10 Ways to Cut Costs Around the Office
10 Ways to Cut Costs Around the Office
As an Office Manager, there may be multiple reasons why you’re looking to cut costs around the office. Perhaps you’re looking to set aside money for other initiatives like company events, professional development, and additional office perks—or maybe you were asked by upper management to improve cash flow.
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Whatever the reason may be, there are many ways to trim office expenditures without sacrificing quality and comfort—it may just take a bit of creativity, research, and planning. Not only will the tips highlighted in this blog post save your business money in the long run, but they will also help your office become more sustainable. Win-win! Let’s take a look at 10 different ways you can efficiently cut costs around the office. Office snacks are always a hit amongst employees. Unfortunately, these costs can add up over time, especially if you’re paying the full retail price and frequently restocking your snack cabinets. Though large boxes of single-serving chips and cookies are convenient, they could be costing you more money than you think (and tons of wrapper waste!). One way to save money on office snacks is to buy products that come in single, large containers. Encourage employees to portion out their own servings using cups or small bowls. Not only is this a cheaper alternative to traditional single-serve packaging, but you’ll also be reducing your plastic use. Take a moment to look around your office. Do you notice multiple staplers or rolls of packing tape collecting dust or taking up space in a supply cabinet? Think about how often your employees use certain office supplies—staplers, hole punches, scissors, labels, etc—and start a shared space where employees can access common office supplies. It may sound elementary at first (remember fighting over the fruity-scented markers in fourth grade?), but trust that your employees will respect this new initiative. Try placing a sign by the shared supplies reminding people to return anything they borrow once they are done using them. If you’re including single-use products like paper clips or sticky notes, remind employees to only take what they need. When LED lights were first introduced back in the 1960s, they were insanely inexpensive (think $200 per bulb). Thanks to improvements in technology, LED bulbs are now considered cheaper than traditional incandescent bulbs. Take a stroll around your office space and note areas that currently use either fluorescent or incandescent lighting. If you work in a large office or in a shared commercial space, you may need to work with lighting professionals to make the switch. But trust us, it will absolutely be worth the effort considering LED lights are 75% more energy efficient than incandescent lights. It’s estimated that the average full-time employee costs a company $725 a year just on printing habits. Of course, this is only an average and will not apply to everyone in your company, considering everyone’s specific printing needs. Regardless of how much you currently spend on ink, paper, and printer maintenance, cutting down on printing costs is as simple as encouraging employees to go digital. Urge workers to only print what they absolutely need and stick to black and white ink when possible. If you spend a lot of time and money restocking your company fridge with cases of bottled water and flavored seltzer, you’ll be thrilled to know we offer a cost-saving (and environmentally-friendly) solution. By switching to a smart water cooler like Bevi, you will be saving roughly 30,000 bottles and cans a year, along with saving on beverage costs. On average, a glass of water from the Bevi machine costs roughly $0.20 per 12 oz glass—less than half of what you’d pay for bottled, flavored, and sparkling water. In addition to being better for the planet, your employees can make custom drinks with over 12 flavors made from natural extracts and no artificial ingredients, enjoy water enhanced with Caffeine or Immunity (a vitamin blend), and rally around the real-time counter that shows how many bottles your office is saving. It’s estimated that air conditioners account for one-fifth of the total electricity used in buildings around the planet. When you consider the other objects that also use electricity such as machinery, electronics, and kitchen appliances—that’s a large piece of the pie. If you can open a few windows to bring in fresh air when it’s nice outside, you may be able to get your office air conditioner a break. Plus, welcoming in fresh air is shown to improve mental health. Purchasing brand-new office furniture can get expensive very quickly, with the average office chair costing between $150-$300. 1. Purchase office snacks in bulk
2. Create a designated office supply center to encourage sharing
3. Switch to LED light bulbs
4. Encourage employees to go digital to save on printing costs
5. Switch to a smart water cooler for your beverage needs
6. Open the windows if the weather allows for it
7. Purchase secondhand office furniture
What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of Mesh Office Chair
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Instead of buying your office furniture and decor from a known retailer, take a look at local secondhand stores or online marketplaces for great deals on gently used furniture. It may take some research before you find a bargain, but once you do, you’ll be on your way to cutting down office expenses in no time!
8. Switch to surge protectors and turn them off when leaving the office for the day
When packing up to leave for the day, it can be easy to forget to turn off or unplug your tech. Leaving technology plugged in overnight (and especially over the weekend) can cause your energy bill to skyrocket.
To save both time and money, use surge protectors to power up your most used technology around the office. That way, all your employees need to do is flip the power switch before leaving the office, as opposed to unplugging every power cord.
