Ian McCafferty, CBI’s Economic Advisor
“... 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.”
Results from FSB’s December credit crunch poll released Mon, 8th Dec 08
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.
Back to Basics
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.
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:
- Know when staff are working
- Monitor staff working hours
- Know the cost before deploying staff, not after
- Introduce flexible working patterns
- Plan training days don’t cancel
- Manage don’t just record sickness
- Schedule leave and record not the other way round
- Innovate working strategies don’t guess
- Focus on team management
- Communicate well defined content
