A leading CFO says a lack of cooperation between the two departments is “one of the most glaring missed opportunities today.”
A lack of alignment between HR and finance is one of the most glaring opportunities missed today – that’s the claim from one CFO who says organizations are suffering as a result.
“Many people don’t realize how involved finance departments are in a business’ HR functions, both in a day-to-day capacity as well as strategically,” said Russ Wong, CFO at ADP Canada.
“The two departments can and should lean on one another to determine the key performance indicators that have value to improving productivity and engagement, and use their company’s available data to strengthen their business.”
Wong’s comments come in the wake of a recent study which revealed that the vast majority of senior financial executives – 90 per cent – feel their productivity measurement tools are not fully meeting their organization’s needs.
The same study – conducted by the Canadian Financial Executives Research Foundation – found that more than one quarter of companies are not using productivity data to improve performance at all.
“This is a huge missed opportunity, particularly with finance playing a growing part in the HR function in many organizations,” said Laura Pacheco, VP of research with FEI Canada.
The study showed that vacation tracking is the most common HR reporting and analytics tool used (86 per cent), followed by payroll management (74 per cent) and attendance (71 per cent) – however CFOs expressed a clear desire for increased focus on employee engagement.
In fact, 29 per cent said improved employee engagement topped their list of most desired outcomes from HR reporting yet 39 per cent said engagement is not measured in their organization at all.
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“The reality is that in most cases, companies aren’t tracking or leveraging the key performance indicators that best support their business objectives, and using that information to inform decisions that impact the workforce,” said Pacheco.
“By better aligning HR priorities with business priorities, Canadian companies stand to prosper through a more engaged and productive workforce,” she added.