive but also to thoroughly consider processes and adapt well to new ways of working. Many businesses evolve their finance processes not through striving for perfection, but simply because things need to get done. Examine your finance team’s procedures and look for opportunities to improve.
About the author: Annie Button is a professional content writer and branding aficionado.
The CFO Agenda will return to London on 1st June. Ahead of this year’s event the team reached out to 150+ CFO’s and FD’s from across Europe to understand the key opportunities for their businesses across the next year.
The CFO team have polled leading CFOs and finance leaders from across the UK and Europe on their priorities, concerns and plans for the future. The responses gathered reveal insights on the changing nature of the finance profession and the CFO role, immediate and long-term risks facing the business, the level of financial uncertainty affecting the business and the biggest opportunities over the coming years.
It is clear from the survey that CFOs are heavily impacted by the macro-environment and face an uncertain future trading in a volatile environment. Digitalisation is becoming increasingly more integrated within the finance function and is slowly being accepted as an opportunity for smart, evidence-based decision-making, but we still have a way to go to convince finance of the ROI on expensive new technologies. The changing nature of the CFO role is an opportunity for driven finance professionals to lead change and transformation within their organisation and prepare robust strategy and finance models for the future. The skills shortage across roles and industries is widening the talent gap and finance has a responsibility to create innovative strategy to prepare for the future of work and a new generation of workers. Change affects us all and with change comes exciting new opportunities for the future. It is not all doom and gloom; growth and internationalisation is still high on the agenda for CFOs and we hope to see a steady rise in the economy as we learn to accept our situation and grow in new markets and geographies.
Opportunities for business in 2017
Launching into New Geographies
With all the uncertainty and doubt surrounding the UK economy, launching in overseas markets can add valuable extra sales (and profits) which in turn can help generate economies of scale on the existing cost base. This appears easier than it is, but customers are always on the lookout for something different and so a clear and unique proposition that is well marketed can help you stand out from the competition.
Staff Engagement
It’s no surprise that successful companies tend to have highly engaged teams that seem to be able to achieve things other businesses can only dream of. Furthermore, the most engaged teams tend to be aligned with one another making it far easier to continually achieve business goals and objectives which can be an enormous contributor to productivity throughout a business. In this time of competing priorities and deadlines, it’s never as easy as it seems to get everyone engaged so it’s a case of regularly trying new ideas and methods.
Technology and Innovation
Nowadays IT is a fundamental part of almost every business and most businesses have a long list of improvements they would like to make to their IT infrastructure, each of which could improve some part of the business. The challenge for CFOs is to work out which of these improvements is really going to deliver sizeable benefits and give them a competitive edge. Once identified, it’s then a matter of getting it in on time and on budget.
(Paul O’Leary, CFO, Boden)
Technology and Innovation will be a core focus at this year’s CFO Agenda 2017, as we welcome Steve Dixon, VP Future Finance, Unilever to discuss how finance can embrace the digital world and unlock value across the business.
Steve’s session will explore the importance of setting a clearly defined and unified digital strategy and will identify best practice on how technology can strengthen the role of finance and the impact the CFO can have on the organisation.
For more information on the programme, please visit www.TheCFOAgenda.com/programme-2017.
To find out more about the event, please visit www.TheCFOAgenda.com.
