Managers fear excessive admin will slow business growth

60% of business decision makers expect double-digit growth for their company in 2016, according to new research from fleet and vehicle management company LeasePlan. However, more than seven out of 10 admit that to some extent excessive admin is actually slowing the growth of their company.

Decision makers at large SMEs (between 251-1000 employees) claim to spend an average of 92 minutes on admin tasks every day. It’s only slightly less for decision makers at small SMEs (250 employees or fewer), who claim to spend an average of 76 minutes on admin. The most common time drainers highlighted in the LeasePlan research include administrative tasks (59%), email communication and management (50%), and vehicle management such as fuel expenses and claims (32%), as well as taxing and insuring company vehicles (32%).

If they could recoup the time spent on admin, 61% of those surveyed would choose to do something that had a direct effect on the company’s bottom line. Over a quarter of those surveyed (26%) claimed they would find and engage with new suppliers, one in five (19%) would deal with customer retention and one in six (16%) would pursue new business opportunities.

Matt Dyer, Managing Director at LeasePlan comments: “It is concerning that such a high percentage of decision makers believe administrative tasks are having a direct impact on company growth. Talented people hired for their expertise in sales and business development should not be wasting their time on excessive admin. Having an understanding of which administrative tasks end up being unnecessary time drains and removing them from the task list should hopefully have a more positive effect on business growth.”

Dyer continues: “At LeasePlan we cannot remove admin tasks completely, but we can reduce the administrative tasks that come with the management of a company vehicle or fleet. There are so many services available to help businesses with everything from vehicle ordering, maintenance management, arranging insurance, mileage management and monitoring vehicle efficiency. With these time-drainers removed, business decision makers have more time to focus on the job they were hired to do and strive for the 10-40% growth that so many of those surveyed are striving towards.”