The biggest mistake HR leaders make when pitching new benefits to their CFO

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If HR wants a CFO to sign off on a new wellness program, “making employees happier” is rarely enough.

Finance leaders want the business case: what it costs, what it replaces, and how it will pay off. That’s the message BambooHR CFO Justin Judd has for HR executives making the pitch. A happier workforce may be a worthy goal, he says, but it is not enough on its own.

“The piece that has to come along with it is: Bring me the business case,” says Judd.

One way HR leaders can build credibility with finance is by showing they understand tradeoffs. Rather than simply asking for new wellness spending, Judd advises them to identify which existing initiatives are not delivering value, suggest where cuts could be made, and make a clear case for why a new program deserves investment.

That means going beyond the headline cost. CFOs want to see measurable return: whether a program could improve employee health, reduce absenteeism, lower healthcare claims, boost productivity, or strengthen recruiting and retention.

Just as important, Judd says, is confidence that employees will actually use the benefit. If adoption looks shaky, approval likely will be too.

“It has to have something that you can pull it all the way through to actual execution and then have checkpoints to make sure it’s actually delivering value,” he says.

At BambooHR, one such initiative that resonated is its “Paid Paid Vacation” program, which gives employees a $2,000 annual stipend to cover vacation expenses during paid time off. To qualify, employees simply share about their trip on Slack.

Judd says he already sees the perk paying off a return on the investment already, particularly because it helps the company stand out in a competitive job market. Plus, he notes, burned-out employees are less productive, and those who return from real time away tend to do better work.

For Judd, that is the clearest tell of all. If a wellness benefit is working, it should help the business, too.

A quick reminder: Have a workplace situation in the U.S. you’re unsure how to navigate? Send it anonymously via this form to Fortune Office Hours, a new series from the Fortune Workplace Innovation newsletter, where we’ll have top HR leaders weigh in on real scenarios.

Kristin Stoller

Editorial Director, Fortune Live Media

kristin.stoller@fortune.com

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