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planning. Every position in the team has an
incumbent, and a list of people who would
be ready to take on the position should it
become vacant, either now or after further
experience or coaching. At the same time,
we recognise the importance of bringing
new blood into the team to maintain a
healthy balance and introduce new ideas
and experience. This is achieved by internal
cross-functional moves or external hires. In
particular, the cross-fertilisation of ideas
from colleagues coming from different
business areas into treasury yielded great
results. That this is not only feasible but
actively fostered is a great asset in our
company.
With a clear succession plan in place, we
also focus on deepening the talent and
experience within the team. This involves
coaching, training and providing
opportunities for team members to engage
with projects that develop their experience,
but it is also important to be realistic in
matching skills with the responsibilities that
we need team members to fulfil. In some
cases, a person’s abilities or approach may
Key Points
Measures taken by Borealis to attract, nurture, retain and motivate treasury talent
and achieve excellence throughout the corporation include :
●
talent, leadership and expert development programmes
●
open feedback and evaluation
●
detailed succession planning
●
deepening talent and experience within the treasury team
●
building a consistent culture
●
balancing the needs of professionals who intend a career in treasury and those
who are gaining treasury experience on the way to a wider career in finance
●
ensuring communication across the entire team in all geographic locations
be more suited to a different role within
treasury or the wider organisation, or an
external appointment.
A culture of collaboration
While developing skills is important,
building a positive, consistent culture is also
an essential element of talent management.
For example, every member of the team
should be able to build sound relationships
with their peers, managers and external
counterparties. This is not simply about
negotiating contractual relationships, but
demonstrating interpersonal skills to build
trust and confidence, and behaving
ethically. We base this on the strong
framework of our company values: “respect,
responsible, exceed and nimblicity” as well
as our continuous improvement programme
“winning through excellence”. For example,
credit and collections is managed by
treasury at Borealis. There is inevitably a
professional natural tension between this
function and our sales teams given that
objectives can sometimes be in conflict.
Consequently, it is particularly important to
promote
a
collaborative
culture,
communicate proactively and focus on
teamwork so that this tension remains
creative and fruitful rather than destructive
in order to ultimately serve our ultimate
company goals in the best way possible.
We evaluate our success in achieving the
positive culture for which we are striving
though a bi-annual employee survey. We
then use the results of this for a large
number of initiatives, as well as our talent
planning and engagement over the
following two-year period. The results of
the most recent survey, for example,
underlined the importance of being able to
manage their own career, hence topics like
development, succession planning, including
cross-functional skills development to help
employees broaden their experience and
therefore enhance their career potential.
In addition, one of the points that this
dialogue highlighted was the need to
balance the needs and aspirations of
professionals who intend to build their
career in treasury, and those who are
developing treasury experience as part of a
wider finance career. This also has important
implications for the way that the team is
structured. While it is unlikely to be
appropriate to have all team leaders as part
of a finance rotation, it is far more feasible
to have one or two or to keep these as
deliberate development positions for people
joining from other functions who have less
treasury experience.
Channelling diversity
The geographic organisation of treasury also
has implications for treasury talent. At
Borealis, our treasury is cross-functional,
cross-cultural
and
cross-location.
Consequently, my focus is on maintaining a
common business culture, and to ensure
clear, consistent and timely communication
across the entire team, wherever they are
located. Not only do we prioritise
interpersonal skills and proactive dialogue
amongst team members, but establishing a
common technical platform has also been a
vital means of ensuring that everyone
shares access to the same data and
considers themself to be part of a single
team. With the right business culture and
technology in place, the diversity that
characterises our treasury team works to the
advantage of the business, in that people of
different cultural and professional
With a clear
succession
plan in place,
we also focus
on
deepening
the talent
and
experience
within the
team.
Reprinted from TMI |
www.TMI-Academy.comIAFEI Quarterly | Issue 30 | 7