Building effective business cases and using plain language

Building a compelling business case is a structured discipline, and this video addresses the components that make up an effective one — from the executive summary through to the problem statement, proposed solution, financial analysis, implementation plan and risk assessment. The coverage is directly relevant to AC 3.3 of FREE03, which asks how people professionals can communicate financial information effectively, and the video situates that question within the practical reality of HR proposals such as new HR systems, training programmes, recruitment campaigns and wellbeing initiatives.

A significant portion of the video concerns audience targeting as a deliberate communications strategy. It examines how the same proposal may need to be framed differently for finance directors, operations leaders and board members, with each audience requiring a different emphasis — numerical return on investment, operational disruption, or alignment to long-term strategic priorities respectively. Alongside this, the video addresses the role of plain language in financial communication, including how to handle technical finance terminology such as EBITDA and amortisation when writing for mixed audiences, and how concrete, quantified examples can replace vague productivity claims.

The video also works through the tension between accessibility and accuracy — a central concern when people professionals translate financial data for non-specialist decision-makers. It covers the use of active voice, sentence construction and the presentation of complex calculations alongside plain-language conclusions, rather than instead of them. These practical techniques sit within the broader indicative content for AC 3.3, which includes linking proposals to strategy and outcomes, articulating assumptions and risks, using metrics and visuals, working with finance colleagues, and agreeing measures of success.