Onsite Management Group got its start in managing mailroom services. But, a lot has changed over the last few years. As a business owner, you’ll find yourself asking what still works and what do I need to improve? That’s what Onsite Management Group has crafted 10 Tips for a Cost-Effective Mailroom
1) Create a central knowledge base
If you have a series of best practices that are already working for your mailroom, place them in a digital shared folder to make them easier to share. If not that, then create a webpage for your internal employees to easily access these practices.
When you create internal information to be shared among your employees, you open a world of content opportunities. Whether you flip that into web material for external customers or create helpful videos on best mail practices, all information helps you. Centralize it and share the wealth.
2) Scan your mail!
One of the most basic and repeated 10 Tips for a Cost-Effective Mailroom boils down to eliminating the paper trail. When you go paperless and scan your mail, you are creating a fixed supply of digital copies among your employee base. Plus, if something is lost in transit, it makes the material easier to retrieve. For every piece of paper mail you ship, there’s no reason to keep hazardous copies and paper supplies to crowd you facility.
Think smart and scan!
3) Get rid of bad data in your mailroom
Bad data can hurt any business and your mailroom. As we introduce the 10 Tips for a Cost-Effective Mailroom, this one is pretty basic. Out-of-date practices, expensive boondoggles and non practical solutions have to be replaced with best data practices.
That means auditing your mailroom to see if there are any bad traditions, time wastes and other investment wastes that can run your mailroom efficiency.
4) Always keep track of your mail spend
This might sound simple, but it’s true. Many corporate mailrooms lose control of costs due to excessive spend. If there’s no oversight, things won’t go right.
5) Streamline mail handling procedure
You don’t need 13 hands touching one piece of mail before it leaves your facility. Designate mailroom workers and those that initiate the handoff. Couple this with cost-effective metering and digital scanning to ensure that your mail leaves in optimal fashion.
6) Go paperless as much as possible even in mail
Another step in the 10 Tips for a Cost-Effective mailroom is going paperless as much as possible. While paper mail might make this seem impossible, there are ways around this mental block. If you’re still sending memos and announcements by paper mail in 2022, it might be time to invest in a mailing list. While the olden days meant fighting for every eyeball by the mailbox, e-mail and other means can help narrow the channels that actually need paper mail.
7) Control costs beyond excessive paper
You can buy too much paper. There are other things outside of excessive ink, packaging tape and box material that can also nosedive your budget. Time costs, loss of productive employees and constant delays of meeting excessive shipping can create excess costs that drag your mailroom budget.
Again, a mailroom audit can reveal what is needed and not needed in your mailroom.
8) Meter Your Mail
Postage meter customers can save 9% on every 1st class letter and up to 40% on Priority Mail. Please visit Pitney Bowes to learn more!
9) Implement a Delivery Model for your scale
Many delivery model services exist in the open market, but you can suffer from analysis paralysis picking one. If you would like to learn more about changing up your delivery model or finding new ways to better improve your mailroom, please contact Onsite Management Group today!
10) Have a game plan for times of year when volume increases
The Christmas Holidays among select few other times see your mailroom get busy. If you can follow any of the strategies laid out above, make sure to implement them on a schedule that makes the most out of your available employees. Focus your mailroom staff during Holidays and quarterly peaks.
