Talent has been top of mind for many CFOs these past couple of years, and no wonder. A strong labor market has left workers empowered to leave jobs they find unsatisfying, a phenomenon captured by trendy terminology like the Great Resignation (or Reshuffling, if you prefer). A ManpowerGroup survey found 77% of companies struggled to fill roles this year—the highest percentage in 17 years.

Against this backdrop, some CFOs have made employee engagement a priority. Chris Caprio, CFO at Focus Technologies, a Boston-based outsourced IT firm, is one of them. He oversees HR at the firm, and, in the six years he’s been CFO, the Boston Business Journal has named Focus one of Boston’s Best Places to Work five times. It’s made the list the past four years in a row.

Caprio spoke with CFO Brew about how he’s helped make that happen.

Creating a culture of trust: At Focus, Caprio said, employees are empowered to solve problems and make decisions on their own. That’s partly out of necessity: Focus offers 24/7 support, and so staff might be required to help troubleshoot customers’ problems at off-hours. In those situations, they can’t wait to ask for permission.

“They’ve got to be able to make that knowledgeable decision right on the spot for that customer,” Caprio said, adding that staff are trained to handle such situations.

Want engaged employees? Click here to find out how Focus Technologies did it.—CV

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For years now, anytime you used navigation to find the coffee shop you swore was right around the corner, or watched as your phone autocorrected the word “fork” for the millionth time, you’ve been interacting with AI.

Before talk of generative AI reached a fever pitch in the last year, artificial intelligence developments, though plenty prevalent in daily life, went unnoticed by most of us.

Now, that’s causing a problem for C-suite executives: AI is still going undetected by employees, creating a growing disconnect within the workforce, according to a new study from workforce management company UKG.

“There’s clearly a misunderstanding of the capabilities that are behind the product, which makes these products magical in some ways, but I think that’s one of the reasons there’s a gap today,” Hugo Sarrazin, chief product and technology officer at UKG, told CFO Brew. “It’s critical for management to internalize this gap at this moment in time.”

How big is the AI perception gap? Click here to find out.—NP

“Pre-pandemic” was the word of choice in many recent earnings calls, used to signify that things are actually going pretty well for some companies. And now, that same metric has hit salary increases.

In the first half of 2023, orgs budgeted for more salary increases or the total pool of money dedicated to base pay increases, than before the pandemic, according to the latest Conference Board survey, which tracks how much companies plan to increase salaries and bonuses. More than 400 organizations completed the survey in June and July.

The 4.4% jump in 2023 salary increase budgets was the highest since 2001, per the survey. (And can we just say: 2001 is ultra pre-pandemic.)

The survey’s authors noted that 2023 was “a challenging year” for employee retention and recruitment, “as labor markets remained very tight.” As a result, companies “needed to raise their salary increase budgets” simply to stay competitive, they pointed out.

Click here to read more on how orgs are boosting salary budgets.—NP

Today’s top finance reads.

Stat: 13%. That’s how much Amazon’s revenue grew last quarter. The behemoth saw business picking up after a tough 2022 and cost-saving measures taking effect to boost the bottom line. The company also said it had its “biggest ever” Prime day sale this past quarter. (CNBC)

Quote: “It’s a good, strong number and it shows an economy that’s doing very well. Let’s remember that it is just one quarter’s number and I’m not expecting growth at that pace to continue.”—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaking on Bloomberg TV about the burst of Q3 GDP growth. (CNN Business)

Read: Interest rate drama may increase the risk of financial catastrophes, so we’ve got that to look forward to. (the Wall Street Journal)

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