“There is still a need for employees to occasionally collaborate in a physical space, but the direction is unambiguous at this time. CFOs have a clear vision and create processes and procedures for hybrid work.” says Britton.
Finance executives have made great strides in managing fully remote or hybrid teams. However, flexible work models are still relatively new, so CFOs need to set clear expectations for remote workers, keep remote employees engaged, provide opportunities for direct interaction with remote and hybrid colleagues, and for compliance purposes. We're making tweaks in areas like remote worker tracking. .
thrive on interaction
At publicly traded Red Hat Software, most of the company's 1,050 finance employees are choosing to come into the office or work from home, said CFO Robert Leibrock.
“We set expectations for employees in CFO organizations and encourage them to find the daily work structure that best fits their role and lifestyle,” he says. “We listen to what they want to experience while working in the office and their needs for flexibility. As leaders, we set the tone and understand the reasons behind our approach to flexible working. It is our responsibility to explain what we want to achieve.”
During busy periods, such as the beginning and end of a quarter, treasurers spend more time in the office, providing opportunities for face-to-face conversations that facilitate work. Liebrock said: “We see a lot of value in being together in the office.” [but we] Also, encourage your employees to take time away from the office to rejuvenate once these periods are over. ”
When finance needs to provide expertise to sales, marketing, product, or engineering personnel, this work is typically done face-to-face. “We're a company that values interaction and engagement with other people, and that's how we build open source projects,” Liebrock says. “When Red Hatters are in the office, they should have a purpose: to socialize with colleagues, brainstorm ideas around the table, and get to know each other. People often recall conversations in the hallway or at the water cooler. There is a reason.”
intentional touchpoints
Andrea Hecht, chief financial officer of auto and homeowners insurance company CSAA Insurance Group, said 90% of the company's 120 full-time finance employees are based in California, where CSAA is headquartered. We estimate that we are working remotely on a hybrid basis in the Bay Area of the state. “Less than a dozen people are in the office every day,” Hecht said. Typically, half of them are members of her investment team and “we think it's better to work directly with them.”
Remote work has become an attraction for CSAA in attracting talent, and Hecht sees it as a competitive advantage given the company's location. We aim to hire accounting and finance staff with deep knowledge of insurance. and Finance/Accounting. This is a difficult proposition in the technology-dominated Bay Area. “Mid-career people with working spouses and school-age children aren't eager to rebuild their lives and move across the country,” Hecht says.
For example, one of Hecht's FP&A executives works from his home in Columbus, Ohio, but leads a remote team distributed throughout California. “Because everyone is working remotely, it’s easier to achieve higher levels of engagement than if one or two people were in the office and everyone else was fully remote,” Hecht explained. I will.
CSAA is using an all-remote hybrid model, but Hecht acknowledged there are downsides to it, including the difficulty of collaborating virtually with people you don't know. “A barrier to success is not building an initial relationship with someone you see every day in the cafeteria line or in the office, building a relationship by sharing experiences and learning about each other's lives,” she says. .
The solution, Hecht says, is to be intentional about the need for touchpoints like virtual one-on-one meetings, town halls, and video broadcasts to compensate for the lack of face-to-face meetings. “This ensures that everyone on the team understands our strategic initiatives, business problems, and projects,” says Hecht.
Set clear expectations
The threat of remote work reducing employee engagement is often on the mind of Lu Hur, CFO of Meet the People, a group of 10 unified but independent marketing and advertising agencies with 800 employees. Hur's team of 35 accounting and finance professionals is spread across the firm's 10 offices. Each office has an accountant who reports to the administrator and an FP&A team who reports to the vice president of finance.
“We are moving toward centralizing certain functions, but leaving decisions about where and how people work up to agency leaders. However, in most cases, a hybrid model is being used. Hur says. “There's no perfect formula for people to come in for X days and work remotely for Y days. We're trying to find the ideal balance.”
In the meantime, Hur has established a frequency of weekly virtual meetings to get to know each office's accounting and finance staff about their challenges and preferred ways of working.
“Communication is more important than where people work,” Hur says. “But for this to work on a hybrid basis, there needs to be clear expectations.” For example, remote workers “need to let me know if something happens,” and if they're unable to work on a certain day. says Harr.
In Denmark, Stibo Systems CFO Katherine Ravn-Staugaard is grappling with the ups and downs of hybrid work schedules. Stibo is a global technology provider whose major customers include McDonald's, Toyota, Siemens, and Delta Air Lines.
“I can’t say that some people on my team work exclusively from home or the office,” she says. “There are times when you want everyone to come, such as deadlines at the end of the month or the end of the year, and there are times when you can be flexible. This is what the new generation values.”
When Stibo's 45 finance staff are scheduled to work in the office, the company provides a dedicated area for collaboration. If you require a private desk, you must reserve it in advance. Issues like commuting and traffic that plague American employees are not considered in Denmark (most of Stougaard's staff live close to Aarf's headquarters and can walk or bike to work), but there are others. There are challenges.
“In the European Union, regulations require companies to track and record employee working hours, which is difficult to assess with remote work,” says Staggard. This regulation went into effect on July 1, 2024. Stibo collects data from time tracking software used by 750 employees. “We are also analyzing how we can improve the situation so that time can be tracked regardless of physical location to maintain the flexible working styles that new generations demand,” says Staggard. .
attempt at connection
To continue functioning, remote finance teams need technology tools to help them weather the pandemic, including video conferencing platforms, file sharing services, instant messaging platforms, project management tools, digital whiteboards, and productivity monitoring tools. “We want our team members to feel the same connection they feel when they come into the office. If they don't, there can be serious issues with employee retention.” Northwell Health says Cusack.
Cusack said virtual meetings allow people to discuss an idea in more depth than they could if they met in person. Nevertheless, she is concerned that such meetings have little impact on the feeling of further engagement. To address that concern, Cusack plans events aimed at bringing employees together socially.
“My job retention rate is better than most, but I have to continually look at ways to make people feel connected,” she says. Northwell Health held a “Christmas in July” celebration this summer at the Salt Shack near Gilgo Beach on Long Island. About 700 people gathered to enjoy an outdoor barbecue and 60's music. “We have also worked to create more collaborative spaces for project-based, hybrid work that allow people to get out of the house and have human interaction,” Cusack said. says.
Does Mr. Cusack imagine that someday in the future his company's staff will be required to return to the office five days a week? Is this the situation Amazon's employee base is currently facing? “That's not going to happen. We'll always be a hybrid workforce,” she says. “We are sensitive to the impact of the inflationary environment on our team members, in addition to the rigors of commuting.”
Change is difficult, but also inevitable, Cusack added. “We used to have a somewhat formal dress code here. Now that's out the window,” Cusack says with a laugh. “You can't require your employees to wear two different outfits, one at home and one at the office. But I'm disappointed that dry cleaners are losing business.”
