When a business is struggling, one of the first things a CEO does is slash the workforce by a not inconsiderable amount. Immediately following this behavior, the company’s stock goes up by a not inconsiderable amount. It seems that shareholders really love it when people are fired by the thousands. The more people who are let go at once, the more the company is rewarded for such a “bold” move.

These days, employees are treated like so much baggage. They are luxuries when times are good, but unjustifiable expenses when things go pear-shaped. But employees are neither luxuries nor expenses. They are people, and a necessary part of your business. If they were not necessary, it would be irresponsible to hire them in the first place. So provided you had good reasons to hire them, you should have plenty of incentive to keep them. Here are some other places you can cut the budget while leaving your staff in place:

Utilities

Whether business or residential, we all spend way too much money on utilities. It is hard not to. After all, who thinks about the fractions of a penny it costs to turn on a light? It is extremely difficult to think in terms of micropayments. But those fractions of pennies add up really fast. Before you know it, turning on lights that you don’t need, and leaving lights on far past their usefulness starts costing you real money.

You can do a couple of things right away that will have an immediate impact. First, you can consider a consultancy service to come in and do an audit on your utility bills, survey the site, and provide you with comprehensive reports. To put simply, they can help you see where the money is going, and how it can be saved in certain places. Second, you can change your behavior. Sure, your business needs lights. But do they need so many, and must they burn so brightly? Cutting back where you can is always the best step.

The third thing you can do is shop around for a better deal. If you are in Texas, you can compare the prices of Texas electricity companies to see which one offers the best deal. This isn’t the 1900s anymore. Thanks to deregulation, you now have a choice. So, not just electricity, you can also save money on your water bills by opting for a reliable and feasible supplier. You can explore companies like Switch Water Supplier or similar others providing services near your office premises to get access to information about the water retailers in the market that could accept your water tender based on your monthly requirement. This gives you the power to choose the suppliers and start saving money on business utilities.

Insurance

Of course your business needs to be insured. After all, it is not just your business; it’s your livelihood. If something unexpected happens to it, you could find yourself not only out of business, but with no way to provide for your family.

But that is no excuse for going overboard as many business owners do. A few brilliant ways to save money on insurance are:

• Don’t pay twice for the same coverage
• Take a higher deductible
• Play annually or semiannually
• Keep an emergency fund for things that are uninsured
• Focus on safety and prevention

If flat tire replacement is the only reason you have AAA, and you have flat tire replacement from another insurance company, cut out AAA. Little things like that go a long ways towards balancing the budget.

Try BYOD

You need a fleet of top-flight sales people who need little supervision, not a fleet of low-end computers in constant need of maintenance. You can save a ton of money by simply allowing staffers to bring their own devices to work, and using a MDM solution to manage the devices.

In doing this, your staff will be happier and more productive, as they will be using devices with which they are already familiar and comfortable. They will also be much more inclined to take care of devices they enjoy, and paid for with their own money. Many companies have discovered that BYOD not only saves money; it makes for a more productive workforce.

At some point, every business faces hard times. But those are the situations that reveal our character. Not only is slicing the workforce without good reason bad business, it is bad humanity. Try other options for saving green before handing out the pink.