Published In:
The Daily Telegraph Date Published:
29th October 2003 Author:
Jo Rogers
Profile: Pamela Mason, Expense Reduction Analysts
Cost-cutting can be a dirty term in the corporate world but not for the clients of expense reduction analyst Pamela Mason.
Her job has nothing to do with slashing a company's resources or staff. Instead, she analyses areas in which a company spends money -- such as stationery, couriers or cleaning products -- to see if savings can be made. Mason says it's a rare case in which they can't and because her fee comes out of money she saves the companies, businesses are never worse off for calling her in.
Mason is a licensee of Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA), a worldwide firm targeting businesses worth between $10 million and $100 million. ERA's clients include a broad spectrum of businesses including private schools, hospitality, retail chains, car hire companies and even charities.
Mason, who previously ran her own sales and marketing firm with 22 employees, says lifestyle considerations initially attracted her to work with ERA. Most licensees work from home and split their time between visiting clients at their workplaces and doing analyses in private. This means they can work flexible hours and take time off during the day if they prefer to.
"I've got a daughter and I like to be able to be home with her when she comes from school so I often stop working at 4pm and spend quality time with her," says Mason.
"However I'm often at the computer at 5am or 6am and by 9am have got double the amount of work done that I would have if I was in a busy office."
Mason previously spent 16 years in the sales and marketing field, rising to be managing director of her own company which catered principally to four and five star hotels. However she eventually realised she was doing more administrative and people management work than the career she had a passion for.
"You start the company loving what you are doing but you end up being an administrator," she says. "I wasn't doing what I loved -- which for me is people contact."
After hearing about ERA and meeting their selection criteria, she purchased a licence and paid them for an intensive six-month training course in analysis techniques and marketing skills.
Now, although she's still working a 40-plus hour week, she isn't bound to the office and feels a sense of freedom at being able to concentrate solely on one role.
Being a licensee gives her the ability to plan her own time but have the backup of a big firm's offices and resources.
Mason says the experience of being in senior management is vital to her current work because it's necessary to understand the needs of the businesses she helps.
An ERA licensee's role involves marketing services to companies likely to require them and, if hired, going into the company to review its product and service requirements and suppliers.
The cost-saving areas analysed are as unique as the businesses Mason works for, but they range from the telecommunications supplier to the way linen is washed.
Once the analysis is complete, Mason presents the findings to her client and suggests renegotiating deals with current suppliers or switching to new ones. She also makes suggestions about updating work practices to help the company run more efficiently, and can help introduce these.
The client makes the final decisions, and Mason carries their instructions by engaging in negotiations and checking new arrangements are working out. ERA licensees are paid half of any savings they make for a client. They are expected to aim for annual salaries of $120,000 or above.
"The people ERA look for are generally people who have worked in senior management and want a change, lifestyle wise, but would still like to earn the same income," says Mason.
