Can talent management transform Finance?

As transformation begins to affect every part of the organization, the CFO’s role is transforming too. No longer simply a gatekeeper, you must be equal parts coach, strategist, and alchemist.

And this changing role means that – more than ever – talent management must be top of the agenda. To both identify and acquire the skillsets the modern Finance department needs to help the business achieve its strategic objectives.

What’s the modern CFO up against?

It’s a difficult time for everyone. And the changes to the working world at large are placing huge pressure on Finance to change as well. Challenges range from global economic uncertainty and instability, the pressures and costs of digital transformation, and mounting regulatory pressure that demands a level of transparency and traceability that many companies are not yet ready to meet.

It’s no wonder that budgets are under more pressure than ever. And solving these problems while remaining in the black will require CFOs to do two things: recruit the right people, and ask the right questions. Questions like: “What’s the right level of automation for us, and how should we implement it?” “What skillsets will be most important to us as we automate more and more of our workload?” And “What resources should we keep in house, and what should we outsource?”

Attract, retain, and train up the right people

As the role of the CFO and the Finance department grows and evolves, they must build a pool of new skills to meet demands. These will run the gamut from more familiar disciplines – like business analysts and compliance experts – to emerging disciplines like data analytics and machine learning practitioners.

Attracting talent is already hard enough for large organizations. But keeping hold of it is even harder. As well as knowing what skillsets they need to look for, CFOs will also need to devote their energy towards engaging and retaining their people. Driving ambitious training plans that help upskill the whole department and help create future leaders who are more resilient to change.

Make strong partnerships to survive – work with the CHRO

But the CFO shouldn’t be expected to find, recruit, and maximize the value of their team’s human capital alone. The CHRO represents a key partner in helping to improve identification, engagement, and retention of talent.

The numbers bear this out: in a recent EY survey, 80% of CFOs said that they and their CHRO had been working more closely in recent years. And that they’ve seen a clear improvement in both employee engagement and retention and the company’s financial performance during that time.

Take the integrated approach and make technology your ally

Any collaboration between HR and Finance intended to attract better talent will rely on modern, high-performance digital tools. Already commonly in use to automate and streamline routine tasks like payroll, leave, and absence management, these tools can now harness data analytics and AI to help locate talent, automate selection processes, and simplify onboarding.

Digital technology is already at work transforming both Finance and HR (industrializing processes and creating real differentiators for new talent). Ensuring that both departments collaborate to ensure the technology they adopt integrates well and complements their mutual aims will be essential for success.

For instance, the use of shared operational and management tools to manage budgets can allow departments to easily share information – creating a more transparent invoicing system for HR and greater control for HR.