How To Teach Finance for Non-Financial Managers
At IndustryMasters, we have had the pleasure of working with a wide range of companies across all industries to train their employees more efficiently. While working with these entities, we have noticed they all share a common problem. They struggle to teach financial acumen to non-financial managers. Non-financial managers don’t always understand why they need thorough finance training. Finance feels like a foreign language so the topic can be challenging to understand. The bottom line, though, is that regardless of area of expertise, it’s critical all managers have a basic financial acumen.
Here is a bit more information on why this is important, as well as how we propose teaching financial acumen to non-financial managers:
Why do Non-Financial Managers Need to Understand Finance?
In order for employers and non-financial managers to understand the importance of finance education, the above question needs an answer. It may come as a surprise, but the answer is quite simple: money is the medium of exchange. Every business transaction, trade, and investment is made with an exchange of money. Regardless of who they serve, non-financial managers must understand:
- How business transactions financially affect the company
- How to identify trends in financial reports to help them improve their own department
- Whether a business decision will lead to a company profit
- How to help their company plan for the future
Many organizations understand why each member of their executive and/or management staff should have thorough financial training. But, they don’t always have an effective strategy. Many have tried various training methods, but the content just doesn’t always stick for non-financial managers. Here are a few tips to easily and effectively teach finance to non-financial managers:
3 Tips for Teaching Finance:
1. Engage Participants with Interactive Content
If participants are bored during training, they will not be able to focus or retain information. When training is interactive, participants are actively engaged. Hands-on learning helps participants remain involved, retain new information, and absorb the important aspects of previously “foreign” material.
2. Incorporate Gamification & Fun
No one likes to sit through boring lectures or read through lengthy how-to books. Instead of using outdated training methods, try turning your training into a game! When participants are having fun, they are likely to remember what they learned.
3. Provide Real Life Experience
Finally, when teaching finance to non-financial managers, you need to make the content relevant. Participants may have no interest in finance, which is why they may not have previously embraced the subject. The best way to make training relevant is to provide them with “real life” experiences. Business simulations allow employees to “play” a game that acts out real work experiences while making financial decisions relevant to their positions. This changes financial theory into something they can practically apply on the job.
To effectively teach finance to non-financial managers it’s critical that the learning be interactive, interesting, and relevant.
At IndustryMasters, we create industry-specific digital learning solutions for any entity. We incorporate the three I’s into all of our business simulations. Whether a company is attempting to train their employees to become leaders or teach finance to non-financial managers, business simulations are the most effective training method available. They teach finance in a fun, interactive, and engaging way.
Don’t waste time trying to teach finance to non-financial managers with outdated techniques. Instead, turn to convenient, fun and effective business simulations!
Ideal when participants are scattered or budgets don’t allow for bringing everyone together. Combining people and our proprietary platform, we think we’ve got the best offer in the industry. We’re also highly experienced with face-to-face interactions. Classroom learning allows for team building, behavioral observation and more. Our facilitators are knowledgeable, engaging and fun. People learn in various ways at varying paces. It can be challenging to get everyone in the same room at the same time. Self-paced learning enables individuals and teams a timetable that works for all.
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