Being a CFO is no easy feat. And with today’s rapidly changing environment, CFOs often must wear several hats to keep the financial health of a business intact, including managing company finances, creating strategies to maximize business value, establishing relationships and communicating with key stakeholders, leading the finance team and other departments, and more. However, with a strong, multitalented finance team in place, CFOs are positioned to focus on other critical areas within the business as it continues to evolve.  

Here are six tips to keep in mind when building a successful and motivated finance team within your organization:  

1. Lead by Example

Effective CFOs are willing to dig into the weeds, learn what everyone on the team does and lead by doing, not just talking. This motivates employees to go above and beyond because they experience these behavioral traits from their leader. There are always unexpected risks and challenges in being part of a finance team, but a CFO willing to roll up their sleeves and lead the team through challenges will only motivate them to work just as hard. Leading by example will help build respect within a team across all levels and help ensure long-term employee retention.  

2. Empower and Reward Your Employees

Delegating responsibilities within a finance team is critical to ensuring the books are closed timely, and the processes and procedures in place are working effectively. Get to know employees and give them the ability and empowerment to make decisions. Not only will this positively impact productivity, but it will also allow you more time to focus on other areas of the business that may need help. Don’t forget to also reward your employees who are doing a good job. Simple things such as positive reinforcement, a free vacation day or a one-time small compensation reward can go a long way and secure high employee retention.

3. Be Transparent and Communicate

Being transparent is an integral part of retaining employees. By communicating and sharing information, employees will not only feel informed, but will also have a clear understanding of the company’s position. Consider hosting weekly team meetings to share updates and allow them to openly share information as well. Don’t be afraid to show them the company’s financial results. Use this as an opportunity to educate them on the numbers, how the company is performing, areas being focused on to improve its financial results and how each person can impact the bottom-line performance. After all, a team that communicates together always works well together.  

4. Cross-Train Your Employees

Teach and educate your team, so that employees are cross-trained within certain areas of the department. This will enhance your team's efficiency and provide your department with a robust backup plan to cover vacations, leaves of absence or temporarily vacant positions. Plus, employees will also have a more in-depth understanding of the role they each play, allowing them to develop and grow within the organization.  

5. Emphasize the Value of the Finance Team

Often it seems like finance is the forgotten function at a company. However, a strong, reliable finance team is key for businesses to be successful. A proactive finance team will supply other departments with real-time data and analysis, which is crucial information used to make informed decisions and drive company success. This also allows your finance team to build confidence by demonstrating their value, developing trusted relationships and serving as a key information source for other employees before making decisions.  

6. Maintain Efficiencies and Focus on Improvement

Be sure to have the right policies, procedures and processes in place to get your books closed timely. This enables you to budget and forecast appropriately, while providing data to other departments for real-time decision-making. With the business environment continuing to quickly evolve, it’s important to keep a pulse on the latest technologies and tools, and how they can improve your department. By proactively changing your enterprise resource planning or financial systems, you are positioned to save time and money. This will also help ensure you reduce turnover within your department, as employees will feel they were led with the proper guidance and training.  

For most organizations, a finance team acts as the backbone of a company’s financial health, enabling the CFO to lead confidently and drive the company toward achieving its strategic goals. Doeren Mayhew works closely with management teams, including CFOs, to assess their current accounting or finance position, provide recommendations to streamline processes and offer ongoing support to help meet goals and objectives.