A hiring freeze, reduced work hours, wage rollbacks, job sharing, early retirement, unpaid leaves of absence and school breaks.
These are all alternatives to laying off employees in these tough economic times, says human resources expert Cissy Pau, who led a Westbank and District Chamber of Commerce workshop on Tuesday.
“An employer should never jump into layoffs just to save some money short-term,” said Pau, a principal at Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting and an instructor with the B.C. Institute of Technology‘s venture program.
“Layoffs throw a company into a tailspin. They should only be used as a last resort.”
The title of Pau‘s seminar was Looking After Your Workforce in Stressful Times.
“Of course, when the economy goes down, almost every worker starts to worry about money and possible layoffs,” she said.
“Employers need to communicate with employees and tell them what‘s going on. Employees appreciate that and will be more willing to help their employer get through tough times.”
That‘s why, if a business‘s goal is to reduce payroll costs, there are an array of options besides layoffs.
“The first and easiest thing a company can do is introduce a hiring freeze,” she said.
“If someone quits or retires, the employer simply doesn‘t replace them and saves money as a result.”
The key to reducing payroll successfully is asking for employee volunteers, says Pau.
For instance, bosses should ask for volunteers who would like to work reduced hours, share a job or take early retirement.
There are also the options of offering unpaid leaves of absence or letting workers take an unpaid break to go back to school. However, the employer could offer to pay tuition.
“When you get volunteers, it‘s a win-win situation.” said Pau. “The employee gets to work some reduced hours – something they couldn‘t do when the economy was booming – and employers achieve reduced payroll.”
A company saving money without layoffs is important because dismissing employees results in loss of brain power and skills.
It also can unnerve the remaining employees who will stress that maybe they are next, affecting attitude and productivity.
“The best thing an employer can do is share as much information as possible and the sooner the better,” said Pau.
“Companies need to explain to their workforces that times are tough and why and what the company is doing to fight it.”
If businesses don‘t explain, employees will start to speculate and worry and the result will be uncertainty and lost productivity.
Pau‘s session was delivered to the Westbank chamber via the Internet from Vancouver as part of a B.C. Institute of Technology business webinar series.
The Westbank chamber hosts another one March 17 on the topic of selling in an economic downturn. It runs 8:30-10 a.m. and costs
$30 for members; $40 for non-members. Call 250-768-3378 to register. Top of Page
