Bandwidth.
Bandwidth costs (and use) goes up, productivity stays the same. Employees could be spending way too much time on Facebook, watching funny cat videos – or both.
Public holiday on Thursday.
How many employees suddenly develop the flu on a Friday before a public holiday? One way around this is – if your organisation can spare them – encourage employees to take annual leave and make a long-weekend of it.
Office shotgun.
Walk through the office at three pm on a Friday and you could fire a shotgun without hitting anyone. Where are they? It’s possible they’re “at the pub” or having a spurious business meeting on the bus on the way home.
Working from home.
Some employees thrive in a home office. Others do their laundry, linger in cafes or skive off early. Having clear guidelines about working at home can overcome this one before it becomes an issue.
Theft.
It’s an old truism, but most theft is done by employees, not customers. Many chain stores have bag checks, audited lockers and more to get around this problem.
Unverified expense claims.
Was that really a work lunch? Or did Bob from sector 7G decide to take his wife out for a nice meal? This is hard to stamp out, but clear guidelines and a culture of openness can help get around this one.
Poor credit card policy.
Some businesses allow staff to put personal expenses on credit cards – so long as it’s paid back. In practise, this is a poor policy leaving itself open to abuse and misunderstandings.
Leave.
Many organisations still get by without a personnel or HR department keeping an eye on annual leave budgets, sick days and so on. This leaves the system open to rorts and abuse – costing you money.
Breaktime.
Everyone needs a break now and then during the day, but some staff will take this to an extreme, spending ages lingering in conversation with colleagues, wandering the halls or riding the lift up and down to the local coffee house.
Supplies.
Are you keeping your staff and their kids in stationery? While all staff need pens, pads and Post-It’s to do their job, some staff feel it’s there for the taking.
Bandwidth.
Bandwidth costs (and use) goes up, productivity stays the same. Employees could be spending way too much time on Facebook, watching funny cat videos – or both.