Does Cost Cutting Mean Cutting Out Common Sense?
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Rajesh V | Aug 26, 2009
Almost every organization I know is seriously into cost cutting triggered by the downturn. In most cases this has led to instances which are funny, hilarious to downright stupid. Here are a few examples for you to contemplate:
A meeting is on and an important vendor has come to the office. The pantry is called and a request made to serve some beverages. The person barges into the meeting room and loudly says that there is no milk as only morning supplies are made due to cost cutting! Needless to say, everyone had to look around sheepishly till the awkward moment passed. Who can one blame?
An expatriate who was working on a special project discovered a rather shocking cost cutting measure one day. The lack of tissue paper and toilet rolls in the toilets. He then started to carry his own toilet roll, which was placed on a corner of his desk. Was it a great thing to see during meetings?
The most hilarious example involves a person coordinating travel arrangements. The instructions were to look for and book the lowest fare in the time window indicated. One of my friends who was travelling overseas was awakened up at an odd hour by the travel coordinator who was calling to find out if my friend were willing to travel in a later flight because it ended up costing a few hundred rupees less than the the first flight. While relating this incident, my friend mentioned that he did not have the heart to tell the travel coordinator that he had spent far more in his international roaming call, simply because he was so serious and earnest. What can I say?
There are numerous other examples like regularly used cabs with negotiated and discounted rates being withdrawn and instead people having to use a call taxi or public cab and pay much more. There is the practice of switching off the air conditioner in certain stores in the afternoon as fewer customers are there. Unfortunately by evening the store is inundated with such a stale stench that no one wants to shop there.
This makes me wonder if there is a genuine intent to cut costs or if some manager is mindlessly following instructions from higher up so that he/she can report the change as “an action point” in review meetings. Do people view the sum total of all these control and cost cutting measures? Invariably steps in this direction involve multiple approvals, justifications, filling up forms and so on. Has anyone studied the time and effort wasted in this versus the actual savings made? Not to mention the additional expenses being incurred on the side while trying to do cost cutting!
Would it not be easier if every employee were told that the average cost per employee is “$X” much and as a team we all need to bring it down? Let individual initiative drive the effort. Instead, most such initiatives are implemented with little thought to ground level realities and the result – penny wise, pound foolish!
Common sense – where art thou? Has the downturn driven you into exile or has it killed you?
Filed Under: Miscellaneous
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You have brought up a very valid point. When businesses are determining actual cost of an item, they need to consider how eliminating it will affect the morale of their employees, as well.
I worked at a manufacturing facility in the late 90′s where the new Director was determined to cut overhead. The first cut he made was to stop the bottled water delivery for the plant employees. We were a profit sharing company so we accepted the decision without any rumblings initially. There were 6 company cars on site which were assigned to the Director and his 5 VP’s for business AND personal use. The “Give the Boss a Car” program, as it was referred to in the plant, became a hot topic in the months to follow as it became obvious that it was not changing. We understood letting the leases expire. When the new cars were delivered, the morale hit bottom.
The Big Joke was that the bosses were lucky those cars burned gas so they could fill them up at the plant. It would have been inconvenient
for them if they had run on clean water.
The morale of the work force is an important asset in any economy, especially one as tough as this past year.
A ‘We’re in this together” philosophy has to be demonstrated by actions as well as spoken.
Thank you for sharing.
Terry Shackelford