For example, they might recruit in good times and then shed staff to ride out an economic slowdown. Unfortunately this is the business equivalent of investing in the stock market when share prices are high, and selling when they are low. In good times you are competing with everyone else for the best talent, and when you shed staff you will likely lose your best talent.
But in a recession there are companies that don’t only survive, they thrive. What do they do differently to succeed where others fail?
They get creative, and they do something different. They turn their thinking on its head. They work out what the market wants, and how they can deliver it. They get inspirationally creative to find new ways of making profits.
Recessions bring opportunities. Whilst your competition is busy shedding staff and dealing with increased workload with fewer people, and handling the potentially catastrophic change, low morale, stress and poor work that will follow, you can hone your team and get really creative.
In a recession companies still spend money, but they spend it in different ways. They will always continue to spend money on what they perceive to be the essentials for their business. So the role of the marketing department is to ensure that your product is considered essential.
In simple terms marketing generates sales. If there are fewer customers, or a change in your customers needs, then you will need to change the way you market to them. All of this means you will need to increase the effort and creativity of your marketing department.
When you let staff go you run the risk of allowing your best talent to be snapped up by your competition, leaving your team to struggle in an increasingly competitive market. Letting staff go at any time is disruptive to a team. It creates uncertainty and lowers moral, just at a time when you need to keep your staff buoyant and creative. Nothing kills creativity quicker than stress.
No matter how counter intuitive it feels, do not shed staff in difficult times as it will ultimately create more problems than it solves. Not only in the short term but also when the economy picks up and you want to recruit again, you will be competing with everyone else for the talent. Like the stock market where downturn is a good time to buy, downturn is a good time to retain your best talent. Get creative and turn your thinking on its head.
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