“Cost reduction” is a term that often carries a negative connotation. It is always an operational priority, yet many associate it with job loss or the elimination of workplace perks. Too often, companies struggling to reduce operating costs will implement changes that result in temporary savings, but eventually end up damaging the business in the long run.
This doesn’t have to be the case. A proper cost reduction strategy can elicit positive results that are healthy for the business without adversely impacting employees. Below are 3 cost reduction ideas that can help your organization cut those unnecessary costs and focus your spending on the areas that can truly propel your business.
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Go Paperless
Manual, paper-based systems not only cost you a ton of money in supplies, but they are also rife with inefficiencies. Making the jump to an electronic filing system increases productivity by allowing employees to find and use the information they need to do their jobs more easily, while also reducing the high cost of paper supplies.
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Improve Time and Attendance Tracking
With the right time and attendance software, you can reduce payroll costs by up to 5%. This number may not seem all that significant, but considering that most companies’ highest cost is their workforce, the cost savings can make a huge difference. Time and attendance software can help with cost reduction in a variety of ways:
- It can help you eliminate “buddy punching” via an updated, controlled system that reduces inaccuracies
- It facilitates better, more accurate payment through properly accounting for aspects like vacation, sick days, hours worked, and overtime worked
- It reduces the risk of errors common in manual systems
- It allows your workforce to focus on more productive tasks rather than tedious administrative tasks
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Better Leverage Business Intelligence
Business intelligence is such a huge priority for businesses because it can be used to not only increase profits, but also improve efficiencies. With the right data, businesses can significantly better their performance. BI software can help you identify key trends, generate reports, track key metrics, identify issues and take corrective action where necessary. For example, HR-focused business intelligence systems allow managers to view up-to-date data on an organization’s human resource performance, so that they can identify what’s working and what needs improvement in order to improve practices and processes.
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These cost reduction ideas will help your business better focus spending on core areas that improve the bottom line. However, this is by no means a comprehensive list. An efficient strategy to cut costs has workforce management at its centre, which aims to significantly reduce spending while improving outputs and retaining talent. To learn more about how workforce management can help you reduce costs, visit our Workforce Management page.
