To help your business survive and thrive during these uncertain times you need to look after your staff.

For many businesses their staff is their biggest asset.  And how you look after your staff during times of uncertainty is one of the makers or breakers of your ability to survive and thrive.

And to demonstrate this I want to talk about how two different businesses I know, handled their staff during previous business downturns where both companies had to cut staff costs to survive.

Business 1 made the decision to make selected staff redundant with little consultation with the staff, and with very little support for the outplaced staff.  Business 2 was very open with its staff and talked about the need to reduce staff costs.  They presented them with some alternatives.  Either terminate about 20% of the staff or everyone (including management) takes a pay cut of 20% for a period of time.  The staff took the 20% pay cut.

What was interesting to see was the impact of these two different approaches on the culture of the staff.

The remaining staff at Business 1 felt no loyalty to the business as the business was not loyal to them.  As soon as the economy picked up, the good people left.  So even though the business could start to grow its revenues again, it did not have the right people to deliver and it missed its opportunity to ride the upturn.

The staff at Business 2 felt loyalty to the business because of the way they were treated.  When the economy turned, they all went back to 100% pay and they all largely stayed to help the business ride the upturn.

Both businesses had to cut staff costs and both survived.  But only one thrived – Business 2, the one that looked after its biggest asset, its staff.  And Business 2 avoided a whole lot of hiring and training costs to bring in new staff.

Now, you may not be able to avoid terminating staff.  What is important is how you do it.  Do it with respect and dignity.  Pay them properly and try and help them as best you can.  Give them a positive recommendation.  Connect them personally with anybody who may be in a position to employ them.  What is important that these people (and the remaining team), will remember you for how you let them go and most will understand why.

Look out for more strategies from my Business Survival Guide to ensure your business can survive and thrive during these uncertain times.

Need help in reviewing the options with your staff?  Use the below form to contact me or call me on 0412 227 052

Contact Wayne Wanders for your FREE Business Survival Session

To ensure I help your business specifically, the best approach I have found is to have an obligation free session with you.  In this session we will review your current business in a factual and objective manner, to better understand the challenges that you face.  And this session does not need to be face to face.

At the end of this session, you will have multiple ideas on how your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Simply fill in the contact form below or email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052 to organise one of these obligation free sessions.

To get help you successfully navigate your way through your financial challenges so your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times, simply use the contact form on the left to email Wayne or call him on 0412 227 052.

Let Wayne Wanders, a fully qualified and experienced CFO, help you successfully navigate your way through your financial challenges so your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO

wayne@aRealCFO.com.au