Don't Feed Them to the Wolves!

Every year, thousands of businesses close their doors – for good. When the economy is bad, those numbers can double. Surviving during a recession is possible, but you have to work smart to keep your business alive. It's not easy, and there are hard decisions to make, but it can be done.

One of the smartest decisions your company can make during an economic downturn is to reevaluate your priorities and focus on your employees. Layoffs are common, but what happens with the employees you keep? They are your best, right?

A reduced workforce means less staff with more duties. Some lack the experience of the responsibilities they have inherited. It is always best practices to cross-train your employees and document desk procedures for coverage during an unexpected illness, vacation, or family crisis – and in this case – a recession. However, a number of organizations do not have these safeguards in place. This is the one area you should NOT skimp on when cutting expenses. It is imperative that you give your employees and your managers the tools they need to keep your organization running.

Train them! Workshops, eLearning, onsite training programs are essentials for your staff to perform efficiently and effectively. Remember, they are your best – you don’t want to lose them now. Replacing a good employee will cost you one and a half times their annual salary in lost company ‘memory’, lack of basic process familiarity, and on-the-job training. A new employee will require from three to six months to be familiar enough with his or her new position to perform efficiently and effectively, and even more time to get to the same level of productivity as the employee you lost. It’s better to invest in who you have now, than to double your expenses later, whether in a recession or not!

Communication, commitment, leadership, training, and follow-through with all levels of your staff will not only encourage and motivate them, but also create high performance teams within your organization, and as your reward, build a results-driven high performance organization for years to come.

Kathy Nesselroad has more than 20 years of corporate management, team-building, and leadership skills. She is the President of Ally Professional Coaching Services, LLC and a strategic partner with 360 Solutions, an international training and development organization.