<em>“...with firms predicting faster falls in volumes, values and profitability in the next quarter, we can expect to see significant job losses in the coming months.”<br />
</em><a href="http://www.cbi.org.uk/ndbs/press.nsf/0363c1f07c6ca12a8025671c00381cc7/7b9dfa196273751180257515005b55c5?OpenDocument">Ian McCafferty, CBI’s Economic Advisor </a><br />
<br />
<em>“... more than 35% [of small businesses] considering reducing employee numbers, 36% considering cutting staff working hours, 41% contemplating curbing future hiring and 39% even thinking about closing down.”</em><br />
Results from FSB’s December credit crunch poll released Mon, 8th Dec 08 <br />
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Often the first thing to happen in economic downturn is to cut the headcount. This more than anything should tell you a key relationship exists between business profitability and staff count. It is not difficult to swap out the appraisal and performance interview for the exit interview.<br />
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<strong>Back to Basics</strong><br />
It is not the numbers of staff but how they are coordinated that makes a difference. This principle is the same for whatever size of business. Without a system of planning for staff coordination, throwing more numbers in is as bad as throwing more numbers out – often worse. Nothing is more frustrating than for business managers and fewer staff to see hard won business being lost as headcount cuts are repeated to get costs under control.<br />
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The first thing to do is to get a system that enables staff coordination to be planned as far ahead as possible, at least 6 months and a year or more is better still. Staff cuts may be unavoidable but a swift balance to the business can be re-established and maintained by managing these basics: <br />
<ol>
<li>Know when staff are working</li>
<li>Monitor staff working hours</li>
<li>Know the cost before deploying staff, not after</li>
<li>Introduce flexible working patterns</li>
<li>Plan training days don’t cancel</li>
<li>Manage don’t just record sickness</li>
<li>Schedule leave and record not the other way round</li>
<li>Innovate working strategies don’t guess</li>
<li>Focus on team management</li>
<li>Communicate well defined content</li>
</ol>
We all know failing to plan is planning to fail. A workforce is a good asset which generates a lot of information, so forget manual paper and pencil or spreadsheets to provide a rough guide who and when turns up for work. On the other hand it is not necessary to trigger a corporate budget to get your system in place. With our help and expertise you can have more say over the factors that impact the business most.<br />
