4 Ways You’re Losing Money Without an IWMS
Why do some movies that are supposed to be blockbusters flop? The obvious answer is the filmmakers spent more on production than they made at the box office.
While the reasons for low ratings could be apparent—a poorly executed plot or bad casting or lackluster cinematography—there are plenty of other elements the filmmakers might not have thought could hurt the movie’s success, but did.
Workplace leaders may not have to worry about script quality or set design, but they definitely have a list of obvious (and not so obvious) factors to consider when it comes to the profitability of the enterprise. And without an integrated workplace management system (IWMS), the number of those not-so-obvious elements can lead to a business being a bigger flop than the Lone Ranger 2013 reboot.
Your organization is losing money by not using an IWMS in these ways.
Improper Resource Distribution
One of the biggest reasons enterprises lose money is because they don’t effectively allocate resources. Without an IWMS, organizations have a hard time accurately calculating how much budget, time and employees are required to complete a project on time.
If too little budget and too few employees (or conversely, too much budget and too many employees) have been assigned to the project, the enterprise will find itself in one of two expensive situations:
- Scrambling to meet the service level agreement (SLA), forcing employees to work overtime and potentially missing deadlines
- Having employees who don’t have anything to do and whose time could be dedicated elsewhere, plus excess budget that could be applied to underfunded projects
The first scenario can result in team members quickly burning out and leaving the company. And turnover is expensive. But with an IWMS, the workplace leader can ensure tasks are assigned appropriately, helping to properly distribute the workload across the entire team.
An IWMS allows facilities leaders to identify gaps in resources, and it gives them objective data to back up a request for additional budget or personnel.
Poor Space Utilization
In addition to improper resource allocation, poor space utilization can also be a sneaky way enterprises lose money. When a business is paying for space it isn’t using, it’s squandering budget—budget that could be applied to other operational expenses.
Plus, the larger an organization, the more difficult it is to determine how well space is being utilized—unless the business has an IWMS. Without an IWMS, a business might not know it has a cluster of vacant offices that could be subleased to a smaller company and will miss the opportunity to decrease real estate costs. Or the company may be unaware that an entire floor of a building isn’t being used but is still being heated and cooled.
But with an IWMS, companies have real-time data on space utilization, allowing the facilities team to identify these opportunities to increase the efficiency of the workspace.
Inaccurate Asset Assessment
Calculating the actual value of an asset is more challenging and time-consuming without an IWMS. And if the business has an inaccurate valuation, it may not know it is better to invest in replacing an older, poor-performing asset than allotting funds for its maintenance.
Without an IWMS, the facilities management team has decreased visibility into the actual utilization of any asset, which means the organization could be wasting funds on storing and maintenancing equipment it doesn’t actually need. On the other hand, an asset could be in high demand but have insufficient availability, which can disrupt operations.
And not knowing the location and status of assets (including computers, printers and even coffee machines) can result in an enterprise replacing equipment unnecessarily.
Siloed Departments
One of the biggest benefits of an IWMS is the ability to efficiently share data which enables collaboration and strategizing between departments. Without an IWMS, departments could be making important decisions based on conflicting data, leading to inconsistent and inefficient processes.
In addition, customers may be experience delayed responses or contradictory answers depending on with whom they’re speaking. And if this happens consistently, it could frustrate the customer to the point where they decide to not renew a contract with the organization.
Furthermore, multiple departments could be affected by the same issue (for example, a broken printer or malfunctioning HVAC system), but because there is no central database where employees can see a service request already has been submitted, the FM team will be inundated with tickets for the exact same issue. Then, multiple technicians would be deployed to the same location, resulting in the resolution of other requests being delayed and, in turn, additional operational downtime.
The success of an enterprise is tied directly to its profitability. And an enterprise’s profitability is tied directly to the reduction of wasteful spending. Without an IWMS, an organization is missing out on one of the most effective ways to decrease unnecessary expenses and improve efficiency. To ensure your business is a triumph like James Cameron’s Titanic (and not like the actual Titanic), consider investing in an IWMS.
Discover more sneaky ways enterprises can be hurting their profitability. Download our free SlideShare, Top 11 Ways Enterprise Companies Leak Money.
