Sometimes when changes are implemented, not everyone joins the journey.
It is tempting to leave people to work things out for themselves, but there are risks attached to this, as it could be these people who are preventing change from happening.
If nothing else, it generates waste and loss. This quick calculation will help you understand how much doing nothing is actually costing you.
Start by answering these four questions. Make a note of your answers. If you would prefer, you can get a copy of the worksheet lower down this page.
Now you have your core data, let’s work out how many hours have been lost so far.
Now, how much more time will be lost if you do nothing.
To turn this into a cost, you now need to calculate the average cost per person per hour in your organisation. We will call this number X.
If you know this, we are very impressed. If you are like us and don’t happen to have that number on the tip of your tongue, then use the lookup table we have provided. Consider what you think most people in your organisation earn, then pick the range that is closest to that.
Average Salary Cost per hour
15,000 – 25,000 15.38
25,000 – 35,000 23.08
35,000 – 50,000 32.69
50,000 – 70,000 46.15
70,000 -100,000 65.38
To calculate the average, we took the mid-point of the range and added 50% to cover overheads such as tax, maybe a desk and some heat and light (unless your company is run by someone called Ebenezer). We then dived by 52 weeks and 37.5 hours. Feel free to change any of these to make the number reflect your organisation.
To calculate the actual cost, add together the total number of hours (Y+Z) that you have already calculated and multiply by the average hourly cost (X).
This is a great exercise to complete with your colleagues, as it builds the momentum to take control of the change and do something different.
If you would like our free worksheet click the image below to open the pdf version in a new window, you can then save a copy to your computer.
Cost of Doing Nothing - Worksheet
If you’re planning change in your organisation we’re here to help.
We deliver programmes to leaders and teams that encourage them to think differently about change, seeing it as an opportunity rather than a threat.
