Whether you have a company, or you can't make ends meet at home, cost reduction is one of the solutions, as long as you know how to do it well.
So this time we want to focus on giving you ideas to reduce costs, whether in a company or on a personal level. Because, many times, the solution is in front of you, but often it is not seen at first sight. Do you want to know what you can do? Well, pay attention.
Reducing costs is not losing autonomy or harming
Often we take cost reduction as something negative, thinking that it is detrimental to the work of others, or to the company itself. For example, if the company told you that costs had to be reduced, the first thing you would think of is layoffs. But what if it could be done in another way?
Sometimes there is no choice but to do this, but other times the only thing that needs to be considered is a strategic management of all the costs that are incurred. In other words, assess the costs and the benefit that these can have, or the damage, to know if they can be had more efficiently. And what does that imply? For example:
- ¿You have machines and equipment stopped a while without using them?
- ¿You apply new technologies to your work?
- ¿Betting on quality at service?
- Do you waste time and money on aspects that could be automated or made cheaper?
If you answered yes to any of them, you already have a cost reduction to apply. But we go further.
Ideas for the reduction of costs "with head"
The economy in a company is something very important. Sometimes we don't think about that importance until we find ourselves in the situation of having to "turn off the tap." That is, reduce costs. But in reality there are many things that can be done without that implying a series of layoffs or having to tighten your belt. Which?
Evaluate your company
By this we are referring to Do an audit of your company and all the processes that are carried out in her. From when you open until you close.
The reason for this is to see if there is any aspect that can be improved to be more competitive and productive.
Let's take an example. Imagine that you have a store and you provide gift-wrapping services. You have a person hired for that. But as long as they ask him or he doesn't ask him, he stands still.
Why not use it for other chores that you can leave behind when someone needs a gift wrapped?
Stopped machines, workers without being able to move forward, products that do not come out... You have to establish an "assembly" chain, even if you don't have that in your company.
Train your workers
Yes, don't throw them out. train them. Y you should see this as an investment. Not only are you going to improve the quality of the service they give you, but there will be fewer errors, higher productivity (because they will feel appreciated by the company) and better job performance. Implying? More effort, motivation and loyalty.
Take care of working hours
There are still many who think that workers have to be aware of work 24 hours a day, not just the 4-8 hours they work. Y that the only thing it does is burn people.
If you try to ensure that the schedule is followed by everyone and establish a good methodology so that no one has to work overtime, don't you think that you will help your staff to rest then yield more?
Optimize spending
There are times when cost reduction leads to outsourcing. Namely, find a way to continue doing the same but without having to bear all the expenses.
We give you an example. Imagine you have a publisher. However, the binding machine is only used once a month. Is it really worth the cost of that machine? Wouldn't it be better to resort to renting it, pay for it and use it that time? Not only do you avoid maintenance costs and an operator who knows how to use it, but you start to have more space and not spend so much.
Automate
Any process that can be automated, do it. But be careful, because sometimes dispensing with "human" labor as much as possible means that the results do not have "personality", that they do not finish reaching the clients.
retain costs
Sometimes there is no other way to reduce costs than study which of them are expendable. It can inevitably lead to layoffs, but this is always done in the last instance because, if it can be done differently, it should be done.
Reviewing the costs of the factory, transport, couriers, personnel... is part of the audit that we have proposed before. But in this case, we are not only talking about optimizing everything, but about eliminating those costs that, either due to automation or because they are expendable, we can put them aside for a while until we recover.
Use social networks
We always see social networks as a place to communicate with customers and potential customers. But do not you see that they can also be used for other purposes?
- They can be customer service. In this way you do not need a person on the phone to attend to customers because everything they need must be requested through the networks and you avoid this cost.
- They can serve as personnel selection. When you have to hire people, do you ask for the services of a personnel selection company? So why not use social media to advertise a job to your followers? Surely there will be a person who could be perfect for this position.
- It helps you do surveys and market research. Also with an audience that will be related to what you are looking for.
Find the most useful and fastest way for your company
Without this meaning that you are going to reduce your quality or the service you provide to your customers. The goal is to find a way to work that supposes a cost reduction for you without harming your company.
And for this, you need creative workers, the kind that when they come across a problem do not get blocked but rather think of solutions to get ahead.
Can you think of more ways to reduce costs without involving layoffs? Tell us!