These pandemic times are resulting in a shift not only in how teams collaborate and how the global workforce is going to plan the Future of Work, it is creating a transformation within various roles. Sales leaders and salespeople need to imbibe certain traits and skills to keep revenue coming in during these Covid-19 days, the role of HR is also evolving to help HR leaders adjust better to the requirements of the global workforce under these new norms.
While several businesses have experienced a tough quarter because of the downtime the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in, a few strategic level adjustments can be made to help ensure business continuity over the next few months.
This new situation also demands new responsibilities from the desk of the CFO.
Now is the time for CFOs to become more focused on implementing smart strategies while keeping the future in mind.
Here’s what will help CFOs, as they adjust to the new normal.
Going from Custodian to Enabler
A typical CFO is usually expected to help assess and guard the overall finances of a company while also alerting stakeholders when numbers drop or when the balance sheet might need special boost or attention. The Covid-19 pandemic demands that every role within the organization supports business continuity goals. Now is actually a good time for every employee to help contribute towards revenue generation without leaving this only to the sales team. Today’s CFO, as they try to safeguard the company’s monetary assets will have to also adjust their planning and strategy to help find new ways to generate income.
Partnering with C-level sales executives, finding creative ways to save on operational expenses while reducing other costs elsewhere and creating new plans that can help other teams generate revenue will on the whole be good for business.
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Adding Value in Different Ways
Keeping in mind that Sales and Marketing teams in most cases have had a tough quarter when it comes to numbers, today’s CFO can add more value to the whole company by trying to align with the needs of sales and marketing heads. Will investing in a new marketing technology or sales technology help these teams? Is there a way for the financial statements to be adjusted so that expenses of one kind can be reduced to use that money on something that can help other team members sell better? Will putting company funds into certain kinds of investments help fuel overheads during this time of reduces sales and closures?
With teams trying their best to adjust to the challenges being faced in this new normal – when the person who has control over a company’s finances can help find ways to generate value by adjusting expenses, the health of the business can be retained.
Investing in the Right Fintech
Technology is constantly evolving, this is the time for CFOs to reconfigure their whole finance process while helping to automate certain mundane tasks. The right tools that help the finance team project profits and losses while also using the right big data and analytics to drive better business insights will help ensure a degree of business continuity.
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Having a Strong Hold On Possible Future Risks
Covid-19 is here to stay for a while longer. This in turn will affect how the global workforce performs their day to day job while maintaining their health and respecting the need for social distancing. For a CFO, staying abreast of the projected risks, both financially and otherwise with the support of the right technology will help tweak their present day plans to achieve business continuity. Understanding the current state of business and projected risks will enable finance leaders to stay a step ahead, a much needed criterion during this Covid-19 downtime. This is the time for CFOs and finance leaders to build a stronger command over their overall analytics and to extract the right data from the tech stack in use to help tighten budgets and oversee that there are enough funds to carry necessary business functions for the next few months.
Getting Everyone on the Team to think about Revenue and Expenses
Cost cutting and budget freeze are a common effect of a downtime. This is the time when C-level executives can put more strategy and thought into daily business activities to help keep the business moving. It is not the sole responsibility of just one department or person to ensure business continuity. CFOs can actually help align the thoughts of everyone across the organizational hierarchy to find ways to reduce costs, without it impacting people’s salaries. Having a virtual get together during which everyone brainstorms ideas can be useful during this time.
