Christmas and the Holy week requires more preparation in business than any other holidays. Mainly because of the length of “non-office” days or the potential sales that could be brought about by this special once a year observation. As entrepreneurs along with plans to spend quality time with our loved ones, we also take into account the adjustments that we need to make during the mentioned holidays. This week being the Holy Week, we may have to quickly review our business processes to work on improvements rather than “budgeting” to keep company costs controlled.
Many companies often result to budget cuts to improve their financial status and the company’s stability. It is easy to overlook that budgeting is not the only option and may not be the optimal course of action for the organization. There may be another option that management can look into that can be more beneficial to their employees and their customers.
An option to Budgeting is for companies to improve on their processes. Improving the many processes in the company can not only minimize cost but also improve company output and customer satisfaction. Companies can improve on how to market their goods and services, take orders and bill their clients. Improvement on the manufacturing and delivery of their goods can minimize waste, errors and time thus gaining cost efficiency.
They would rather adjust their existing budgets to satisfy their cost targets. It may be true that budgeting may be an easier way to achieve the goals and process improvements can take a bit longer to accomplish but in the long run the benefits are undisputable. The fast and easy way does not always mean that it would be the most beneficial.
Organizations need to have their leaders start looking into improving not only their financial budgets but also stepping up their service and quality. Often focusing so much on budgets and expenses, management fails to see that the process may be the cause of the excess and waste in the company. Further improvements on these processes will eliminate extra cost and improve the quality and customer relations. With these improvements budget cuts may no longer be needed and can minimize company cost while quality and after sales relationship with customers will be strengthened guaranteeing repeat sales.
“Organizations today must focus their leaders on improving service, cost, and quality, not on budgets and expenses. This shift will require personal transformations for most C-level executives, especially the chief financial officer.” – Brad Power
Click here to read the complete article from Harvard Business Review.