To meet an annual goal is the daily grind, but what about sustained multi-year cost savings?
Producing savings in the operational expenditures is an important first step, however what about setting up your organization’s contracts and pricing for success from the beginning?
These days we’re all tasked to do more with less and the pressure to meet any savings goal mounts. Achieving success in this environment is difficult and challenging for any organization, but it’s certainly not impossible. Additions to staff have become a thing of the past and even if you were able to hire additional staff, the speed at which that new hire can impact savings is not immediate. So as the budget cycles turn and savings goals climb, where does your organization obtain the horsepower to produce the desired results? Look outside… outside of your own organization. Seeking outside assistance has an immediate two-fold effect on your bottom line. First, this is a variable expense vs. a new hire being a fixed expense. Outside assistance can be turned up or down on an as needed basis and let’s face it, if they’re not producing, they are easy to let go. Secondly, they come to the table with the ability to immediately produce results. Many times the new additions to staff are bogged down in the day-to-day operations and lack the ability to produce immediate results. Not so with outside consulting assistance. That’s what those kinds of companies are paid to do, produce results. Nothing better than hiring additional horsepower that can produce results quickly and isn’t a permanent addition to your staff.
What are some of the qualities you should look for from outside consulting assistance? Find a firm that is willing to put their reward at risk in order to produce results. Simply put, they’re not paid unless they are saving your organization money. Look for a firm that has your best interests in mind and doesn’t possess a simple “stab and grab” mentality. This is disruptive to your business as well as your vendor / customer relationships. Finally, you must be engaged with your consulting firm. Don’t just let them float around your organization. This will create confusion within the existing staff and compromise any results they may be able to achieve. However, a good consulting firm should take the majority of the burden upon themselves. This means your engagement with them is at a support and guidance level, not at a tactical and busy level. These few guidelines should allow your organization to find a firm that provides immediate horsepower, in tune with your current staff, at a variable rate that’s dependent upon their ability to produce actual cost savings.
Utilizing outside assistance to achieve your organization’s savings goals is efficient and cost effective. Ensure they are compensated based on their results, and not just simple actions. Utilize their expertise to drive savings quickly without adding to staff.
