The Cost of Disorganization

Have you ever wondered how much disorganization is costing you or your business?

According to the Inc. Magazine, employees waste an average of 4.3 hours every week looking for things that they have but can’t find. Time wasted looking for documents, electronic files, important emails and other things is lost productivity and money down the drain.

In addition to salary dollars, there are less tangible costs of disorganization that impact business performance and success. To accurately understand all of the costs of disorganization, businesses must also consider:

• lost revenue from hidden costs, such as poor customer service and potential damage to reputation (things falling through the cracks)
• missed sales opportunities (lack of follow through)
• employee burnout and turn-over (increased stress and impact on wellness, or high achieving employees who leave for a better organized work environment)

Disorganization: By The Numbers

Have you ever calculated how much money the time wasted or spent looking for things is costing your business? If you spend just 5 minutes of every hour of an 8-hour work day looking for things, that adds up to 40 minutes per day or over 4 weeks per year (166 hours). In reality, many people often spend an hour or more per work day looking for something (and how often do you only work 8 hours a day?).

The cumulative cost of disorganization adds up fast when you take each employee’s hourly pay rate and multiply it by 166 hours per year. For example: $25/hour X 166 hours = $4,150/year, lost just to looking for things! That is just for one employee earning about $50K/year salary. Multiply $4,150 by the number of employees and the cost quickly escalates.

Today, with the added challenges of digital disorganization, the time lost to searching for electronic files brings this overall productivity loss even higher. Surely you can think of many better ways to spend those resources!

The “Other” Costs of Disorganization

Employee productivity and morale, as well as customer service, loyalty and reputation are also negatively impacted by workplace disorganization. Studies show that time searching for misplaced materials has a significant impact on professional perception, productivity and morale. People also generally feel less productive in a cluttered workspace.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, the trick is to “master the mess”. The overwhelm that starts in our minds can also manifest itself physically. Simply working more or working harder isn’t the answer. In fact, it might even create more of the same problem!

“It’s About Time” To Get Organized!

Do you or your employees need help becoming more organized and productive? Do you want to learn how to implement more effective strategies to manage your time, tasks, email, priorities, meetings and team? We’ve got you covered!

Individual consulting and coaching is the most customized way to make a transformation. We’ll get to the root of your challenges, teach you strategies to be more productive, guide you as you implement these strategies and build new habits, and hold you accountable as you continue to progress, and achieve the results you’re after (all with less stress).

Included in some of our private coaching practices, and offered as a stand-alone service, the “Its About Time – The Ultimate Virtual Productivity Program”, will provide a group experience that helps you implement new systems and habits to achieve the results you desire.

Sign up here for a free Discovery Call to explore the right solution for you or your employees needs.

How much would your business stand to gain by getting better organized?