Four ways to streamline costs under the National Living Wage Increase

As announced on the 29^th October 2024, April 2025 will see the UK National Living Wage increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour. The boost is worth £1,400 a year for over 3 million eligible full-time workers over the age of 21.

Similar increases are also being put in place for younger workers, with the National Living Wage for Under 21s raising from £8.60 to £10 per hour, and wages for apprentices in an industry such as construction raising from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour.

So what does this mean for the average UK small business?

Well, while this is obviously good news for workers, it represents yet another challenge for SMBs - who will soon have to contend with increased employee wages as well as the recent price hikes for energy, post, groceries, and general inflation, among others. When coupled with the raise to employer national insurance contribution to 15% also in April, it’s safe to say that, at this point, the pressure is on - and needs to be alleviated from somewhere before next year's increases. 

To that end, here are some easy changes you can utilise to get the most value for your budget:

Automate Your Processes

One quick and easy way to start creating cost efficiencies is by automating manual, standardised processes. This way, the same tasks are being completed, but your staff’s time is freed up to perform more business-critical tasks alongside - meaning you’re getting better value for your employee hours, but without disrupting your existing setup.

Invoice processing is a prime example of a task that actually works better as an automated process – since it drastically decreases both processing time and the chances of human error, ensuring your financial records are up-to-date and accurate with very little staff resource required.

Outsource Your Business Post

In a similar vein, outsourcing certain business processes to a provider can also generate cost efficiencies. For instance, energy provider So Energy significantly reduced their postage costs by outsourcing their business mail through a Hybrid Mail service.

This service allowed So Energy to remove the physical aspect of sending business mail – since the AutoMail software routes digital documentation through Apogee’s secure ODS facility, where it is printed and distributed to customers. Now free of physically handling mail, staff use their time to provide a more dynamic, responsive service – improving So Energy’s reputation as a customer-centric provider and making them more attractive to potential business.

Streamline Your IT Infrastructure

While streamlining your IT infrastructure is sometimes easier said than done, working together with a Managed Workplace Services provider creates many opportunities to reduce costs. With the help of a Managed IT Service, McCambridge Duffy were able to decrease their remote desktop servers from thirteen to four - facilitating better remote collaboration, while completely eliminating average monthly costs of £31,000 caused by IT outages.

With simpler IT infrastructure in place, McCambridge Duffy now have zero IT outages per month, as opposed to multiple – with the cost of ongoing support already consolidated into a manageable regular payment plan for more predictable annual budgeting.

Centralise Your Office Print

Business print is a common hotbed for unnecessary costs, especially if your devices belong to different brands. By trading their mixed print fleet into a standardised and supported Managed Print Service, hamper company Virginia Hayward were able to make 80% savings on man hours.

Before the transition, Virginia Hayward’s IT team were continually being distracted from other tasks to deal with troublesome paper jams – with the dispatch team only able to prepare for the current day, plus one in advance. After the transition to same-brand equipment more specialised to their needs, support fell under Apogee’s remit – and with device uptime now maximised, Virginia Hayward are able to prepare for the current day, plus seven, and all with only minimal employee resource required.

While the current state of the world could mean that more price hikes are likely on the horizon, investing in modern workplace technology solutions is the key to keeping your operational costs down – not to mention giving your business the best chance of adapting to new challenges.

For more information of how we can help you to create cost efficiencies, contact us by using the form below.