If there’s one thing CFOs and COOs can agree on today, it’s the need to show clear ROI from every efficiency effort. At one time, productivity, cost control, and resilience may have been siloed concerns across business functions. But with economic volatility and labor harder to find, these areas have become shared priorities for finance and operations.
This shift has changed how organizations approach workforce technology. Instead of each leader working independently, CFOs and COOs now need a united vision and a strong partnership. It’s the only way to connect operational improvements with financial outcomes to clearly show the ROI that matters most.
A finance and operations disconnect affects costs
Just like it’s important for HR and finance to be aligned for strategic growth, the same is true for operations and finance. When these departments are disconnected, both strategy-wise and data-wise, it creates broader schisms on how decisions get made, what is prioritized, and how resources get allocated.
A report from KPMG speaks to the prevalence of this gap, noting that only 35% of global finance and operations leaders are “very satisfied” with the alignment between departments1. This divide often shows up via unclear responsibilities, siloed systems, and different priorities that can contribute to wasted or redundant spend. When finance and operations aren’t aligned, decision-making becomes reactive instead of strategic—and costs go up as a result.
Investing in your workforce is a financial strategy
Labor is often an organization’s largest expense. (According to the U.S. Department of Labor, wages and salaries can make up more than 70% of total employer costs2.) It’s also one of the biggest opportunities for value creation. Deloitte notes that today’s workforce technology must go beyond cost-tracking; it must also supply insights tied to human outcomes3. Think of it this way: Instead of just measuring how fast work gets done, consider weighing how an extra 30 minutes per week contributes to broader business goals like reducing burnout or strategy-building. At the end of the day, these human-centered wins influence retention and engagement, which tie back to your bottom line. Case in point: Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report found that low engagement cost the economy $438 billion in lost productivity last year4.
Even more vital, however, is being on the same page. Just like it’s important for HR and finance to be aligned for strategic growth, the same is true for operations and finance. When these departments are disconnected, it leads to inconsistent narratives, mixed messaging on priorities, and, ultimately, confusion in execution—all factors that can contribute to wasted or redundant spend.
Unified workforce data matters today more than ever
With finance and operations heavily reliant on accurate, real-time data, a workforce operating platform that pulls together critical stats into one place gives executives a “big picture” POV cross-functionally. One source for HR, payroll, time, and scheduling data can bring CFOs and COOs together to better understand each other’s priorities, how they overlap, and how they can make more impactful changes across the organization.
McKinsey research shows that organizations with strong people analytics capabilities—which reflect integration of workforce and business data—can achieve up to a 25% rise in productivity, along with an 80% increase in recruiting efficiency, and a 50% decrease in attrition rates5. In other words, these solutions don’t just lay out the data; they provide context. Leaders are able to spot strengths, risk areas, and opportunities that allow them to make decisions with confidence.
Today, leading organizations are breaking workforce planning out of silos and integrating data and forecasting across teams to better align talent strategy with financial and operational outcomes. Deloitte, citing examples6, points to the value of not only doing this horizontally across departments like operations, finance, and HR, but also vertically involving leaders and employees across levels. This line of thinking, their report argues, contributes to agility and resiliency in an era of constant change.
CFOs and COOs must be aligned in messaging and goals
Still, clear and constant communication remain key here. At UKG’s Aspire 2025 conference, UKG CEO Jennifer Morgan underscored that while CHROs play a big role in championing AI and enabling an agile workforce, they can’t do it alone. You need leadership buy-in at all levels for these big changes to be successful. Same story here. Once the value and path forward are established, communication needs to be treated like a campaign: strategic, simple to understand, repetitive in messaging. The goal is for the message remain the same no matter how many times it gets “telephoned” across the organization.
Where the CFO-COO partnership value lies
A strong partnership has direct benefits to both the CFO and COO, as well as the organization at large. It reduces friction and accelerates results. In short, everyone gets what they want, such as:
- A big-picture overview of labor performance: CFOs and COOs gain reliable data to plan ahead and clearly show how workforce decisions impact the organization’s bottom line.
- Efficiency and predictability: Connecting pay, time, and scheduling allows COOs run a more efficient, agile operation. CFOs get more predictable and compliant labor spend.
- A shift from reactive “firefighting” to proactive planning: No need to argue over whose data is correct. Both executives can collaborate on a strategy that balances cost, performance, and workforce wellbeing.
- KMPG, 2022. “Value of Connection.” https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmgsites/xx/pdf/2022/06/value-of-connection.pdf.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025. “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation – June 2025.” BLS website, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf.
- Deloitte, 2025. “2025 Global Human Capital Trends.” Deloitte website, https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/human-capital-trends/2025.html.
- Gallup, 2025. “State of the Global Workplace 2025.” Gallup website, https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx.
- McKinsey, 2023. “The State of Organizations 2023.” McKinsey website, https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/people%20and%20organizational%20performance/our%20insights/the%20state%20of%20organizations%202023/the-state-of-organizations-2023.pdf.
- Deloitte, 2025. “Is it time to break workforce planning out of its silo?” Deloitte website, https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/future-of-workforce-planning/democratized-workforce-planning.html.
As a senior content writer and content marketer at UKG, Ileana Llorens draws on her editorial background to craft clear, compelling pieces that unpack HCM and WFM technologies. Her work highlights how these solutions support both business leaders and the people powering every organization.