HR and Finance seem about as far as two departments can get from one another while still remaining at the same company. Finance deals in monetary losses and gains, while HR deals in human capital. But streamlining these two offices can really get some bang for your buck. HR and Finance have common goals and depend on each other to carry out crucial business functions, i.e. HR’s people are the ones staffing the Finance office who, in turn, is selling the product or service.
The Finance department doesn’t like wasted time; after all, time is money. Wasted time often shows its face as employees who don’t have the right drive or skill set that fits the company. HR are the people who vet incoming potential employees. If Finance communicates what skill set they need in their current market, HR can more easily pick out a good fit for them. Otherwise they are flying blind and losing money in the process.
HR needs Finance for, unsurprisingly, their budget. As per Forrester, Human Capital makes up 70% of operating expenses and this percentage increases as the economy becomes more and more service oriented. This seems like a large sum of money, especially to Finance when there is no clear cut ROI. To HR, however, the money is needed. They have the difficult task of keeping employees engaged to get top-of-the-line performances, as well as keeping their retention rates high in an oversaturated market. Losing an employee is losing money that must be spent training a new employee, instead of growing the company. Therefore, happy employees generally mean a happy Finance department.
