Business

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, May 16, 2008 Ask employees to help find alternatives to layoffs By Joyce Rosenberg Even though a small company's business may be down and its revenue stream more tentative, it may be quite possible for an owner to avoid laying off employees. The solutions can be obvious, as in reducing expenses. But they can also be found in creativity and cooperation -- asking workers for help in avoiding job cuts. At the manufacturing company where Jim Brady was chief operating officer, things looked bleak. The Detroit area was depressed, sales were down and management was faced with the need to cut labor costs. "We were in a situation where we did not want to be," Brady recalled. The company needed to cut hours, but also keep itself staffed to serve customers. So management proposed to employees a 32-hour week, with shorter work days for everyone. The workers didn't like the idea, but they also said, let us figure out a solution. And they did: a four-day week, structured so everyone had a four-day weekend every other week. "I got what I wanted -- I got the reduced payroll," Brady said, estimating that the company saved about 20 percent on labor costs. And the employees got a dream schedule. "I can only take credit for giving the guidelines and urging them to think," said Brady, who now has his own management consulting business. Human resources consultant Diane Arthur said owners should consider a number of options before laying workers off. "Maybe see if there's another way to utilize their services, perhaps on a consulting basis, or maybe even part-time," said Arthur, who owns Arthur Associates Management Consultants Ltd. in Northport, N.Y. Showing staffers you're trying to help everyone keep their jobs "goes a long way toward boosting morale, and that of course boosts productivity," Arthur said. Moreover, owners should try to avoid doing anything that will create hard feelings. "When the economy picks up, these employees are going to remember and you really don't want that," she said. Most owners will try to cut all kinds of other costs before they start looking to reduce their payrolls. The owners of very small businesses often cut their personal expenses as well. Traci Bisson, who owns Bisson Barcelona LLC, a Barrington, N.H.-based publicity firm, was forced to start chopping expenses early this year when several clients suddenly stopped paying. "It was always in my mind that a layoff is the very last thing," said Bisson, who has two employees. "I have a lot of respect for the people who have dedicated themselves and stayed with me through hard times," she said. "I would do everything to make their sure jobs were secure." So, one of the first things she did was take her son out of day care. Bisson, who runs the business out of her house, managed to get her work done and still look after him. She also canceled important business trips and decided against hiring a consultant. Bisson said that as a result of her austerity budgeting, the company's position is stronger in the second quarter. If you do take steps such as freezing salaries or cutting retirement plan contributions, management experts suggest telling staffers you plan on making up for those deficits when the economy improves -- and keep your word when it does. Avramidis said cutbacks are easier for employees to deal with if they're already working in a company that has a culture that's worker-friendly and that's also honest about what's going on. And, he said, the owner has to take on his or her share of the pain. "Make sure a stretch limo doesn't pick you up at the end of the day," he said. Joyce Rosenberg writes about small-business issues for the Associated Press.

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