In this week’s Budget, the Government announced a public spending efficiency taskforce, to be set up within three months. Its job is to look at day-to-day running costs, pick a few areas, and fix them.
Politics aside, the lesson for business owners is simple. Efficiency is now a permanent job for the State. In most small businesses, it’s nobody’s job.
Three moves worth copying
1. Watch the everyday costs. Big purchases get debated. Lost hours spent re-typing, chasing and waiting never do. That’s where your margin goes.
2. Grow without adding cost. The Passport Office plans to handle 25% more applications next year with the same staff. Before you hire, find the hours you’re already paying for.
3. Focus. Don’t try to fix everything. Pick three areas:
- Your quote-to-cash process
- Your energy costs
- The manual process that should be automated
Efficiency isn’t cutting people. It’s cutting the work nobody would pay for.
Your own taskforce, starting this month
I spend one day in your business, watching how the work really moves and what needs to change. A week later you get a costed list of changes, with the hours saved written against each.
Fixed fee. Permanent efficiencies. If I can’t find five hours a week, I’ll tell you on the day. Spoiler alert: in a business with staff and customers, there are always some.
You’re planning 2027 now. Don’t build it on this year’s waste.
For a business checkup email tom@efficiencydoctors.ie.
EfficiencyDoctors — I give owners their week back.
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