Unlocking your Team’s Full Potential: the Key Challenge Facing CFOs Today
As the business landscape continues to evolve in response to shifting social and economic trends, companies of all sizes are facing new challenges. From the financial sector to human resources, organizations must adapt to the changing behavior and needs of the modern workforce, especially with the rise of new generations entering the job market who have very different needs and outlooks. Staying ahead of the curve and successfully navigating these changes is crucial for businesses to thrive in today’s dynamic environment.
With firsthand knowledge of the evolving challenges and needs facing the business world, at Apertura we delve into the insights and experiences to find key pieces of information that can help our clients thrive and succeed. The Chief Financial Officer, a key player on a company’s leadership team who plays a vital role in ensuring the financial stability and sustainability of the organization, is one of the roles that has come under our lens, and we would like to share with you our understanding to help your business thrive.
Our research included interviews with experienced CFOs from diverse industries. The objective was to gain a more thorough understanding of the issues and prospects facing finance executives in today’s complex business climate. Throughout the interviews with these CFOs, several operational challenges and emerging issues were highlighted as being crucial for today’s industries focused, surprisingly given their financial role, on human talent.
Retaining top talent and talent shortages
Retaining top talent is one of the biggest challenges for CFOs today, as stated by George Simons, a Fractional CFO. The CFO requires a highly trained, organized, effective and detail-oriented staff, essential for both small and medium-sized businesses to build their structure and encourage innovation. Remote work, a new generation with different personal needs and outlooks, and talent shortages in certain areas are just some of the issues mentioned in this area.
The dangers of turnover in the CFO’s team are especially relevant, not only given the sensitive nature of the information but also the need to follow strict protocols and adhere to the software systems in place, with requires often training and oversight of new employees. The two most critical challenges we found currently for CFOs are the following:
Skill and experience gaps
A mismatch between job requirements and employee skills, also known as the skill gap, is another issue. This leads to a shortage of qualified employees as workers struggle to keep up with new technologies. A highly skilled team with a focus on continuous learning is crucial for the CFO to ensure the company remains competitive, can increase productivity, and also enhances employee satisfaction. Companies often have their own financial systems, and employees might have broad financial skills yet lack a specialization in a certain area or software. Especially in the case of small firms, finding a “jack-of-all-trades” to handle many jobs in the financial department is becoming harder and harder.
Corporate culture and environment
Many CFOs acknowledge that retaining top talent and establishing a strong corporate culture is an even greater challenge than offering competitive salaries. Building a great workflow and a strong corporate culture requires investing in a variety of non-tangible initiatives, such as employee learning and development, effective onboarding processes, wellness programs, and employee engagement activities. These types of investments require a focus on the human element of a business.
In conclusion, the challenges faced by companies today continue to trend toward the shortcomings of their workforces. This touches upon all areas of the business, and even for CFOs, their needs are also in the human talent area. The CFOs interviewed, face significant skill gaps within their teams, the lack of adequately skilled personnel, poor prior professional experience, and difficulty in establishing a positive organizational culture within these teams.
However, they are surrounded by opportunities for improvement. Addressing these challenges requires a proactive and strategic approach, including investing in employee development and considering partnering with an outsourcing company. Outsourcing companies like Apertura offer access to highly skilled and experienced professionals, enabling companies to quickly fill critical talent gaps and focus on their core competencies. Additionally, outsourcing firms provide cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved workflow.
By outsourcing certain skill-specific duties outside your core business, companies can focus on enhancing their core competencies, fostering a positive business culture and the development of their in-house talent in their relevant business area, and a supportive organizational culture that fosters collaboration and innovation. By seeking an outsourcing company, you know you have a professional partner ready to do the work you need without having to worry about recruiting, training and oversight, especially to resolve those gaps in your company and be able to continue growing quickly.
Take advantage of the opportunity to elevate your company’s performance by partnering with Apertura. Our outsourcing services provide access to highly specialized and experienced professionals, saving you time and effort in the hiring process.
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