Ready, Aim, Don’t Fire! Cuts To Make Before You Consider Redundancies

You’re proud of your business startup and all that it’s accomplished. You’re grateful for each and every one of your loyal customers. But there’s no getting around it… The past few months have been tough on your business. As a concerned and proactive leader, you’re doing all that you can to keep your operation afloat in these unprecedented times. And, the unfortunate truth is that this may involve thinking about employee redundancies. As much as it may break your heart to let go of the people you’ve worked so hard to find and develop, it may seem like there’s no other way. But this mentality may prove a false economy that does your business more harm than good in the long term. 

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There are lots of places in which you can make cuts that will enable you to maintain the same quality that keeps your customers coming back. On the other hand, losing members of your team now could actually impede your operational efficiency. Your employees will be more tired and stressed and your customers will undoubtedly notice. Simply put, losing team members now may actually make your brand less appealing to newcomers and potentially alienate existing customers. Besides, it’s not like redundancies are the only way to save money. You should consider these alternatives before you let a single member of your team go… 

Reduce your use of agency workers

Many companies supplement their workforce with agency workers. It’s a great way to lighten your employees’ workload without the expense or commitment that come with hiring, training and onboarding a new member of the team. However, while this may have started out as a cost-saving measure, agency workers can also become part of the furniture long after they’ve become surplus to requirements. While losing an agency worker may be unpleasant, it’s far preferable to losing a member of your team from a personal and cost perspective. 

Rethink your insurance

Your business needs a range of insurance policies for your protection and that of your team members and even your customers. But as your operation expands and your liabilities change, you may find yourself picking up new policies on the fly. You may be surprised how much you could save by consolidating your policies and choosing commercial combined insurance. You can see more information about this at https://insuranceoctopus.co.uk/commercial-combined-insurance/. Not only could it save you money, it can simplify the business of insurance so you have one less thing to worry about. 

Implement pay cuts from the top down

Implementing small pay cuts for employees could  save you enough to prevent redundancies. Of course the notion of pay cuts can incite push back from employees, which is why it’s important to implement them from the top down. Starting with yourself. Once your employees see that you’re in the same boat as them, they may be more amenable to the idea. Especially when they know that pay cuts are temporary.

Consider employee secondments

Finally, if you have a member of your team that you can no longer afford to keep you may be able to make savings by placing them on secondment. Relocating them to another department with a better budget, or even another company with whom you’re on friendly terms may be a viable alternative to letting them go.