The Controllers Council Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study 2024 found that 55% of companies offered hybrid work. Finance team members maintain flexibility while managers benefit from in-person collaboration.
Because supporting team culture, communication, and collaboration in a distributed finance team can be challenging, prioritizing quality control, developing a positive culture, and strengthening communication are essential. Hiring experienced finance talent can help.
How to Support a Distributed Financial Services Team
Prioritize Quality Control
Clarify each finance team member’s role, expectations, and guidelines for being in the office. Maintaining consistency supports meeting deadlines and attaining company goals.
For instance, you might require three in-office days and two remote days. You could require your team to be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays and let them choose their third in-office day. Clarifying when everyone should be onsite makes scheduling meetings and training sessions easier.
Develop structured workflows for your distributed finance team to follow. Clarifying the processes makes collaborating and performing key functions such as budgeting and month-end close easier while working hybrid.
Develop a Positive Team Culture
Foster a distributed team culture valuing flexibility, teamwork, and accountability:
- Recognize the challenges and opportunities of remote finance work.
- Provide relevant resources and guidance to support your team.
- Use surveys and one-on-one meetings to gather feedback on more effective team management.
Strengthen Communication
Maintain ongoing communication among your distributed finance team:
- Provide digital tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to support real-time team communication.
- Schedule daily or weekly team meetings to address priorities and ensure project alignment.
- Encourage information flow for efficient reporting, compliance, and strategic planning.
- Require regular check-ins to keep your team connected.
- Consider holding weekly or biweekly in-person team-building activities to build camaraderie.
Promote Collaboration
Provide cloud-based technologies that your finance team can access remotely or in the office:
- Cloud integrations support efficient finance workflow management, including payables, sales invoices, group consolidations, and inventory management.
- A cloud-based accounting platform lets your team access essential data for financial reporting, payroll processing, and related tasks.
- Direct integrations with core cloud accounting software eliminate the need to replicate data across systems.
Hire Experienced Finance Professionals
Partner with FiStaff to add experienced finance professionals to your distributed team.
