Telecom cost control is one of the most powerful levers businesses have for redirecting resources toward what matters most — their people. Learn more about telecom expense management and how getting telecom spending under control can free up significant budget for employee investment. Communication is an essential part of any organization. Many businesses are wired to accommodate desk phones as well as internet connectivity to cover a broad range of employee and customer preferences. However, as mobile devices have become a regular part of the workplace, organizations now must account for these expenses and the support that they require.
Since these mobile devices are often user enabled or owned, it can be difficult to track all of the expenses related to these gadgets along with your other communication tools, creating rifts in resource planning. Telecom expenses could be holding back investment in your employees, but there are some things that you can do to get them back on track.
The Real Cost of Poor Telecom Cost Control
Businesses rely on telecom tools to reach out to providers, suppliers, employees, clients and more. It’s certainly important to have the best solutions available, but the sheer expanse of the technology can make it difficult to monitor. According to Harvard Business Review, 15 to 20 percent of an organization’s overall spending isn’t managed very closely. This typically involves things like supplies, hardware and telecom assets.
Some departments may choose to pursue communication policies or tools without seeking direct approval for such a move. The problem is that it can become expensive very quickly and create complexity within the organization’s architecture. For example, if the majority of a business worked with desk phones, but one team bought mobile phones without IT or management authorization, this could result in a number of issues. The business would end up paying for resources it didn’t know it had, and any compliance or support needs could result in higher costs.
Breaking Down Telecom Costs That Drain Employee Budgets
Organizations already pay a considerable amount for telecom expenses alone. In fact, about 4 percent of an organization’s revenue goes toward telecom and related network services. However, 26 percent of these expenses typically could have been avoided or are the result of errors. With business budgets being increasingly tightened, that amount of unnecessary spending could have been used for other areas, like investment in your employees.
Many organizations lay out their financial plans ahead of time, and it’s difficult to take any resources from areas to be devoted toward other necessities. According to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends, payroll and employee-related expenses consistently rank among the largest and most inflexible cost categories for businesses across every industry. While this may seem like a lot, this may only cover the base wages. Some resources aren’t as flexible to be used toward bonuses, uniforms, training or other fringe benefits. Every dollar recovered through telecom cost control is a dollar that can be redirected toward the people driving your business forward. Identifying the 3 costly telecom expenses hiding in plain sight is often the fastest way to start recovering that budget.
Telecom Cost Control Starts at the Organization Level
“The true cost oversight and expense governance start at the organization level.”
Employees are the lifeblood of any company, and telecom is a critical tool in helping them to perform effectively. However, your communications tools don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, as long as you manage them closely. According to a study by Ernst & Young, more telecom vendors are aiming to improve their cost control and business efficiencies — in fact, 50 percent of them made this an important strategic priority.
The true cost oversight and expense governance start at the organization level. To roll more investment into your employees, review your telecom bills to identify any odd expenses. It’s also important to take stock of all the tools that you have at your disposal. Consult your vendor to find out exactly what you’re paying for versus what you actually need. If you have a landline, but everyone uses mobile phones, it may be time to retire your desk phones. It will be important to assess what hardware and software assets are still providing value versus ones that are taking up space and costing you money.
Company cost analysis must also take employee performance into account. How well are workers utilizing their resources? Are they fulfilling their job requirements and improving their productivity or are they meeting roadblocks? These questions can help justify costs and identify areas that can be cut back for investment in the staff. When businesses examine there “values” telecom values it often reveals a disconnect between what leadership prioritizes and where telecom dollars are actually going.
How TEM Enables Smarter Telecom Cost Control
With telecom expense management, organizations can easily analyze what resources aren’t valuable to their operations anymore. TEM will help organizations decrease overall telecom costs and put money back into business pockets to use for investment in their employees.
A structured TEM approach gives finance and IT leaders the data they need to make informed decisions about every line item on their telecom bills. Rather than paying for services that sit unused or contracts that no longer reflect current needs, TEM creates a continuous feedback loop of visibility, audit, optimization, and savings. The result is a leaner telecom environment that costs less to maintain — and a growing pool of recovered budget that can be reinvested where it generates the most value: your people.
Organizations that implement disciplined telecom cost control consistently find that the savings generated exceed initial expectations. Billing errors, zombie services, unauthorized purchases, and expired contract terms all represent recoverable costs that compound significantly over time. Following a structured approach like the one outlined in 6 steps toward managing telecom expenses gives organizations a clear path from unmanaged spending to optimized, fully visible telecom costs.
Start Redirecting Telecom Savings Toward Your People
The connection between telecom cost control and employee investment is direct and measurable. Every unnecessary telecom expense your organization eliminates is budget that can be redirected toward salaries, training, benefits, and the tools that genuinely improve productivity. The businesses that make this connection explicitly — treating telecom optimization as an employee investment strategy rather than just a cost-cutting exercise — consistently achieve better outcomes on both fronts.
Telecom expense management makes this possible by giving organizations the visibility, tools, and expert support needed to take control of a complex, ever-growing cost category. The question is not whether your organization has recoverable telecom costs — it almost certainly does. The question is how quickly you want to start putting that money to better use.
Ready to redirect your telecom savings toward your employees? Contact Valicom today and let our experts identify exactly where your telecom budget is being wasted — and how to get it back.
