There are numerous ways to reduce an organization’s operating costs to increase profit and lessen waste. Budgeting and monitoring expenses, such as salaries and benefits, are essential to ensuring that unnecessary costs are kept to a minimum.
With my organization being a credit union which is a banking institution, eliminating branch sites that don’t have a lot of traffic flow and are within close proximity to another branch will be a great way cut costs. By ensuring another branch is still close by members will be able to be retained.
Increasing the use of technology is a great option when it comes to reducing costs as it is able to replace applicable positions. Setting up a work station where members are able to come inside and do their own banking online, without the need of a teller, will help to reduce staffing needs. Allowing customers to open accounts and apply for loans online will also help to reduce job positions.
Cross-training employees will eliminate the need to hire for certain positions. In a credit union, it is possible to have employees hired solely for one specific position such as a teller handling cash transactions or a customer service representative designated for opening accounts. Training employees to both open accounts and work the teller line helps to merge two positions into one, eliminating the need to hire extra help.
Co-sharing a workplace with another business is a great way to free up funds. Having credit union branches imbedded within a building shared with other businesses will essentially cut the cost of rent, utilities, and required repairs. Also, monitoring and restricting business funding should be a frequent practice. Running reports to compare costs with the budget helps to identify where the funds are being used in order to come up with remedies.
- G. (2014, June 20). 5 Ways To Reduce Operating Costs For Your Business – 3Bug Media. Retrieved August 09, 2016, from http://3bugmedia.com/5-ways-to-reduce-operating-costs-for-your-business/
- Sullivan, M. (2015). 8 Ways to Reduce Operating Costs. Retrieved August 09, 2016, from http://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/expenses/8-ways-reduce-operating-costs/#sm.00019fiahdicbfmmt6h1nfgbjndld
