In a strong economy, IT spending can stealthily grow in an enterprise. Teams are given the flexibility to source their own software, and impactful apps can proliferate virally within an organization. But when times become lean, businesses look to cut costs in just about every department, and IT is no exception. During these times, SaaS platforms are culled, spending is frozen on new platforms, and IT organizations prioritize maintenance functions over transformational spending.

For teams that are distributed across hybrid and remote work environments, as most are today, the technology employees use to communicate is a key driver of workplace culture. Leaders need to understand the role each platform plays in enabling relationships and execution before reducing budgets and slashing tools from the tech stack.

Technology facilitates relationships on hybrid teams

Relationships between colleagues are critical within a company. They drive trust, catalyze new innovations, and create opportunities for mentorship and knowledge sharing across teams.

Miro’s recent “The Ways We Work” survey shows that the way workplace relationships form has changed significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workers previously said that they built relationships through casual conversations in the office. But today, with hybrid and remote work now the norm, these spontaneous in-person conversations are rare. In their place, employees say that the two biggest drivers of relationships at work are closely collaborating with others, and casually chatting through digital tools, respectively. 

CIOs should keep these findings top of mind before removing tools from their tech stacks—especially those that create genuine moments of human interaction. Miro’s survey found that of the 700 knowledge workers who don’t intend to look for a new job in the next year, the primary reason is that they are committed to their teams. But, in absence of face-to-face time, these relationships are delicate, and the removal of key communication platforms might cause them to fade away.

Virtual meetings are draining employee energy

Communicating in a hybrid world of work requires a lot of effort—all the messages, emails, and comments workers send throughout the day slowly drain the juice from a finite energy battery. When that battery hits empty, disengagement and burnout become a real risk. 

Fifty-eight percent of our survey respondents identified “communication overhead”—in-person and virtual meetings, as well as email and instant messaging—as the most draining part of their typical work day. Even workers who go into an office every day find virtual meetings more draining than commuting.

This is also an area where you should consider protecting IT spending. SaaS platforms that enable asynchronous work can reduce reliance on virtual meetings and create more focused time for employees to do impactful work. These platforms include online whiteboards that can help employees visualize ideas, screen recording tools that can replace long meetings with short audio/video messages, and work management apps that keep teams synchronized on a project’s status. 

There’s still room for consolidation

While SaaS can have a positive impact on culture and employee engagement, there are still opportunities to reduce costs in your stack and improve the effectiveness of your tech.  IT should seek opportunities to consolidate redundant apps into organization-wide deployments that remove siloes and create more moments for cross-functional collaboration. For example, an organization with multiple project management or chat apps deployed might pick one of each and roll it out to everyone, saving money and creating more visibility across the organization.

Don’t slash your culture with your stack

Budget cuts are likely inevitable in the coming year, as we’ve already seen with high-profile layoffs, hiring freezes, and R&D cuts from some of the world’s largest companies. But, as you strategize the best way to reduce costs in your organization, don’t lose sight of the role technology plays in culture. Slashing investment in collaboration technology may seem like short-term cost savings, but the long-term effects on relationships, burnout, and engagement may outweigh the benefits in the end.