Dealing with your unsupportive CFO: A survival guide for HR leaders
Steve Carpenter
💚Fractional People Director | HR Mentor | Leadership Coach | Culture Design | Building thriving places to work
"If you want creativity, take a zero off your budget. If you want sustainability, take off two zeros." - Jaime Lerner
Dealing with Your Unsupportive CFO: A Survival Guide for HR Leaders
Have you ever presented a plan with enthusiasm, only to be met with a barrage of scepticism from your CFO? It's like biting into what you think is a warm, freshly baked cookie, only to discover it’s stone cold – definitely not the comforting treat you expected.
Navigating cold cookies of financial scrutiny can be daunting, but it’s also an opportunity to forge a stronger alliance and gain valuable allies in top management. Here’s how you can turn your CFO from a sceptic into a supporter, without needing to conjure a budgetary magic wand.
Understand Their Language
First things first: CFOs think in numbers. They sleep, eat, and breathe financial data, so if you come speaking the language of feelings and employee happiness alone, you might as well be speaking Martian. Before you approach your CFO, arm yourself with data and metrics that translate HR outcomes into financial results. Show how employee engagement boosts productivity or how training programs can decrease turnover costs.
Align Your Strategies
CFOs love nothing more than efficiency and alignment with broader business goals. When proposing a new HR initiative, explicitly connect it to the strategic objectives of the business. Is your company aiming to grow its revenue by entering new markets? Highlight how your proposed talent management strategy will speed up this process. This shows that you’re not just in your HR bubble but are driving the business forward.
Build Your Business Case
When your CFO shoots down your budget request, it’s not necessarily because they delight in saying no (although it might feel like it sometimes). It’s because they need a solid business case. Prepare to answer questions like, "What's the ROI?" or "How does this reduce costs or increase revenue?" Be ready with success stories, benchmarking data from similar businesses, or clear projections that illustrate the financial benefits of your plan.
Propose Pilot Programs
Sometimes, a full commitment can be too much of a leap of faith for your CFO. In this case, suggest starting with a pilot program. Pilots are an excellent way to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new initiative with minimal financial risk. It’s like saying, “Let’s just have a nibble on the cookie to see if it’s warm before we take a big bite”.
Communicate Regularly
Don’t let your interactions with the CFO be only about funding requests. Include them in regular updates about ongoing HR projects and their impacts. This not only keeps them informed but also helps build your credibility by showing continuous progress. It’s about turning those sporadic meetings into a regular series – think less ‘annual blockbuster’ and more ‘hit TV show’.
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Be Flexible and Collaborative
It’s crucial to be seen as flexible and open to feedback. If your CFO suggests adjustments, listen actively. They might provide insights from a different perspective that could improve the effectiveness or efficiency of your HR initiatives. Collaboration here can turn a no into a yes.
End With The Big Picture
Always remind your CFO of the big picture—the vision of what your company is aiming to achieve. HR isn’t just about policies and people management; it’s about creating a culture and workforce that propels the company towards its big goals. Show them that what you’re asking for isn’t just good for the employees, but it’s crucial for the holistic success of the business.
Remember…
At the end of the day, your CFO is not the enemy. By understanding their perspective and aligning your proposals with the company's financial goals, you can transform these chilly interactions into a warm, productive partnership. After all, the best businesses thrive when finance and HR work hand in hand, understanding that every number on a spreadsheet and every employee in the organisation plays a vital role in the company’s success. So next time you walk into that meeting room, think of it less like going into battle and more like starting a conversation.
Who knows? You might just find that your biggest sceptic can become your strongest ally.
How I Can Help You?
If you are an HR leader in an SME there are a number of ways that I can help you:
1. I run a group coaching programme focussing on HR strategy in smaller businesses. You can find out more about this here.
2. I also do one-to-one coaching and mentoring for new and aspiring HR leaders in SMEs. Book in a chat here if you would like to know more about this.
3. Company culture is a topic very close to my heart and an area that I’ve done a lot of work in. If you need help or guidance with establishing or changing your culture then book in a call here.