7 Ways to Keep Employees on the Payroll
In tough times, it’s sometimes necessary to let employees go (nice way of saying you’re laying them off). However you say it, it’s not a pleasant task, for either of you. But sometimes there are ways to keep employees on the payroll. Here are some suggestions:
1. Reduce Hours. This is the easiest one, for you. Particularly for hourly employees, you can cut back on hours. Make sure that you are also cutting back on duties and not expecting that person to work fewer hours and accomplish the same tasks.
2. Cut Benefits. I know, this isn’t something you want to do either, but if it’s a question of reducing benefits or laying someone off, this might be an alternative.
3. Ask employees to share more of the benefit costs. An employee might have health coverage and also have a spouse who is working. If you increase the costs of health coverage, the employee might just drop his/her coverage, thereby saving you money. If not, you are still lowering your costs. Another alternative is to drop family coverage and tell the employee you’ll pay for single coverage for the employee but not the family cost.
4. Let attrition work. When someone leaves, don’t automatically replace that person. Find ways to incorporate that person’s duties into those of other employees. You might have to compensate them a little more, but this is a whole lot cheaper than hiring/training/paying an entire new employee.
A couple more ideas, from a recent Wall Street Journal small business article:
5.Ask for volunteers. Some employees might want a couple of months off, if they know they can have their job back. (Without pay, of course.)
6. Give employees a chance to take different jobs. It gets people out of their “comfort zones” and lets them exercise new skills. For managers, this might be a great opportunity to see how another area operates, and a subordinate might have a chance to show his/her stuff as an interim manager in the department.
7. Fire your out-sourcing companies. Give employees the opportunity to make more money by doing the jobs you have outsourced. For example, an employee who has had a pay cut might want to do some lawn work or cleaning to make up the difference.
In all of these suggestions, one principle comes out clearly: be creative. Don’t say, “we’ve never done it; we can’t do it.” Give employees a chance to be creative along with you and offer suggestions. You might create a better company. Hard times bring out the best in people, so let them shine.
What other suggestions do you have for saving employee jobs or minimizing layoffs in tough economic times?
Tags: , cut-backs, employees, layoffsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Boomer Businesses in Difficult Financial Times, Business Improvements, Employees in Boomer Businesses, Work
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