Management wants cost cutting strategies?

[HeidiC]

Senior Management from our head office want us to reduce costs (which is inevitable in the current economic climate). My Managing Director has asked me for HR cost cutting strategies but I cannot think of any area that is being frivilious. My HR budget was slashed to the bone and I have never had to look at cost cutting strategies before that affect a whole region, not just my department.

Has anyone been asked to do the same thing, and what are the areas that you have targeted within HR for expenditure cut backs (without long term negative effects). Also, how have you communicated this to your staff?

[Mark D]

Have you exhausted all opportunities for cost improvement, eg. technology solutions, outsourcing non-core activities, etc? Are there HR processes that you can divest to line managemement to enable you to reduce your HR team headcount?

In terms of communicating to your staff the need to reduce costs, I would have thought that directing them to the business section of The Australian should be enough explanation.

[HeidiC]

Hi Mark,

I have slashed my budget and redeployed staff where I can. The HR team consists of me and me! So I cannot reduce the HR team any further. In regards to technology solutions; I have none that I am familiar with, as an HR practicitioner, that I could impliment without increasing expenditure.

I understand what you mean by directing our staff to 'The Australian' as a means of communicating our need to reduce costs, but I was looking for something on a more interactive scale. Something where I can reduce job-loss panic or productivity drop-off.

We are not looking to reduce headcount as a means of reducing expenditure.

[Mark D]

Heidi, given you're the HR team, are there external recruitment costs or training expenditure that could be done smarter? Are there subscriptions to paper based or online information services (eg. CCH, Workforce etc) that can be canned, given that much of this information is readily available from free websites? Can you leverage your role as HR business partner to assist the business in identifying areas for cost saving outside of your immediate HR responsibilities? Are there opportunities for you to SPEND money that will actually reduce other costs and turn HR into a "profit centre"? (eg. subscriptions to candidate databases to negate the need to spend on recruitment agencies).

Just a few ideas from an old bloke :-)

[HeidiC]

Hi Mark, Thank you for your suggestions. All information services subscriptions have now been cancelled and I will consider ways to turn HR into a profit centre and increase my skills in sourcing without agency help where I can. I always like to take advice from people who have been in HR longer than I, I don't pretend I know it all like a lot of my generation! Thanks again! :-)