PublicSector
How to develop a finance team
Failing to invest in finance professionals and their skills can have a major impact on organisations as a whole. But there are plenty of ways to give your team the edge
Image: Getty
Words Rachel Willcox
With demand continuing to outstrip supply in the jobs market, being able to build your own talent has become a fact of business life. But developing your finance team isn’t just about efficiency, productivity and future-proofing skills; it also allows you to retain organisational knowledge and makes for a more motivated workforce committed to shared objectives. Staff development will also boost your employer value proposition and give you the edge over others in the war for talent.
“The requirements of the finance profession are always changing, so if you stop investing in people, their skills become out of date, their commitment to the organisation wanes, and you’re only going to go backwards. That will have a real impact on the organisation,” says Paul Clarke, director of finance at the London Borough of Islington.
There is a clear line between more days in the office and being promoted, particularly if people are looking to do a role where they need to support and challenge people across the business.
Mark Freebairn, partner and head of board practice, Odgers Berndtson
There is a clear line between more days in the office and being promoted, particularly if people are looking to do a role where they need to support and challenge people across the business.
Mark Freebairn, partner and head of board practice, Odgers Berndtson
Mark Freebairn, partner and head of board practice, Odgers Berndtson
Plan and act deliberately
The constant cycle of reactively developing people to meet changing needs is flawed, Clarke argues. “You’ve got to focus on what you are trying to achieve and how you’re trying to achieve it. Otherwise, when the people you rely on leave, you won’t have a plan.”
In practical terms, that means taking deliberate action to eliminate big gaps between roles that prevent individuals from stepping up. “Invest in skills that you think people will need in the future to be able to grow, rather than just what they need in the here and now,” Clarke says.
A mindset of ongoing development will pay dividends. “If you have a service deliberately focused on staff development, when someone leaves, you'll have a ready-made succession plan,” Clarke adds. “Without a deliberate action, you’re always going to have to take whatever the market will give you, and not necessarily what you need.”
Invest in skills that you think people will need in the future to be able to grow, rather than just what they need in the here and now.
Paul Clarke, director of finance, Islington Council
Invest in skills that you think people will need in the future to be able to grow, rather than just what they need in the here and now.
Paul Clarke, director of finance, Islington Council
Paul Clarke, director of finance, Islington Council
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeship qualifications offering a combination of technical learning and hands-on experience now go up to degree level, offering aspiring chief financial officers a clear career path to the very top. Melanie Nicholson, managing director of apprenticeship provider Total People, says: “There’s still a view that apprenticeships are only for school leavers looking to get into the trades, but we offer apprenticeship programme progression routes in finance up to degree level. There’s no limit to age, either.”
Clarke says: “When you’re coming up through the ranks, having all that practical experience made me a lot more competitive for roles. But the biggest benefit is mindset. I started off my career always hungry to learn, curious about things, and wanting to explore and expand. That stuck with me all the way through.”
Networking and peer group support
Networks offer more than just a sounding board for solving problems. “I have a network of peers across London,” Clarke says. “We get together every six weeks, have a structured agenda and talk about the issues affecting the sector and best practice. It’s helpful to all our organisations.”
Those who have sat at their desk looking internally at what the organisation is doing, and only focusing their continuing professional development (CPD) on formal training, are missing a huge trick by not building those networks with people in similar roles, but also complementary roles, Clarke says.
“When I got to senior roles, talking to people who dealt with organisational strategy was helpful in shaping financial strategy,” he says. “Being able to talk in the same language about both your organisational strategy and finance strategy is valuable.”
Encourage visibility
Remote working has shifted the onus on to staff taking more responsibility for their own development, which gives an advantage to those that are naturally self-motivated. But it also means staff may not be presented with the same promotion or career development opportunities if they are less visible.
“There is a clear line between more days in the office and being promoted, particularly if people are looking to do a role where they need to support and challenge people across the business,” says Mark Freebairn, partner and head of board and CFO practices at headhunter Odgers Berndtson.
From a functional development perspective, virtual working also makes it harder for team members to hone softer skills such as the ability to engage, influence, negotiate and persuade. Being physically present offers opportunities for ad hoc learning and allows individuals to proactively put themselves forward when they overhear about opportunities or projects.
Mentoring and coaching
Senior finance people consistently cite mentoring as a career differentiator, so encourage team members to engage in formal schemes or seek out their own allies – either inside or outside the organisation. “The ability to have a completely trusted, off-the-record conversation with someone who won’t judge you that says, ‘Help, I don’t know what I’m doing’ is invaluable,” Freebairn says.
But finding the right mentor is key. You need to aspire to follow their success and it has to be someone who will be completely honest. “There’s no value having a mentor who is just trying to be nice to you,” Freebairn adds.
Early on in your career, coaching is a way to push the boundaries of individuals’ capabilities within a safe environment, Clarke says. “If I got anything wrong, there was a safety net and we’d have a conversation about why it hadn’t quite worked and what could I take from that. It provided a rich learning ground.”
Secondments
Secondments can be helpful in sharpening your team’s skills and learning new things. They also build a stronger bond with the organisation by showing staff that you are invested in them. “It goes back to acting deliberately and constantly being aware of the succession planning. At Islington, it has really paid dividends when people have been able to pursue those opportunities,” Clarke says.
But a secondment should be underpinned by a strategic rationale. “If you don’t have a long-term plan, you’re just doing stuff because it sounds like fun,” Freebairn says. “It’s just not as good a way of developing your career to the most senior level.”
Fast-tracking
Offering a fast-track scheme for high-flyers with the most potential is more likely to keep them challenged. “If someone is capable of an accelerated development curve, there is no benefit to holding them back,” Clarke says.
However, it’s important to ensure access to schemes doesn’t inadvertently discriminate against potentially good people. “I was automatically excluded as an apprentice and graduates were on the fast track, but I was no less capable,” Clarke adds. “I’d just chosen a different route into it. Build schemes around the capabilities and the end goal, rather than making it exclusive to a particular entry route.”
CPD
It is a mandatory requirement for most accountants but approaching CPD strategically and as more than a box-ticking exercise will benefit both individuals and teams alike.
“I always push the services that I lead to make sure that we’re doing the maximum available CPD,” says Freebairn. “You get back what you invest. If you are constantly learning and feeling at the top of the game, it can be really motivating. CPD enables you to grow and deal with new problems that you’ve not encountered in the past. ”
But it’s the killer combination of theoretical learning and practical experience that will really give your team the edge, Freebairn says.
Connet, celebrate and be inspired
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