Money well optimized is half unspent

After years of various optimization processes, you are once again faced with new challenges. Everything that has been cut, halved, outsourced and "optimized" is done. Hannes reflects that these were challenging years. But the credo has been put up: "We have to get through this - there will be good times later". In other words: grit your teeth now, unwind everything there is to unwind and then get back to the day-to-day business. Hannes was looking forward to this moment, when the management meetings would once again focus on the core business and no longer just ask the question: "Where else can we cut costs?

Hannes happily takes his seat in the committee. However, it seems suspicious that the CFO is already there before the meeting starts and is trying to connect his laptop to the big screen via ClickShare. The fact that instructions on how to connect ClickShare are constantly being displayed instead of a picture is beginning to grate on the CFO's nerves. But Hannes, being the man of action, pulls an even dustier HDMI cable out of a dusty drawer, connects it and "source found" appears, followed by the welcome screen.

However, its content does not bode well. "Optimization and globalization of the disbursement process". Optimization" sets alarm bells ringing for Hannes and he suspects that his ideas for new products will once again have to take a back seat in the discussion.

And so it went. The meeting starts with a brief introduction by the CEO, in which the unshakeable belief in optimization is placed firmly as a spoiler to the topic. With "We have investigated and evaluated", the guardian of the treasury gets straight to the point. The disbursement processes are too expensive. Especially as we are talking about money that others are entitled to, but where we are only paying bills at the moment. In other words: wage payments, purchase of machines, services, reimbursements in the context of warranty claims, etc.

There is still potential for optimization here. Because it's best not to spend money that you have to spend - or at least to spend it later. Then you'll have it for longer. Simple business contexts from school.

It was therefore decided to outsource the entire disbursement process to India. Not only do they work more cheaply there. But if the transfer doesn't arrive, you can't just stomp into the office and slam a "where's the money?" on the table in a communicative manner. The pilot operation has shown that e-mails are also not answered or hardly answered at all, or at least with a three-week delay. All of this creates space to do something else with the money instead of spending it. In addition, the process stipulates that no work is done on public holidays in India and that the money is not transferred on a public holiday in Europe. It makes sense ... Nobody needs the money from a paid machine on Ascension Day either.

For example, in April there are no transfers on days such as Mahavir Jayanti, the beginning of Passover, Vaisakhi, Mesadi, Ambeddkar due to Indian public holidays and on the Monday after Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Monday and the eve of May 1st due to European public holidays. Of course, the service is generally closed from Friday noon to Monday noon. This is because no money is spent anywhere on Monday, after all, everyone is in meetings there - for example, to decide on outsourcing processes to be optimized ...

Author

Stefan Häseli is a communications trainer, keynote speaker, moderator and author of several books. He runs a training company in eastern Switzerland. www.stefan-haeseli.com