5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN A SAAS COMPANY

PRESENTATION BY DAVID STACK

TRANSPARENCY IS A CRITICAL ELEMENT IN ANY COMPANY, ESPECIALLY AT A STARTUP, TO HELP SUPPORT THE SCALING OF THE ORGANIZATION.

AS A CFO OF SEVERAL STARTUPS I HAVE SEEN AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE POWER TRANSPARENCY CAN HAVE ON GROWING ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH SOME CORE METHODS.

HERE ARE 5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN

AN SAAS:

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

1. VALUES

▸ This is the compass for a company that helps set the course for how it approaches key decisions like hiring, employee development, and strategic planning.

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ Have you thought about how well your company’s values will scale as you grow?

1. VALUES

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ There are so many business models, markets, and execution challenges when you are growing your company.

▸ You can’t spend precious time making material changes to your culture.

1. VALUES

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

2. PEOPLE

▸ Transparency is essential from the CEO down through the organization so that employees understand what the expectations are and how success is measured.

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ The benefit of having values that can support the scaling of the company is essential for developing talent within the organization.

2. PEOPLE

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ Establishing clear channels and methods for interacting with the entire organization is table stakes in today’s environment.

2. PEOPLE

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

3. RECRUITING

▸ Establishing your company’s core values is the bedrock layer that must be firm before you begin to accelerate your hiring.

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ Listing your values prominently across your web and mobile presence is critical to get alignment between the candidates you engage with and the company’s recruiting process.

3. RECRUITING

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ Even throughout the interview process it is important that all employees that interact with candidates embody the company’s values.

3. RECRUITING

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ In today’s environment the perception and feedback that candidates have when interacting with any representative of your company can impact your brand.

3. RECRUITING

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ Make sure you go to great lengths to ensure that the recruiting process is a good experience for all candidates.

3. RECRUITING

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

4. REPORTING

▸ Reporting is a key area that transparency can be used to help build trust amongst everyone within the company.

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ Does everyone within your organization understand how the company is performing, what metrics are important, how are you doing vs your competition?

4. REPORTING

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ Sharing this key information, on a regular basis, is the best way to better educate the company and to reinforce how actual performance is progressing against short and long term goals.

4. REPORTING

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ You should find that your employees feel more empowered and will actually strive to learn more about your company’s products and overall market opportunity.

4. REPORTING

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

5. COMMUNICATION

▸ It is important that your company’s approach to communication is very thoughtful and aligned across the board.

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ The best way to get buy in to the company’s strategic plan and key milestones is to share the information on a regular basis with the entire company.

5. COMMUNICATION

5 WAYS A CFO CAN PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN AN SAAS

▸ The feedback generated from this type of consistent dialogue can also help to strengthen alignment across the organization and develop deeper loyalty to the company and the overall mission.

5. COMMUNICATION

DAVID-STACK.COM

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