Reducing labor costs makes your business more streamlined and ensures that the budget has enough room for other things. The eight ideas below are a big step forward for any organization!
1. Consider workers’ compensation
Irrespective of inflation and market developments, wages and salaries tend to increase. For this reason, it is critical to ensure that there is a link between the compensation offered to employees and the current market. If you deduce that the wages you provide are higher than what the market requires, you lower the wages by offering a token wage increase to employees. If you choose to do so, discuss this openly with your employees and also let them know how long this symbolic increase will last.
2. Reduce employee turnover
High employee turnover costs any company a lot of capital. From the salaries of departing employees and the hiring process to the applications of new employees, these are all processes that require money to be allocated. There are also indirect costs that affect an organization, such as the wasted materials and the longer production cycles. In short, doing what you can to retain current employees can have a positive impact on funding.
3. Negotiate working hours adjustments
Some companies find success by reducing employees’ work hours through direct negotiations. For example, consider asking employees to work four days a week in 10-hour shifts versus five days a week in eight-hour shifts. Talk about a small pay cut, but also explain the benefits to the employee, such as more time with family.
4. Consider introducing fixed variable salaries
It is crucial to talk to employees about introducing variable pay rates. This helps your organization by ensuring an increase in income only as the company does better in its own business.
This is becoming a popular industry standard, but keep in mind that workers’ wages must still meet minimum minimum wage requirements. For example, in Spain, employees are not allowed to have variable rates that exceed 30% of their wages. Marketing specialists and other professional salespeople have some degree of variability in their income based on their performance. Their income is highly dependent on how well the organization performs.
5. Opt for part-time workers
Part-time workers can significantly reduce labor costs because they require lower wages. As such, they are not eligible for any additional compensation or benefits offered by the company for traditional full-time employees.
Many companies choose to have a shortlist of employees to call if they need part-time workers quickly. It’s a system that works because it’s transparent! Always make sure you have one lone worker solution present if necessary. Keep in mind that the biggest expense of any business is labor costs. Therefore, you should do everything you can to significantly reduce these overheads.
6. Outsource work
Choosing freelancers for outsourced projects is a great way to further reduce overheads. While their hourly wages incur higher costs than regular employees, you don’t have to pay for their training or any benefits. In short, it is an economic alternative for full-time employees.
7. Automate tasks
Adapt modern technology to your needs and automate repetitive tasks to reduce headcount. It’s a great way to increase productivity without relying on extra staff. Of course, this requires an upfront investment in automated technology and requires existing staff to receive proper training.
8. Avoid departmental layoffs
The bigger a company is, the more departments it has. That means many clusters of teams emerge with little to no communication between the different sectors. This can result in duplication of work and tasks.
It is important to reduce the amount of redundancy between the existing departments in the building. This is possible by conducting periodic reviews and analyzing processes and workflows. It is also crucial to establish the workplace requirements of all employees and let them know what their job descriptions actually are. Finally, make sure you make it clear that you need a clear line of communication between all departments working within the organization to eliminate redundancies.
