How Can HR Departments Find Practical Cost-Saving Solutions in Daily Operations?

Our GM has asked all departments to find practical cost-saving solutions relevant to our function. He doesn't mean energy saving or stationary/supplies saving, etc. He would like our department to come up with 5-10 practical ideas on how the HR function can implement cost-saving in its day-to-day role. I would appreciate any good suggestions. Many thanks!

Dear philyhk,

Reduce recruitment costs, overhead administrative expenditures, and HR operations costs by managing HR operations to eliminate repetitive work. Coordinate with other departments, especially the IT department, to identify effective ways of reducing costs in their respective functions. Look for alternatives and substitutes for all expensive yet essential inventory, processes, and procedures.

Regards,
Octavious

Dear,

If you have engaged any consultant for statutory work, please cease their services immediately after obtaining all related records. You will assume the same responsibility.

Alternatively,

If you are utilizing a portal or employment consultant, discontinue and cease payments immediately. Instead, use references to hire employees. If you are excessively using telephones, please reduce usage.

Now that petrol costs have decreased, if you...

You are all aware of the current turmoil in businesses globally. Here are some series of steps to ensure that:

1. Our inventory is not blocked (i.e., we should reduce excess inventory).
2. Implement restrictions on capital purchases and new employee recruitment.
3. Exercise strict control on overtime and unnecessary expenditures.
4. Ensure employee output is at 100%.
5. Review sales targets and implement strategies to increase the sale of finished goods.

Cost savings can be achieved on the following points:

1. On transport – Reduction of trips can be considered.
2. On conveyance – Since petrol prices have come down, the car/bike charges can be reduced in line with the reduction in fuel prices.
3. Telephone/mobile/mobile handset – Limits on expenses for calls and new handsets can be reviewed.
4. The cost of medicines can be reduced by avoiding vitamin pills, digestive pills, or balm.
5. Uniform/shoes – The periodicity can be changed.
6. The cost of stationery can be reviewed; opting for some cheaper quality may be considered.
7. Recruitment can be done on a referral basis, if possible. Consultancy charges can be renegotiated.
8. Cut back on training expenditures.
9. Do not limit yourself to your entitlement and spend on the actual or bottom level of the grade when necessary.
10. Printing may be done in draft mode instead of standard to save ink consumption.
11. Try to send ordinary mail through the postal department only and not through courier services.
12. Control the wastage of material and raise awareness of optimum usage of provided material among your employees.
13. Cut back on tea and coffee expenses.
14. Control printing – only necessary printouts should be taken.

By following the above suggestions, it is hoped that monthly expenses will be reduced to some extent.

Regards,

H R Singh

Dear All,

You can save costs by following these ways:

1. Ensure proper and controlled vehicle movement by planning trips efficiently and optimizing vehicle usage.
2. Utilize stationary resources effectively.
3. Optimize manpower utilization and control overtime.
4. Reduce telephone and mobile expenses by modifying plans (opt for minimum monthly rent, lower STD rates, avail certain free calls in plans), and use emails instead of faxes.
5. Focus on recruitment strategies like developing internal sources, promoting from within, facilitating transfers, hiring for lower categories, and utilizing references for recruitment.
6. Take this opportunity to negotiate with the AMC vendors.

Regards,
Atul Wadatkar

Dear phillyhk,

Here are some suggestions that may come in handy:

1. Reduce recruitment/hiring costs - Do away with expensive subscriptions to job portals, recruitment consultants, and media advertisement releases. Try referral hiring, invite word-of-mouth cold applicants, post free job ads, engage in industry networking, etc. These strategies will help reduce costs. Perhaps classified advertisement releases in portals or print media may be yielding and cost-effective.

2. Training & Development - Focus on internal or in-house training, upskilling, and multi-skilling. Develop or enlist internal experts or experienced personnel as faculty for periodic delivery. Create a calendar of programs or need-based training and establish procedures for post-training evaluation to assess training effectiveness and impact on productivity.

3. Internalize outsourced HR processes, if any (such as payroll, leave management, employee healthcare insurance, statutory compliance, etc.). This will help reduce costs.

4. Review internal accountabilities and workloads across functions. Assign more responsibilities to Heads of Departments, encourage multitasking, and explore cross-functional opportunities if feasible. This approach can lead to cost savings and potentially boost motivation within the organization.

5. Implement effective manpower planning. Reallocate personnel across functions and tasks. Establish special teams for specific projects like a cost-cutting committee, given the current economic conditions. Collaborate with department heads to assess headcount, workload analysis (current and projected), and make decisions on right-sizing, downsizing (if necessary), or upsizing in specific areas. Determine an optimal headcount level to save costs, considering attrition, retirements, anticipated resignations, and other factors.

During this process, also evaluate work distribution within the HR department. Streamline and internalize processes where feasible. Keep the team engaged in meaningful tasks.

Rahul

Our GM has requested all departments to propose practical cost-saving solutions relevant to their functions. He specified that energy-saving or stationary/supplies-saving ideas are not the focus.

He has asked our department to generate 5-10 practical ideas on how the HR function can implement cost-saving measures in its day-to-day operations. I would appreciate any valuable suggestions. Many thanks!

Dear phillyhk,

Here are some suggestions that may come in handy:

1. Reduce recruitment/hiring costs - Do away with expensive subscriptions to job portals, recruitment consultants, and media advertising releases. Try referral hiring, invite word-of-mouth cold applicants, use free job ads, industry networking, etc. These actions will reduce costs. Perhaps classified advertising releases in portals or print media may be yielding and cost-effective.

2. Training & Development - Focus on internal/in-house training/skilling/multi-skilling. Develop or appoint internal experts/experienced personnel as faculty for periodic delivery. Schedule a calendar of programs or need-based programs and establish procedures for post-training evaluation of training effectiveness/impact on productivity studies.

3. Internalize outsourced HR processes, if any (such as payroll, leave management, employee healthcare insurance, statutory compliance, etc.). This will reduce costs.

4. Review internal accountabilities and workloads across functions. Assign more/multiple responsibilities through Heads of Departments (HODs); multitask employees, even cross-functionally if possible. This will save costs and perhaps motivate many people within the organization.

5. Implement effective manpower planning. Re-allocate people across functions/tasks. Form special teams for special projects like a cost-cutting committee, if necessary, given the current state of the economy. Review the headcount in each department with department heads, analyze workload (current and forecastable), and proceed to rightsize, downsize (a hard decision though), or upsize in some functions if needed. Determine an optimal headcount level to save money. Factor in attrition, retirements, anticipated resignations, etc.

During this process, also review work allocation within the HR department. Optimize and internalize processes as much as possible. Keep busy and keep others engaged with meaningful tasks.

Inform your GM about these HR initiatives with deadlines, actionables, and get started. Hopefully, you have his buy-in.

Rahul

Our GM has requested all departments to find practical cost-saving solutions relevant to our function. He does not mean energy saving or saving on stationery/supplies, etc.

He would like our department to propose 5-10 practical ideas on how the HR function can implement cost-saving measures in its day-to-day operations. I would appreciate any good suggestions. Many thanks!