I’ve worked in a wide variety of Finance organizations for companies ranging from $30 million to $1 billion.  Within each one of those organizations I had takeaways that ultimately shaped my career and the manner in which I coach and interact with my teams.  From an assessment on morale, to turnover, to productivity levels, what is the state of your Finance organization?

I have been fortunate in that the first Finance position I held reported directly to the CFO, who was also an ex-Deloitte partner.  Most in the organization thought he was difficult, but ultimately, it became clear that he was asking the appropriate questions, which ultimately led to increased accountability.  However, turnover was negligent and we had extremely high levels of productivity within the department and delivered all closings and projects on time.  In fact, we even completed an ERP implementation with the current team, albeit with elevated anxiety levels. 

The contrast to this was another large public company that had a very significant Finance staff.  The group was run with an iron fist and was managed in a way that did not condone open thinking or questioning.  Projects were delegated with only the most general of instructions, regardless of any attempt to clarify upfront.  Ultimately, projects were never completed to “spec” and often resulted in condescending comments.  It was no surprise that turnover in this department was the highest for any department in the company.

Although it goes without question that there are standards and absolute rules that need to be adhered to in any Finance organization, team members need to be treated with respect and the accomplishments of the team need to be recognized.  I strived to achieve, in a pre-merger capacity at MGE, one of the lowest (perhaps lowest?) rates of turnover for any department.  I was fortunate to be have great individuals who looked to challenge themselves and deliver great results.  Our team was looked upon as a source of expertise within the organization, was well respected, and mutually supported all other functional areas.  It was an approach that was validated through the feedback of the staff.  Turnover has a very real, and negative, financial and productive impact.

What is the state of your Finance organization?