by Rob Joseph, Director, BeaconCFO Plus
“I’m only as good as the people, and that is the delivery mechanism at the end of the day.”
– Andrew Hoag, CEO at Teampay, CFO.com
Human-centered design is the hallmark of today’s technology.
Think about your smartphone: You probably don’t even have to think anymore when you send a text or open your camera app to take a photo. That’s not an accident. Your phone was designed to be simple and intuitive—tailored for use by real, actual people.
Now think of the financial processes at your organization, like expense reporting. Maybe there is a certain employee who is unable to complete these reports in a timely or accurate manner. Did you ever consider that the problem is not the employee’s inability to follow the process, but rather the process itself?
Consider this take by Peter Nesbitt for Forbes:
“At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that the processes you are building are for people. And in order to get people on board with what we need, you must take their needs and experience into account.”
If we took the same human-centered approach to design and applied it to financial processes, we may unlock greater potential and efficiency for our teams. The trick is being involved enough in the day-to-day operations of your employees to observe what is working and what’s not. Most business owners do not have the time to be immersed on the ground—but today’s CFOs should be.
CFOs are not only concerned with high-level strategy and planning but also the nitty-gritty of how your team operates. That is just one benefit of enlisting the services of a fractional CFO: We have a unique vantage point to uncover which financial processes are built to serve your employees and which may be hurting your bottom line.
Take the First Step With BeaconCFO Plus
Make Sure Your Processes Work for Your People
Taking a human-centered approach to finance is a gradual, intentional process. It begins with assessing the way your team currently operates—where there are inefficiencies, what is causing frustration, and how it is all impacting your numbers. Take the first step toward designing processes that work for your team—and support the long–term goals of your organization—by speaking with one of our CFOs.