Let’s face it. Every employee is guilty of wasting workplace resources, whether intentional or unintentional. Many people assume workplace resources are limited to only supply and products, but they’re so much more than that. Company resources come in different types, including time management, staffing, and financial aspects.
Companies provide employees with all the necessary items to make their jobs easy and productive. For instance, employees working in the field have company cars to ensure safe and smooth business trips. But the thing about company cars is that employees tend to overestimate their mileage and expense reimbursements. That’s why companies turn to mileage expense tracker software to reduce expenses claims.
While companies find ways to cut costs and make operations more efficient, not everyone is on the same page. Employees should keep in mind that every wasted resource is an added cost to the company, which can affect its profitability. This article will talk about common scenarios where employees are wasting the company’s time and resources.
Pointless meetings
Believe it or not, office meetings are notorious for wasting company resources. Take a look at your work calendar and count how many scheduled meetings have kept you from accomplishing important work tasks. No matter how we try to stick to the meeting agenda, we allow meetings to stretch for many hours by including pointless chitchats and subjects that have nothing to do with the objectives of the meeting.
While meetings have a good purpose, they have painful, soul-sucking effects on employees, teams, and organizations. Much has been written about how companies should redesign office meetings, but the improvements have been discrete. Meetings require real, systemic changes because they affect workplace collaboration and how employees get their work done.
If possible, use email or streamline communications across the workplace. Business-focused social networks (e.g., Slack) can change everything by organizing information into different channels. Employees can focus on certain topics relevant to their work and stay updated on what other teams are doing.
If you have employees working in a different location, don’t force them to attend a meeting that will only waste time and travel resources. Instead, organize a videoconferencing meeting using virtual collaboration platforms.
Poor inventory management
Poor inventory management is among the common reasons why many businesses fail. It can cost you money, time, and, worse, your business. In 2013, Walmart lost $3 billion because of unproductive inventory, leading to out-of-stock issues.
There are many signs showing that inventory management is getting worse, from consistent stock out and high inventory costs to imbalanced lead times and data-entry errors. One of the top causes is inappropriate inventory practices, which lead to lost customers and missed sales. Another reason is the use of spreadsheets. Many small- to medium-sized businesses rely on spreadsheets because they’re cheaper and easy to use. As the company grows, spreadsheets eventually become error-prone and time-consuming, leading to serious issues in the long run.
While the list goes on about the causes of poor inventory management, you can prevent this by following the right inventory practices and using cloud-based inventory management software.
An inventory management software solves almost every inventory issue. It allows automated data entry, real-time inventory tracking, and accurate forecasting. This helps businesses maintain effective inventory management to deal with demand variations and balance ordering and warehousing costs.
Reliance on manual tasks
Despite the number of digital tools to streamline business operations, many companies still depend on manual tasks to collect, evaluate, and input data. While investing in technology can be expensive, paper-based working is actually more costly, inefficient, time-consuming, and more likely to cause mistakes. Reporting tasks and managing data is also difficult, making it difficult for both leaders and employees to evaluate work processes.
Just because your company uses an age-old technique doesn’t mean you need to do it the same way. Companies that are better at utilizing technology are at a greater advantage in the competition.
Today, the business world has a tool for everything, and companies must take advantage of them to avoid manual, repetitive tasks that can cost them a lot of money in the long run. In fact, automation of office processes is critical to driving productivity and engagement in the workplace. It also affects revenue, compliance, customer satisfaction, and employee performance.
As employees, it’s important to be aware of the common drains on workplace resources and how they can potentially hinder profitability. While wasting resources is something we can’t completely avoid, we should also take the necessary steps to avoid financial implications in the future.