CFOs finding some security during times of uncertainty

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CFOs Finding some security during times of uncertainty.
There is a lot we can learn by observing behavior and human nature. Depending on our level of apprehension or fear
about the future, we decide what initiatives to cut and what to save. Having the responsibility of being your
organization's financial captain, the pressure is on you to
always have the right answers.
I don't speak as one myself but as someone who has worked
with CFO's in the hospital and manufacturing industries. I have
observed, first hand, the knee jerk reaction by some CFOs to
cut back when the economic news looks bleak. They instantly
focus on streamlining rather than growth.
No criticism on this. You must look realistically at your
organization's state of financial affairs. Some CFO's have confided that when the economic landscape doesn't look so
great, they consider a roll of the dice before choosing a path on an issue. During these uncertain times, its natural to
be somewhat tentative about where and in whom to invest company resources.
No doubt every organization has its unique challenges and workplace culture. The factors that go into a CFO's dollar
allocation decisions are numerous. The good news is that more and more financial leaders are turning to their
employees as a valuable resource. Investing in this valuable asset can boost value and profits. Lets take a look at
today's economy and how investing in your workforce can offer big returns.
Employees cost money by paying them wages and benefits. Other necessary costs may include infrastructure,
equipment, promotion and administration. Nobody needs to tell you, not every cost is an investment. Expenditures
become investments when they achieve a worthwhile result or increase your value to customers and your industry.
When it comes to employees, one of your best investments is helping them achieve their full potential, improve their
motivation, and strengthen their loyalty and engagement. Engagement will empower your organization to reach
higher performance and profits. As I have learned with hospital CFO's, reducing their workforce stress levels and
investing in creating a happier staff improves everything.
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In the case of a film editor, for example, the investment in his tools and equipment translates into greater
knowledge, better performance, better product and subsequently more customers. Everyone in his sphere of
influence benefits. He has the option of putting his money into cheaper quality tools. But he chooses to achieve
better results and gets more years from his investment in the higher quality.
In much the same way, working along with your HR, you can optimize your company's tool box investment. Making
strategic investments into your workforce will empower employees to make huge contributions toward your bottom
line. These types of strategic employee investments will also prevent unnecessary expenses like turnover, safety,
health and other claims.
No one can deny the increasing amount of research and studies supporting employee engagement, motivation,
reward and recognition.
Simply put, investing in your employees creates a behavior that wants to improve the quality of their work, develop
ideas and present creative solutions. These benefit the whole company community. Employees work more
effectively, instead of just working more. They also share knowledge with co-workers and speak up for your
organization. All these in turn improve your customer service and experience.
According to Bruce Rayton of the University of Bath, School of Management, 70% of engaged employees have a
good understanding of their customers’ needs, while only 17% of disengaged employees could say the same. This
resulted in higher customer satisfaction.
Blessing White is a research organization dedicated to teaching leadership. Their 2013 study demonstrated a
correlation between engagement and retention—85% of engaged employees planned to remain with their employer
for ten or more years.
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The Center for Human Resource Strategy at Rutgers University found that highly engaged business units were on
average 3.4 times more effective financially than units who were less engaged. This financial effectiveness was
reflected in total sales and revenue, in actual performance compared to target goals, and in year-to-year gains in
sales and revenue.
Gallup Consulting discovered that high-engagement firms grow their earnings-per-share (EPS) at a faster rate of 28%,
while low-engagement firms experienced an average EPS growth rate decline of 9.4%.
In Gallup Consulting’s Q12 study, it was found that organizations in the bottom quartile of employee engagement
had 62% more accidents than organizations in the top engagement quartile.
Indicators and Opinions
There remains a difference of opinion among reporters and pundits as to where the economy is going and when it
will get there. According to Grant Thornton's chief executive officer, Stephen Chipman “Seemingly, steady
improvements in key economic indicators, including labor and housing, have helped stimulate greater optimism
among CFOs, at least in the near-term.”
On the other side, many business leaders express the inability to go forward with growth measures due to legislative
indecision, game changing technology, political changes, health care policy, regulation and taxes. Just pick up any
newspaper these days and read how the global economy is cloaked in uncertainty.
“After years of global economic uncertainty, companies in emerging markets are clearly poised to take advantage of
market opportunities and drive growth,” Shane Berry, Senior Vice President at American Express said in a press
release Thursday. “That’s not to say that mature economies aren’t also looking to increase investments, but recent
history has made them much more cautious.” Could we then say 'optimistically cautious'?
Forbes writes: "A total of 71% in the U.S. are generally optimistic about economic growth over the coming year, but
they are restrained in their approach to spending and investment." Regulation, these survey respondents said, is
making the United States less attractive.
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There's no one I've met, so far, that can claim having a crystal ball on this. Being optimistic or not may come down to
one's personal preference. The more realistic approach, however is capitalizing on your most valuable asset to
prosper you.
There's the story about Sears and Roebuck fairing very well during the depression. They made it their business
strategy to offer more value to customers. A surprising number of companies fail in a tough economy by not
observing this basic rule.
Utilize your employee asset to add value and keep customers during tough times. That is a smart business strategy.
Some certainty in this uncertain economic environment
Implementing an employee incentive program can improve workforce wellness, boost sales, employee loyalty,
employee ideas, retention, safety. Whatever performance area you want to improve on. If your incentive program is
well designed and focused you will produce astounding results. Organizations that give regular recognition and
rewards to their employees far outperform those that don’t.
"Management has a great deal of influence in improving overall performance." There are numerous engagement,
recognition and incentive approaches. Its vital in today's world that a company have an effective communication
network that empowers everyone."
The expanding role of the CFO continues to present challenges but also opportunities.
Kurt Kuehn CFO of UPS puts it this way: "My experiences in having served in a variety of job disciplines at UPS have
prepared me well for the role of CFO. I believe the CFO can embrace multiple disciplines, such as finance, marketing,
sales and engineering to become more effective. That's important because today's CFO is more than a money
manager – they must also be a strong driver of company strategy."
Being that strong driver presents an opportunity to invest in employee engagement. Benefit by recognizing and
rewarding employee suggestions and ideas.
What's important to CFOs today? Everything!
Expenditures, sales performance, growth strategies, scorekeeping, cutting workforce costs and risk factors.
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Seeking the assistance of a professional incentive expert can save you a lot of valuable time and money. Start with
identifying:
1. What is the specific performance that needs to improve, and how is it measured?
2. How can reliable and credible estimates of the value of this performance improvement
be collected and calculated? ROI
3. How can these improvements be linked to organizational results and then converted to
dollars?
4. What tools are also available that can improve our inter-organizational communication?
"What?".... You say. "Implement an incentive program, in this economy?"
Yes absolutely.
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CFOs finding some security during times of uncertainty

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CFOs finding some security during times of uncertainty