Many office processes can be optimized to cut costs and reduce unnecessary expenditure. There are various types of operational costs that businesses accrue – technology, office furniture, stationary, sales materials, travel, mailing costs and even entertainment rank among the costliest things at the office. Preliminary planning is required to reduce some of these costs, here are a few strategies for cutting costs in the office.
Non-Traditional Office Spaces
The rental of office spaces is among the most expensive aspects of running a business. Depending on location and the size of your business, the sum allocated to this corporate expenditure may be significant.
The average yearly rent varies across the US. It can be 14,800 dollars per year, per employee in New York or 4,194 dollars per year, per employee in Atlanta. Things are similar in Canada. The average rent in Toronto is 68.19 dollars per square foot of office space, while Montreal office rentals average 48.28 dollars per square foot.
If renting an office is a bit too expensive, you may want to try something unconventional. Small businesses can adapt nearly every space into an office. Co-working options are also ideal for reducing the expenditure. There’s no need to look exclusively for spaces that are advertised as offices. The property market has a lot more to offer and you can easily cut down rental costs.
Go Digital
A paperless office is a lot more cost-efficient than the traditional workspace. If you decide to go digital, you’ll be reducing the money required for printing, storing documents and mailing files to clients or business partners. The good news is, you’ll find a host of document management solutions online, with some of them being free of charge.
Chances are your employees are already relying heavily on files rather than printed copies. Make that part of your corporate culture and you’ll see a massive decrease in expenditure the following month.
Get Employee Input
Your employees are the people who spend most of their time in the office. So, they’ll have some pretty good ideas about improving the effectiveness of the corporate process and reducing operational costs. Provide the right incentives for employee participation. Make sure people know cost-cutting will contribute to a better workspace and potentially employee bonuses.
Temporary Staff
For certain positions, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to hire permanent team members. Opting for temporary staff upon necessity can reduce the sum you spend on salaries without reducing effectiveness.
Temporary staff is best for administrative and mundane positions. If you do a bit of research, you’ll find that many professionals offer their services in the temporary field. From medical workers to creative staff and accountants, you can find a professional for just about every position that doesn’t require long-term commitment.
Customer service, human resources, administration, bookkeeping and office management are some of the areas that can benefit from the selection of experienced temporary staff.
Outsource Some Processes
Just like hiring temporary staff may be a good cost-cutting idea, you may also want to consider outsourcing certain processes.
It would be best to outsource low volume and unprofitable procedures. For some companies, this may be bookkeeping. For others – it would be IT support.
Outsourcing gives you a chance to pay for such services only when you need them. The solution also allows for flexibility because the service can change as your company grows or experiences low demand.
