Cutting software spend without weakening management
Key idea
Cut waste. Keep the habits that help people.
Protect the useful habit
Reducing overlapping subscriptions can be sensible. The question is which work still needs support after the tool is gone. A lower software bill helps little if the same coordination effort returns as extra work for an already stretched team.
For 1:1s, protect shared preparation, clear priorities and reliable follow-through. Those habits help a manager notice when responsibility has grown beyond someone's capacity and decide what needs to change.
A smaller service can be enough
List what your team uses before renewing a broad platform. A recurring manager-report conversation may need shared agenda topics, actions, private notes and accessible history, without a wider performance-management programme.
A shared document can work too. Compare the time needed to prepare, find context and track promises. Choose the least costly setup that both people will reliably use; paying for a dedicated tool is not evidence of good management by itself.
Compare the licensing model fairly
Consider a hypothetical team with three managers and five direct reports per manager, with no overlapping roles. Counting managers gives three licences; counting every participant gives eighteen. That is a difference in counted seats, not a claim about any supplier's total price.
| Model | People counted in this example | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Per manager | 3 managers | Included features and limits |
| Per participant | 18 people | Actual price and minimum commitment |
Use the actual quotes and terms before drawing a cost conclusion. A lower seat count does not establish a lower bill if prices, limits or included services differ.
Keep the human support
When removing a system, agree where both people will prepare and how actions will carry forward. Do not quietly ask direct reports to maintain extra spreadsheets to replace work the organisation has stopped funding.
Use the next 1:1 to ask what has become harder and what can stop. Cost discipline and support belong in the same decision. A manager's job includes adjusting scope and expectations, not only asking people to absorb more.
Duogenda is one focused option for shared 1:1s; current access arrangements and indicative manager-based pricing are explained on the pricing page.