Improving productivity in the finance function is now a key objective for UK organisations, according to new research from international recruitment firm Robert Half.

The research shows that 31% of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Finance Directors (FDs) plan to recruit specialist project professionals, while an equal 31% plan to leverage data analytics technology to achieve productivity gains.

For the research, CFOs and FDs were asked: ‘With the growing need to improve efficiencies, how do you plan to improve productivity within your finance function?’

Investing capital in human resource and technology to automate and streamline processes are the primary strategies to improve productivity in an environment where firms continue to look for efficiency savings. Streamlining processes (30%) was acknowledged as a strategy to improve productivity in finance function performance, followed by investment in performance management software (29%) and hiring additional permanent resources (26%). Investing finance automation solutions (11%) and outsourcing processes to third party vendors (5%) were the last two strategies.

“The finance function is gearing up for the next phase of evolution, as businesses continue to expect more support from their finance teams,” Phil Sheridan, Senior Managing Director, Robert Half Management Resources UK, said. “Businesses across the UK are seeking efficiencies in how they progress new commercial opportunities, mitigate their operational risk and reach their growth goals.”

The CFOs and FDs believe they could boost the productivity of the finance function by 9.63% if their strategies for improvement were introduced. More than one in ten (13%) respondents believe they could achieve productivity gains of 20% or more.

“In the current skills-short marketplace, utilising the specialist skills of interim professionals can be a powerful strategy to effect change management in an organisation and improve productivity.  At a time when return on investment is an increasing focus in both operational and commercial departments, capital outlay needs to deliver real dividends,” Sheridan said.