How can HR and Finance improve their partnership?

Fincance and HR. Traditionally two departments that were far from on the same level in the eyes of the Board. You don’t have to look too far back to see a time when HR reporting to finance was very much the norm. But with the increasing acceptance of the impact poor people-management can have on the bottom line, HR and Finance are now forging partnerships that would have been laughed at in years gone by. But how well are the partnerships working? How can they be improved? To find out, HR Grapevine and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) hosted a roundtable. Welcoming senior HR delegates from companies including Three, SuperGroup and Warner Bros., we enjoyed a lively discussion on how both functions can get more out of partnerships.

The vast majority of attendees said that they do partner with Finance – a reflection of HR’s growing influence, and a sign of the esteem in which organisations now hold it. One explained: “Money and people are totally inseparable in our organisation. It would be like operating in completely different languages if they spoke in Finance and we only spoke in HR. Any decision regarding change affects people, which has a financial impact.”

Read the full feature in March's HR Grapevine Magazine >