How monitoring expenses can help with staff management
At the most basic level, staff expenses is simply about keeping control of costs but when you look deeper into the subject you can find that understanding what people are buying can really help with management. If you can keep control of the money, reduce spending and understand some of the day to day issues that are occurring in your business, then watching your staff expenses spend is certainly a worthwhile job.
Spot trends with customer service
Have you noticed that some of your managers keep buying vouchers or flowers? Are they in the same kind of customer-facing departments such as customer services or despatch? Then you could be seeing the symptoms of under par customer service.
One of the signs of this is where customer service staff have to keep buying gifts to say sorry for poor performance. It could be that somewhere along the line the business isn’t doing what it promised, or your suppliers keep letting you down or there are fundamental problems with your courier company.
But whatever it is, a high incidence of gift spending could easily be down to the need to apologise for not meeting customer expectations.
Managing subscriptions
This is one that has cropped up in the last few years due to the prevalence of software and apps that people can buy with their credit cards.
If you find that lots of people are paying for app subscriptions then it could be one of two things; either there’s a problem with your software (see below) or your people are all having the same issue.
Corporate subscriptions are generally cheaper than individual ones and they often have much better features so if you find that a lot of people are buying the same app then it may make sense to provide this to everyone automatically.
You could also find that a lot of people weren’t aware that there was an app out there that could help, so you may well see a rise in productivity too.
Spot problems with systems
Following on from the last tip, if you find that your people keep buying apps it might be because they need to find a way to make up for failings in your main system.
Staff buying lots of different add on software can indicate that your main systems are beginning to show their age and people are needing to find workarounds.
Although there is a lot to be said for buying a suite of best-in-class individual systems it is also important to make sure you understand what is being used and where so track down the people who are doing this and talk through the problems that they are seeking to resolve.
Understand travel habits
If you find your staff spending a lot on fuel then it is always worth asking yourself why. It may be for entirely understandable reasons and your directors may have taken the decision that strategically this is a good move but sometimes things creep up on us.
For example, it is possible that employees were visiting the odd customer here and there in the early days of the business but now it has gone to a whole new level.
Alternatively, it could be that people enjoy going out and spending time with clients because it is better than the alternative.
At the very least, question whether you have reached the point where you need to be giving people company cars and fuel cards. But also query whether it is worth visiting clients all the time or if the frequency of visits should be related to the profitability of the account.
Less time spent with unprofitable accounts can mean more time spent identifying future opportunities.
See where training is needed
If you find that employees keep buying books or online courses then it is worth asking the question as to whether your Learning and Development is up to scratch.
What sort of things are people buying that they aren’t getting in-house?
Are there any themes in their purchases? Perhaps people are looking for more technical training or maybe all of your managers are looking to boost their soft skills.
Understanding what is missing from your L&D can point the way towards more targeted training and show you how you can provide better support for peoples’ development.
Spot trends with employee morale
Do you find that certain managers are always bulk buying gifts for their people? Are they trying to make up for something?
Now we’re not suggesting that the people buying gifts are terrible ogres who need to say sorry every week! In fact quite the opposite. It could well be that your best managers are understanding that there has been a significant drop in morale for whatever reason and they are doing their best to repair any damage that has been done.
If you find that managers are needing to find creative ways to keep their people onside then you do need to ask the question why.
Instead of waiting for the next staff survey, it is worth going out into the business and just investigating what is happening. It could be just a temporary blip or it could be more serious but unless you ask the question then you’ll never know.
Watching your expenses can give you clues
If you have been in management for any length of time then you’ll know that people won’t always tell you what is going on so sometimes you have to be a bit of a Sherlock Holmes.
Seeing what people are spending their money on can show you where people are having to find the best way round problems that they encounter and can also point you in the direction of better operational efficiency.
We admit that it isn’t always straightforward, but the best management accountants are the ones that ask the obvious questions, then dig a little deeper.
Take a look at your expenses for trends, big spends or even things that you think should be there but suddenly aren’t and follow the trail. You may be surprised at what you turn up!
Access Expense, our leading expense management software, allows you to deep dive into your staff expense claims with built in analytics, reports and dashboards so you have full visibility of your team. Watch our online product tour and see how Access Expense can work for you.
