Game-changing solutions to help cut your hybrid office costs
The demand for labor and competitive wage increases has skyrocketed. To help offset those increases, businesses have realized that lowering operating costs with the right mailroom equipment and technology is paramount. To help you build a modern office, we look at the different tools and intelligent solutions your business needs to invest in to cut costs while creating a cohesive, employee-centered environment.
How hybrid work is affecting mailrooms
According to a recent Glassdoor survey, 35% of workers are hesitant to return to the office due to COVID concerns. In San Francisco and New York City, fewer than 21% of employees are back in the office. And a staggering 75% of employees want to continue to work flexibly. As a result, hybrid work is the next normal; unraveling the confusion of who is in the office when has and will continue to take a hefty toll on mailroom resources.
Here are the top two cost-saving strategies to consider that will help you to improve efficiency in your mailroom:
1. Meter your Mail
Using a postage meter should be the first step to improve efficiencies in your mailroom operations to lower mailing costs. Postage meters apply postage in seconds, eliminating time spent placing postage on outgoing physical mail, doing away with time-consuming trips to the post office. Employees are able to concentrate on their higher priority tasks instead of manually applying postage. Additionally, postage meters ensure you pay correct postage on each item you send and take advantage of postage discounts to save cents on the pieces you send. You provide the weight of every item processed, preventing over and underspending, and gain the ability to replenish your postage supply 24/7. Using a postage meter in combination with other mailing solutions, such as a folder inserter, cuts time and money, ensuring a happier internal and external client experience.
2. Go paperless
Implementing the right technology and mailing equipment can generate enormous bottom-line savings when going paperless is executed company-wide.
The Campus Hub: A game-changer for hybrid offices
If you’re looking to offer a well-rounded strategy for your office, that focuses on cost-savings and modernization, the Campus Hub™ delivery model is what you need. The Campus Hub model creates a centralized mail and package delivery via a set of intelligent lockers instead of a mailroom – a significant process improvement in terms of labor and business expense. In addition, intelligent lockers enable employees to retrieve their deliveries at their convenience throughout the workday or when they’re next in the office. When incorporating outdoor lockers, asset retrieval is made available 24/7.
Campus Hub is used in conjunction with Parcel Pending by Quadient’s industry-leading smart locker hardware and Quadient’s Web Tracking System (WTS). This system provides complete visibility into where any current assets are at any time once they are delivered into the system.
When an item is delivered for an employee, the recipients are automatically notified by email, text, or mobile app alert. This notification includes a unique access code they can manually enter or a barcode they can scan for contact-free access.
Another key benefit of the Campus Hub solution is that the software automatically sends reminders if packages and goods haven’t been retrieved. These stale package alerts work for both the recipient and mailroom employees.
Beyond mail & packages: Turn your smart lockers into a distribution center
Parcel lockers can be deployed beyond mail and packages. Intelligent lockers, such as those used for Parcel Pending’s Campus Hub, act as a central distribution system for asset transfer – including ID materials, parking passes, IT equipment, documents, and more. Ingeniously, they also work to return items too.
As hybrid models become the cornerstone in today’s working culture, storing personal effects also comes into play – particularly when there are no longer dedicated decks or cubicles for each employee. As Jeffrey Gay, an architect and designer for MOI, explains: “Everyone wants to control their personal effects. With the open office colliding with the hybrid workplace, you don’t always know who is in the space. You want to know that your things are safely locked away”.
Save on costs and reap the benefits with Campus Hub
Installing a Campus Hub will significantly reduce operating costs while optimizing the customer experience. Some Parcel Pending by Quadient clients, for example, have shaved off as many as 24 hours per week in labor costs with their commercial locker solution. Furthermore, package delivery becomes more efficient with delivery time lowered up to 78%. Unexpected savings also comes from postage costs: mailroom staff no longer need to ship packages to local employees as they can now be securely delivered to the lockers and stored until the employee can come to retrieve their item.
Parcel Pending by Quadient and you
Lockers are customizable by size and configuration, enabling seamless scalability to meet your changing company needs or an expanding employee base. Logos, color wraps, and specialized designs are also available to ensure consistent company branding or meet your building’s aesthetic.
Contact us for more information about how a Campus Hub or Quading Mailing Solution will help your business improve efficiency while significantly reducing costs.