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It’s a tough economy out there, and often, the biggest moving part is your employees. Here are some fresh new tips for saving money while upgrading your business’s potential.
Implement Employee Tracking Software
Lost time, tardiness, absenteeism, leaving without permission, excessive visiting, phone use, break time, using the Internet, misusing sick leave – These are some of the most common time-wasting complaints of poor performance in the workplace.
As a result, more and more companies small and large are implementing timesheet software as it becomes apparent that pushing your employees to account for their time simply makes them plan their time better. It drives performance, reduces costs, and makes projects more visible to employees. They can access these apps on their mobile phones, laptops, or desktops, so they’ll also find it convenient to comply.
Cut out Extra Employee Expenses
Before reducing your staff, how about looking at their extra expenses associated? If you’re a business that provides free lunch, for example, try cutting the free lunch down to a smaller treat once per week, like bagels or doughnuts.
Of course, no-one wants to give up perks, but if it means they can all stay employed, they should understand and even appreciate preventative actions like this.
Hire Inexperienced People
Experience is an expensive luxury that does not always pay back. It’s an investment.
Try taking the “X number of years experience” requirement out of your job ad, and request recent graduates instead. You’ll then look for applicants who expect entry-level salaries. This gives you more flexibility to find eager employees who often have the most up-to-date knowledge and are ready to contribute with loads of fresh, young energy. You can then carefully place the expensive, experienced employees in strategic positions to grow and guide them into leadership roles.
Reduce Salary Days and/or Hours
Perhaps some of your employees could go down to a four-day workweek. Sometimes, employees are quite open to this as it might work well for their personal lives. Cutting down like this would mean increased savings in operating and utility expenses as well as a lower salary burden and fresher, happier employees.
Make Use of Interns
Using interns can help you save and can benefit your business. Especially with things like social media marketing, you don’t need a whole team of full-time staff. Using interns cuts expenses from salaries, office space, and benefits. If you combine this with telecommuting, you can get your expenses down to a fraction of what they are today.
Reward Productive Employees
While it doesn’t seem to make sense, spending money to save money does work in some cases. A good strategy is to proactively reward profitable behavior from your employees. You can make little gestures, like a treat or an occasional free lunch. This boosts employee morale and keeps the vibe positive.
You can also offer incentive bonuses for production or sales. Rewarding your most productive employees will also encourage your entire team as they’ll realize there is a relevant goal to work towards. This effort will also ensure your business is able to retain employees rather than having to replace them.
