People Cost Optimization

Build a dynamic, future-ready organization

Hiring is expensive, but hiring while optimizing costs is priceless

With an uncertain economy and continually squeezed margins, every organization is under pressure to rethink how it’s creating value. Changes in business models, employee preferences, organizational size and structure and service delivery have made old workforce models obsolete, and employers are struggling to keep up.

Organizations need to consider how they can best allocate their resources amid this pressure. Traditional approaches focus on reducing the organization’s footprint. Today, more businesses need to consider cost reduction as an objective secondary to accomplishing their primary goal of becoming a more effective, innovative organization.

Our consultants will help you take a look at the big picture, with an eye toward realigning your people structure, so you can advance your business goals. We’ll also work with you to identify the right levers to pull to reallocate your resources so you can achieve sustainable cost optimization.

We make change happen

We help you build alignment throughout your organization—from your operating model to your structure, headcount, jobs and rewards—around the goals you have as a business. This work not only results in a leaner organization, but it also accelerates how quickly you can achieve transformation. We’ll help you:

Get the most from your reward spend

You probably know the cost of your rewards program, but do you understand the value of those rewards for your people? Value is hard to appraise, because employee preferences for rewards change over time. That’s where we come in. We quantify reward value, so you can invest in the programs that employees prefer. In over 200 projects, we’ve found opportunities to reduce our clients’ reward costs by at least 5% without reducing their perceived value.

Understand the shape of your organization

As business strategy rapidly evolves, the firms that best execute on their strategy reap the rewards. For most organizations, that means embracing a new way of operating, with new processes, metrics, structures, roles and talent. While cost savings may not be the primary objective for operating model transformation, it’s almost always one of the benefits delivered when the work is done well. Our consultants’ unique combination of capabilities allows us to design and implement an optimized operating model.

Shift work to lower-cost markets

Where you work has a huge impact on costs. We help you rethink the work you do and the operating models you use to determine whether relocating or outsourcing is right for you. And we use the world’s most comprehensive compensation database to help you plan an affordable next move.

Capture the cost synergies of M&A

Over the last three years, the number of M&A deals has reached an all-time high. Unfortunately, many deals don’t deliver the revenue or cost synergies promised to investors. In fact, research shows that, over the last several years, organizational growth and profitability tend to deteriorate following an acquisition. Many of these losses occur because organizations don’t pay enough attention to talent and structural integration. We recently helped a private equity-backed client tackle problems resulting from years of deferred merger integration, which raised its operating margin by 8% and contributed to substantial organic revenue growth.

Lead employees through change

Transformation is always disruptive, especially when it involves job loss. And, unless employees support the changes being made, you’re unlikely to succeed. Our change management practice helps you do four things: make the change clear, make it known, make it meaningful and make it stick. We’ll work with you to map an effective change journey and give you the tools, processes and networks to support your transformation. We’ll show you how to support your people with knowledge and skills that allow them to thrive through change, so you’ll maintain momentum and achieve your goals.

Ready to find ways to reduce your people costs without reducing employee engagement? Contact us.