Reducing Company Expenses Without Reducing Your Staff

There are a lot of businesses and organizations that are trying to go lean and to cut unnecessary expenses, it is not a matter of whether they want to or not, it is more a matter of that they have to.  To survive in these hard economic times, with the growth rate and hiring rate at nearly zero, company are having to make difficult decisions in order to keep their doors open and remain profitable. 

It seems hard and it seems cruel, but if they don’t cut expenses, which sometimes involves cutting jobs, then the entire business can be in jeopardy.  In the end, it's better for a few people to lose their jobs than the entire company goes under.  It’s a harsh reality, but that company, even with fewer employees, a business that is profitable and is actually producing, will affect more than their own personnel. 

They have suppliers, especially if they are a production facility, but they also help keep many other companies in company.  They have to ship material, order material, keep the facilities clean, and even stock the vending machines in the cafeteria.  So in the end, it's a much more dynamic system than just who works at the facility.  They pay for electricity and property taxes and payroll taxes, and every time a business closes, it's very difficult to replace their positive effects on a community.

So even though it is a difficult thing to accept, the greater good of the community is more important than any single job.  But when it's your job, which is a hard way to think.  But thinning out the payroll isn’t going to be enough, because with less labor, you invite other difficulties to deal with.  It’s not like you all of a sudden have less work to do, less to accomplish, but you have to do it in a smarter, more efficient manner.

This is where the real struggle begins, because now you have to put a plan together and execute the plan. Everyone needs to be on the same page and every job and duty needs to run like clockwork.  That means you cannot waste time, labor or materials.  Actually, the less you waste, the greater probability that you're producing more, becoming more profitable and are in a much better position to hire on new employees to deal with the increased work load.