Time As An Expense
If you are working in the corporate world then you are already required to go to meetings. But if you are a self employed entrepreneur then any meetings you attend of your own accord.
In either case it boils down to what is your time worth for yourself or your company. Recently I was reminded of a situation from long ago into which a major manufacturer contacted me to find out where there could find hidden costs.
What I found out was certain executives and managers were going through what I call meeting-itis. In one instance an executive was holding one or two meetings a week with his subordinates. And while the meetings were a part of doing business, what was taking place was less than acceptable for the rest of those in the meeting.
Why was it not acceptable, quite frankly it was a waste of TIME and resources. In this one instance, there were ten people present and the combined salaries and bonuses of all exceeded $1m annually. And each meeting while scheduled to be for two hours maximum was turning into four or more hours. So why is this critical and what does it have to do with your Quantum Success Factor.
Well as everyone knows, if a cost hits the bottom line, then it affects the bottom line and that’s where this came into play. So let’s do some quick math.
$1,000,000 that’s our number for this example
$1,000,000 divided by 10 = $100,000 (average salary)
$100,000 divided by 12 months = $8333.33 monthly
$8333.33 divided by 4.33 weeks per month = $1924.56 Week
$1924.56 Week divided by 50 hours (avg mgr work hours) = $38.49 hourly
$38.49 hourly times 10 executives or managers= $384.90 hour
$384.90 per hour times 4 hours = $1539.65
$1539.65 per hour times 2 meetings per week = $3079.29
$3079.29 per week times 4.33 weeks per month = $13333.33
$13333.33 per month times 12 months = $$160,000.00
Now I understand the cost of doing business, but if you are a big corporation or conglomerate and you are having a lot of meetings you might want to look at the cost factor here. That $160,000.00 can be reduced by at least 75% and that is a huge savings.
Even more, what could you use that $160,000.00 for. You could effectively hire at least two more full time people at the bottom of the work force, and increase overall productivity quite a bit. And no I will not go into the math on that.
What was even worse in the above scenario is this. The executive who was hosting the meeting, required everyone to stay for the entire length of time. So what about the manager who gave his report first and was done, but had other pressing issues to handle, and he was required to stay for the whole meeting. Not good $$$ cost managing I am afraid as his time could and would have been better spent curing the pressing issues on production. And this alone would have reduced costs of lost time and increased revenues for production of merchandise.
Meetings are a needed portion of all business, but to what expense? And when it comes to the bottom line it is all about profits. So this goes back to the title of this post of “Time As An Expense”. What is your time worth on an overall basis to the company and yourself.
In finding our own personal and professional Quantum Success Factors, we should always remain cognizant of those we serve and to what best interests we are fulfilling our obligations.
In the reference to the company exampled here, they looked at the exact scenario above and subsequently changed their meeting formats to include no more than five people. This enabled everyone so all could be in and out within an hour and saved the company millions. They ended up hiring about 1000 people worldwide, increased their productivity rate by some 16%, and reduced their return product rate by 20%. My suggestion to them also reduced the stress factor of the other workers well which reduced sick time and petty absences.
The next time you hold any meetings, due yourself a favor and become very aware of your COSTS of holding that meeting. Then make sure that you have planned it so everyone can still accomplish their normal tasks.
You will find that your Personal and Professional Quantum Success Factors for planning will be greatly enhanced. And you will end up being lauded as an innovator for efficiency and cost savings.
Until next time “Inspire Integrity In All You Do” and seek to find your “Quantum Success Factor”, it truly is “The Reflection of You”
Have a Great Day.
Robb Nunn
CEO / Founder
Quantum Success Factor
For more information, or to have Robb to Speak to your organization. Contact Him by Clicking Here
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