Team engagement is a key component of any successful finance team. It is essential for boosting morale, encouraging collaboration, and increasing productivity.
When the labour market is tight and good people are hard to come by it makes sense to foster engagement to reduce attrition and staff turnover.
So how do you do this and in particular in your finance team?
In this post, we’re looking at our favourite ways to encourage team engagement and we’re putting the slant on the finance function but the same techniques can be used across the company.
The TL:DR;
There is nothing that fosters great engagement like communicating a shared goal.
This is such a good option that it instantly produces a boost in team engagement without any extra work involved. For some team members, that is all you will need.
Finance people value clarity and so make sure you use clear communication, relate the goal to the strategy of the wider company and tell people that they all have a role to play.
Individually the members of your team should understand how they fit into the team’s objectives and to do this you need to set personal goals.
You should also apply the principles of SMART goal setting, making sure that the goals you set are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Related to their work and Time-Bound with sensible deadlines.
Think of the team’s goals like a pyramid that is made up of individual goals that all work to help the group get to where it wants to be. This is particularly appropriate in finance where many tasks are interlinked and the success of one depends upon another.
Remember that some people are goal-orientated and these people will fly when you set some objectives for them. Others will need different incentives.
If people feel supported then they will respond positively to initiatives so the next step is to start to foster an open environment.
This means that blame for mistakes isn’t used as a stick to beat people with. Instead, errors are seen as opportunities to learn and change.
This can’t be done piecemeal though. You have to adopt this across the finance function as a whole for the culture to take root.
When we own our work we naturally become more engaged with the process.
Give people tasks that they run themselves. For the junior members of the team, these could be routine jobs that always come up. For the more experienced people you can allocate projects for them to lead.
Don’t micromanage, instead allow them to run the task and then debrief afterwards.
Some will go better than expected and some will be worse but the latter are the ones that we use as learning and development opportunities.
This might sound expensive, after all, bonuses have to be big right?
But actually, you can reward people with smaller gifts that have been thoughtfully chosen.
If you do have money for a decent bonus then tie it into team performance, for example finishing a project on time and on budget.
Don’t do this all the time though. The benefits of bonuses and rewards are diminished when they become routine.
Nothing demotivates more than thinking that your opinion is not important to your company.
By the same token, one of the positives that consistently stick out on staff surveys is when people believe that they are heard and valued.
Make sure you have a way of canvassing opinions and this can be informally for small decisions and more formally for larger projects and as an annual or bi-annual check-in.
This could involve allowing team members to have input in decisions, as well as providing them with training and resources to help them succeed in their roles.
Another way to encourage team engagement is to set up regular team meetings. Having a structured time and place to meet can give everyone the opportunity to stay up to date on the team’s progress and brainstorm ideas for improvement.
Additionally, team meetings can be used to discuss challenges and obstacles that the team is facing, as well as to recognise individual accomplishments.
Sometimes we can feel that as managers we need to play it cool. This is even more the case within a finance function where accountants are supposed to be very level-headed and not get carried away.
But team building is all about coalescing around a common goal and when you achieve good results then it is important to celebrate them as it reinforces positive work and attitudes.
Don’t wait until there is a massive win. Celebrate little things like getting the management accounts out on time or a junior member of the team passing an exam.
If you want to demotivate your team then criticise their work or apportion blame in public. This is especially damaging if you do it in a meeting with other departments.
Instead, forget your frustration and make sure you discuss any errors or issues at a later time when you are calm and you are in a private setting.
In contrast, make sure you share praise around. Sure, you are the head of the finance department but if someone tells you that you are doing a good job, make sure you share the credit with members of your team.
Since the pandemic, many more teams are working remotely and some companies have even moved to a totally remote basis.
Finance is all about collaboration so make sure you use apps like teams chat, Asana or Trello as a way of communicating with people and making sure you stay in touch.
We’ve saved the most important tip for last and it is particularly important for finance teams.
If we are being honest, accountants don’t have a great reputation for being ‘touchy-feely’ and it can sometimes be the case that we perhaps forget to show appreciation.
The strongest way to get your team working together is to remember to say “thank you” to your people.
Just like rewards, this doesn’t have to be saved for big wins, you can do this every day of tiny things and you’ll be surprised.
Try also to tell people what the effect of their assistance has been.
For example, “Giving me that information has saved me a day of work getting the sales figures out” or “Taking ownership of the payroll process means that I am less stressed and I can focus on my work better”.
People love to help and if they know that they have made your life a little easier then you will see that they go the extra mile regularly.
One of the main themes in this post has been that you don’t need to do massive things to get your finance team to engage. Simple changes like remembering to say thank you and communicating well can make a huge difference.
By implementing these strategies, finance teams can not only increase their productivity and efficiency, but also create a more positive and engaging environment. With the right tools and resources, a finance team can become a more successful and cohesive unit that can achieve greater success.
If you're looking for more information on finance and accounting then check out our Accounting Industry Articles or our Accounting Hub.
Caxton Payments is an alternative to traditional banks, established over 20 years, we help businesses make faster payments more reliably. We offer streamlined processes, automation through API and a collaborative solution to complex payment issues all from a single platform. Our payment capability extends from business expense management, to payroll payments, supplier payments, and currency risk management. We also offer personal prepaid travel cards and international money transfer.