13 Ways to Cut IT Costs Now - Telework, Kill Projects

5. Utilize Telework

Survey the staff roster for suitable employees who can be sent home to work—even if only part of the week. The creative use of telework can not only cut cost and promote efficiency, it can also be a big morale booster in a time of staff reductions and payroll freezes.  

“Not everyone can telecommute, but there are a whole lot of things in terms of flexibility that you can do to make people happy,” says Rose Stanley with WorldatWork. “The more flexibility you offer your organization, the more you  are paid back through productivity, less absenteeism, less turnover and a greater loyalty to the organization.”

In some extreme cases, full-time telecommuting can reap serious savings through reduction in real estate and facilities operations costs. Telework can also be an attractive carrot to dangle in front of valuable on-site employees you’d like to keep in the face of cut hours, wages or benefits. For example, if you must bring someone down to part-time status and don’t want to lose them, then think about adding the telework option to your pitch when it comes time for that difficult conversation.

Hear more from Stanley and pick up some tips in Baseline’s report on strategies for managing remote workers.

6. Pull the Zombie Projects

Now is the time to pull the plug on those projects that have been dragging on ceaselessly with no end in sight or which have lost their utility now that the economy has shifted business-side priorities.

“I’ve heard them called ‘zombie projects,’” Hayes says, explaining that they might be effectively dead, but still animated.

Getting rid of these projects can help reallocate staff resources to problem areas where headcount must be cut.

Learn about how to do just this with advice on how to pull the plug on an IT project.