Engaging with staff to make savings

I’m sure by now most people will be aware of the headliners from George Osborne’s budget. With Government departments facing a cut of 25% the issue will be on how to identify and implement changes that will contribute towards finding the savings necessary.

Part of the Governments plan is to ask staff to suggest savings. Often it is the people at the sharp who can suggest process or procurement change that could have significant impact and help identify savings. It may seem obvious but engaging with staff that procure and use services or suppliers is an essential part of any business model. Not only does it help to create a culture in which savings are valued but also means that the staff have bought into the process.

At Expense Reduction Analysts we will always seek to engage with the stakeholders at the earliest opportunity to understand what is important to them and equally what is less critical to them. For example in my previous blog I spoke about how moving to consolidated invoices could benefit a business. It is surprising how many times we have spoken to a stakeholder who has complained that they have received an invoice for a small value item!

Drawing upon the ideas of your staff is very useful and insightful, but also consider how do other businesses do similar things? Whilst your competitors may be reluctant to tell you what they are doing there are other options. For example we publish a range of cost reduction guides on our website. These guides are free to download and may provide a flash of inspiration. Similarly our network of project specialist are often being asked to write articles or provide information for professional and trade journals.

An email, phone call or comment on the article may start a discusion that again provides an inspiration