In difficult times such as these, the first reaction can be to cut overheads to the bone.
I would recommend getting more value from what you’ve got before instigating across the board cuts.
For this purpose I would define overheads as all departments who are providing central services and not dealing direct with the customer – this might be finance, HR, IT etc
Now how to get them to deliver more?
1- Often these central departments don’t see themselves as serving a customer because they are not dealing with the company’s external customers. Of course they have internal customers instead and you need to get them to recognise this.
Get the central services to present to the frontline services what services they can provide for them. Get them to sell themselves, most people in Finance, HR, IT etc have never had to sell anything in their lives so it makes them think about what it is they actually have to offer.
2 – Base your rewards and appraisals on the provision of good service and the creation of value for the business. Is it more important that your finance department provide good management information to the rest of the business or is it more important that they check every expense claim to the nearest penny? If you think it is the former then judge them on that.
3 – Give people in central services opportunities to get out with the frontline people. It will give them a better understanding of what it takes to run an operation on the ground rather than just seeing it from the back office. The more involved in the business they feel, the more they will be able to contribute.
Have you tried to change the thinking of central departments in your business? Do you think that these steps would help?
