We have experienced so much business disruption in recent years, and one change that should not be overlooked is the new role of the chief financial officer.
Business success means keeping both customers and employees happy, but recently the priority has shifted to employees. This change has been fueled largely by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are nearly 3 million fewer Americans working today than there were in February 2020. This loss of manpower is magnified by the shift to remote and hybrid work, which comes with a different set of expectations and norms than in the pre-COVID-19 workplace.
There are many examples of how the labor shortage is affecting people’s everyday lives. For example, an upstate New York regional health center temporarily closed 12 locations at least partly due to staffing issues. The result is that patients have a longer wait for services and employees are stretched to meet the need. The CFO of that organization must find ways to maintain productivity and profitability in challenging circumstances. This is just one example. With the worldwide talent shortage predicted to reach up to 85 million people by 2030, CFOs need to rethink how they measure productivity. Additionally, the metrics typically used by CFOs to measure productivity are affected by remote work.
Know the numbers
Many company leaders perceive remote employees to be less productive than they are. At least two examples illustrate a different story.
First, consider that remote or hybrid work models are embraced by 63% of high-growth companies. This points to the models’ effectiveness in supporting productivity as measured by revenue growth.
Then, note this example, written up in a recent Forbes article: “A NASDAQ-listed company randomly assigned call center employees to work from home or the office for 9 months. Work from home resulted in a 13% performance increase, due to a combination of fewer sick days, and a quieter and more convenient work environment. Those working from home had improved work satisfaction and a 50% lower attrition rate.”
What’s needed then are new ways to measure productivity.
Think outside the box
While creativity is not a trait usually associated with CFOs, it is vital that CFOs think of new ways to measure productivity. For example, CFOs can show employees that they are trusted to do their work even when they are not in the office by tracking how individual contributions relate to outcomes rather than by using a one-size-fits-all performance measurement. Similarly, CFOs can add tracking impact and results to their metrics; these show more than the simple calculation of annual revenue divided by number of employees. The goal is to value and evaluate all contributions regardless of where employees work.
There is a real opportunity now to reshape the company’s policies and procedures to align with the post-COVID-19 shape of work. Refocusing CFOs from a one-dimensional view of the bottom line is a recognition of how roles in the entire C-suite are changing.