9. Buy office supplies in bulk
Even in the digital age, there will almost always be a need for office supplies such as paper, envelopes, file folders, labels, and tape.
Look for office supply companies that offer discounts when you buy wholesale, such as Staples or Amazon.com.
Before buying wholesale, it doesn’t hurt to take inventory of supplies you already have to avoid overspending. If you have an overabundance of paper clips or sticky notes sitting in your supply cabinet, you can probably scratch those from your list.
10. Install motion-sensored lights
Listen, forgetting to turn off the lights happens to the best of us, especially after a long day at work. With many other important things occurring during the work day, switching off the office lights may be at the bottom of your to-do list by the time you pack up for the evening.
That’s why another great way to cut costs is by investing in motion-sensor lights. In addition to being economical, they also remove some responsibility from the last employee to leave for the day. Those employees will seriously thank you!
Ready to start saving?
Cutting costs around the office doesn’t need to be a daunting task, especially if you only choose to implement a few of these tips at a time.
Not only does reducing your office expenses improve your business’s cash flow, but you will also be doing the planet a huge favor by trimming your energy bill and eliminating excessive waste.
Do you have other cost-saving tips you’d like to share? Send them our way on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn!
How to Purchase Office Furniture on a Budget!
If you want to purchase office furniture on a budget, then there are a few things you will need to consider. To start, you need to determine when to spend money and when to save money. There is a delicate balance involved in buying office furniture, especially when money is tight. Certain items may be cheaper, but may not last and need replacing and other items may seem expensive, but may help enhance your business in ways that will make the upfront cost worthwhile. Handy hint number one is to always check out the warranty on products purchased - this is generally a good indicator of the durability of the product
Begin by creating an overall budget that is realistic and feasible. Start listing out all of the office furniture you will need, in order of importance. Ideally, you will be able to purchase everything on your list, but that may not be possible in some cases. Listing the items in order of importance will make it easier to make those 'crunch' decisions if something needs to dropped from the list
Here are some additional Handy Hints on how to purchase office furniture on a tight budget.
How Do I Choose the Best Office Furniture?
The office furniture that you choose should be both aesthetically pleasing and ergonomically sound. Moreover, your selected items need to match your existing office decor as you don't want non-matching items to be an 'eyesore'.
Understanding the space you have available is also paramount. The office furniture that you select must fit comfortably into your office and not create a cramped office environment that can impact on employees comfort and productivity. And don't forget to allocate space (for staff and storage) that provides for growth into the future - if required.
Having a sound plan is paramount and ensuring the plan is communicated to all staff will ensure their support and buy-in during what can be a disruptive time. The plan should include a layout design drawing, so the entire team will know where everyone and everything is going, a checklist for delivery of the new items, temporary storage for these items, removal/disposal of existing items, assembly of the new items, removal of packaging and waste, IT and telecommunications support, contigency for critical workflow processes - during downtime and quality control checks to ensure everything is operational.
Benefits of Office Furniture That is Ergonomically Designed
Furniture that is ergonomically designed will help maximise efficiency and productivity and reduce injury to staff, causing expensive downtime. Poorly designed office furniture can cause injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, neck strain, eye strain, headaches, muscle aches, and joint problems. It is important that the office products purchased have ergonomic features that are adjustable to meet the individuals specific requirements. This is particulary important when choosing office chairs for your staff. It is recommended that you seek advice on the best seating options for your particular business and also ask to trial the suggested chair/s - if possible. Desking options are wide and varied but once again you need to ensure that there is some flexibility to meet individual user's needs. Foot rests, monitor arms and desk risers are all products that can affordably achieve this flexibility
How to Furnish the Office on a Budget
Plan to buy all of the chairs you require (visitor, operator, cafeteria and meeting room) from the same source. This will give you bulk buying discounts - and the chairs (from the same stable) will blend in with each other. Multi-purpose storage solutions are also available and these will enable all of your office items to be stored within the same storage product - rather than incurring additional cost for different storage products. In addition, if you lack floor space for storage shelves and cabinets mounted onto your walls are available. Individual desks of different sizes are available to give you some flexibility within your layout design - and desks with shared frames (that create pods of desks) are also available. These shared desks are space efficient and cost effective. Low cost desk screens will provide staff with noise absorbtion and privacy. Open plan offices are significantly less expensive than individual offices and fixed partitions - and they take up less space.
Taking the First Step
Take time to explore the options available to you. Office Products Online provides on-site support to scope you needs, obligation free layout design drawings, a wide range of affordable office furniture products (many with 15 year warranties), delivery and installation, quality control checks and warranty management. Visit our website at www.officeproductsonline.co.nz and view our Case Studies and Testimonials from our many satisfied customers.
The company is the world’s best Wholesale Computer Chairs supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
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