It is no secret that the cost of just about everything has risen in recent times, and any business that does not address this issue is asking for trouble. If you are at the helm of a small or medium-sized business, you will be faced with some tough decisions and could be considering letting members of your team go to keep expenses down.
Before you take that rather drastic step, however, there are other tactics you can use to bring costs down, and some of them might even improve your relationship with those who work for you. This can be vital in a time when you all need to pull together to potentially save all of your livelihoods.
#1 Consider introducing remote or hybrid working
If you are a purely office-based business, there are very few reasons why you could not adopt new methods of working so that your employees spend less time in the office, or even none at all. With fewer people using heating lights and other utilities, the bills here will decrease, making you a saving. The many benefits of this work pattern for employees will mean that overall you have a happier workforce too.
You might even find that by adopting a hot-desking policy, you don’t need the huge office you have now and could relocate to a smaller one, saving on what is probably one of your largest business expenses.
#2 Shop around for your consumables
It is not uncommon for businesses to get all of their office supplies from one vendor, but in times when belts have to be tightened, this needs to be examined more carefully. By looking around at specialist suppliers rather than just hitting the reorder button each month, you could save a lot of money.
For instance, any office-based business will get through a lot of printer toner cartridges every month, and they are far from cheap. However, looking for the best deals for printer cartridges online can find you cheaper alternatives, which can save you money – especially if you are buying in bulk. In addition to this, buying remanufactured cartridges can be kinder to the environment.
#3 Consider migrating to the cloud
If you are thinking of adopting remote or hybrid working, this is a move you should seriously consider for improved efficiency and security. However, there is also potentially a large saving to be made here. Your physical server in the office will need regular upgrades to keep up with the ever-increasing demands of modern business and possibly need replacing every few years.
Using the cloud removes this problem as it is scalable with your business and can also increase reliability as well, as a cloud server won’t go down if you have a power cut in the office. There is usually a monthly cost associated with this, but it is likely to be less than the current cost of maintaining your current server. If, again, you shop around and get the right deal, you will only pay for what you use each month, without any maintenance costs or the expense of the electricity used to run the server.
Final thoughts
When times are tough, many bosses will often look to cut down their headcount. While that can be a last resort, there are plenty of other areas to look at first. Saving on what you use in the way of consumables is a good place to start, as shopping around can find you some good deals. You could also look at decreasing utility costs and office space by adopting new working patterns, which could save you more than letting a valuable member of staff go and affecting the morale of all those who remain.