The recession has acted as the ultimate catalyst for motivating many organisations to undertake a thorough review of company spending patterns in order to identify cost reduction programmes. In my business, telecoms cost management, I continue to see organisations looking for projects that will not only impact positively on budgets but also provide opportunities to maximise on man hours.
Extremes of the capitalist system this month have seen redundancy affect a 13 year old paperboy in Bedfordshire and Royal Bank of Scotland who announced 3,700 job cuts across the UK, about 14% of its workforce. However according to recent statistics, redundancy programmes are actually falling in number with many UK companies instead looking at changes to working practices including the shorter working week, term time contracts or voluntary sabbaticals.
Salaries and wages are still the highest cost item in an organisation so ensuring that employees are using their time to your best advantage remains an important agenda item in any management meeting and irrespective of industry sector. Whilst a TCM programme cannot resolve an organisation’s headcount issue or address profitability and cash flow issues single handed, ensuring that all telecoms budget is correctly allocated can positively contribute to the bottom line effectively enabling budget holders to spend the same £ twice. In addition, an accurate and efficient telecoms billing system can free up the time of those employees managing the telecoms estate enabling them to focus on the priorities of their role – service delivery and strategic technological enhancements.
There are promises of an upturn in the economy, albeit a slow one, in 2010 but that shouldn’tmean that cost management programmes themselves face redundancy. Organisational and national growth will rely on the continued diligence of financial strategies to ensure future prosperity and prevent another recession of this scale in the future. As a telecoms budget owner, you could contribute to this growth; a win-win for you and your business.
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