Thread Question: My company has implemented an incentive based program. I am currently representing the administration site and trying to determine 3 goals to choose from that are easily tracked. I have already presented a cost savings in supplies, but the amount of money the percentage would save, was very small. Also we are in the middle of construction on a new building, where all three of our locations will be in one, so the goal can not be building related expenses either. Please help...throw some ideas out there for me, even if they seem silly.
Submitted by: sgarland
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need more information in order to offer suggestions. What type of industry are you? Generally cost savings in the administrative area are small as they are usually not tied to production of services, but rather monitoring of company operations. Do you have contracts with office supply companies, copier or fax companies, do you outsource your computer services or do you have a department on site? Contracts for services can be renegotiated, Do you use catering services for meetings? If so, do you have food service on-site or do you order off-site. Elimination of "eating meetings" is usually a good cost savings. Copier and printer costs can be reduced by printing on both sides of the paper when available. PowerPoint presentations, if printed, should be printed in black and white as color copies are more costly. Any presentations projected during a meeting should not be supplied as handouts, but can be sent electronically to participants who would like a copy. If handouts are provided, two to four slides should be printed on each side of the paper and background colors should be changed to white. Those are a few ideas based on the knowledge provided in your question.
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Anonymous on
4/8/2010 11:12:43 AM
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We are in the process of reevaluating coffee and bottled water supply vendors. We are actually looking at a filtered water system which would reduce costs by 50% or more. If your office provides food for large meetings and you find that you always have plenty of leftovers, try reducing the number of people you order for. Also, instead of having the caterer supply the tableware and soda/bottled water, purchase in bulk from a BJ's, Sam's or Costco.
Are all of your office locations using the same vendor for copiers, computers, etc. Are all of your Blackberrys on a similar plan? We've found that we have more bargaining power when there's a greater number of users involved.
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Helen Boston-Summers on
4/8/2010 5:17:14 AM
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We've saved dollars by searching out the best way to ship out supplies and equipment. Pack your own, use FedEx vs UPS, us UPS Ground vs 2 day or overnight. Decisions like this can really make a difference. The recycle of boxes and stuffing that come in is a good way to save as well.
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Annette Pollack on
4/7/2010 1:26:06 PM
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Do you have monthly invoices that could be sent to you via internet? Thereby saving turn around time in late fees or mail back/paper check cutting fees?
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Julie Minegar Stasi on
4/7/2010 12:04:37 PM
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How about postage savings? If you have a lot of mail going out there are programs with the USPS that can help save money. Another really good one is how much electricity could be saved by just asking everyone to turn off their monitors each night. Or ask the IT Dept. to adjust everyone's monitors to sleep when they are not in use over 5 minutes. Our IT folks did an analysis recently and it was amazing how much savings was generated. Good luck!
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DSK on
4/7/2010 11:24:01 AM
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What type of company do you work for? Would implementing an internet networking site like LinkedIn be of value. This project could be tracked by the number of members that joined the "group" you created for your company.
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Anonymous on
4/7/2010 11:19:39 AM
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Cost savings: Travel expenses is always a huge one here. Even though we use a travel agency sometimes their selection isnt always the cheapest or best way to go. We've established lower rates with hotels and rental car agencies to reduce overall costs and require travelers to utilize them. Also, do you use catering at all? We have a caferteria onsite, but sometimes it's more affordable to bring food in from an outside provider. Do you use any sort of meeting/conference call services - maybe shop around for a better provider
Non cost savings related could be time savings...ways to improve processes/functions for better time management
Good luck!
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Jamie on
4/7/2010 11:18:55 AM
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