Looking for Savings? Check Your Mobile Telecom Expenses

Research indicates that telecommunications costs are not only the second largest indirect expense, but the third or fourth largest overall expense for a business – and mobile expenses can often be the one of the top reasons for over spending. Advances in technology, the new “mobile” workforce, and the introduction of BYOD (link to blog post) has led to a growing amount of mobile devices in the workplace – and has contributed to ballooning costs in the mobile telecom area. Add to the mix leaner workforces and increasing responsibilities among IT personnel, and managing the cost of mobile telecommunications seems to get lost in the list of priorities for organizations. However, mobile telecom often offers the biggest opportunity for identifying wasteful spending, resulting in cost savings for most companies.

Here are just a few steps you can take to begin managing the cost of your wireless expenses:

• Evaluate and adjust service plans. Every employee’s service plan should align with how their device is actually used. It’s easy to identify usage that results in overage charges – but plans with a high number of minutes that aren’t used are also an opportunity for cost savings. Companies can take advantage of offers such as pooled wireless and blended carrier plans to help avoid waste.

• Reconcile billing records with personnel and accounting files. Telecom bills can be difficult to understand, and when you have multiple vendors providing a variety of services, it’s the perfect storm for companies to end up paying for things they don’t need. For example, employees who no longer work for the company may still have wireless accounts that are open, and the company is paying for. Regularly evaluating billing records and company files can help ensure the company is not overpaying for services that aren’t being used.

• Conduct a Wireless Audit. Thinking this all sounds great, but who has the time to pour through service plan details and billing records? Many companies have found that using a third party to conduct a comprehensive wireless audit is worth more in identified savings than the cost of the audit. Even better, these audits are often offered free of charge.

Effectively evaluating and managing wireless telecom expenses can create a great opportunity for hard dollar savings. If your company uses mobile services as part of conducting business, it’s worth taking a closer look to find out if this is an area that can contribute to a decreased cost in communications expenses.