Are you looking to cut costs without feeling the impact on your business? Try these six innovative cost saving ideas that are also convenient and easy to do!
Did you know that the unemployment rate in the USA hit 13% in June of 2020? The economic effects of the coronavirus continue to paint a bleak picture of economic conditions in the coming months and years.
If you’re a business owner, you’re no doubt looking for innovative cost saving ideas that will protect your business.
What can you do to reduce outgoings and use your cash to keep your business afloat? Read this article to see practical ways to save your hard-earned cash.
- Reduce Your Office Footprint
More people than ever are working from home.
The question is, do they need to come back to the office? If they don’t, do you need a large office space?
Take this unique opportunity to measure the efficiency of your workforce. You may find areas where efficiency and morale have improved as people work in a comfortable environment without a stressful commute. You may also find that you can lower your overheads by moving to a smaller workplace.
- Encourage a Lower Cost Office Culture
Office managers have focused for decades on providing extra services to create a pleasant atmosphere in the office. This may have included birthday celebrations, catered lunches, snacks, and free coffee.
Reduce your costs by keeping these at a minimum. As many have been working from home, they have not had these perks for some time.
When workers do come back to the office, help them to adjust to a lower-cost office culture without these added extras.
- Renegotiate Rents
These are exceptional times and many landlords are willing to accept exceptional conditions.
If you have been using the same office facilities for many years and have a good relationship with your landlord, you have a strong bargaining position. The landlord will not want to lose you as a tenant and search for new occupants in a financial crisis.
You can ask for a lower rental fee due to the current conditions. If you want to lower your rent further, offer to pay one year’s rent in advance in return for a further discount. This could save you a significant amount over the course of a year.
- Evaluate Staff
No one wants to start cutting staff immediately. However, the current conditions may require you to make some changes.
You can look to outsource suitable departments. Many companies consider Managed IT and payroll outsourcing as their first options.
You can then consider how you can employ freelance talent. While their rate of pay may not be different from a regular employee, they are temporary contractors. This means you only use them, and pay them, on a temporary basis.
- Offer Your Staff the Opportunity to Develop New Skills
Consider what potential the staff you choose to retain have. Can you offer them training opportunities to improve their skills and made them more useful to your company?
Education may not always come cheap, but training now may help you avoid hiring further staff in the future. It’s a long term investment that may save a significant amount of money in the end.
- Create Cleaning Routines
Here’s another simple adjustment. Create a cleaning routine and require staff to do a small amount each week.
This not only saves on cleaning costs but also gives your staff a chance to vary their work during the day. This can increase their productivity and physical health.
Innovative Cost Saving Ideas and Much More
As a consumer or business owner in 2020, you will know that careful management of money is a priority. Should the current economic downturn continue, you will benefit from considering all these innovative cost saving ideas.
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