One of the most difficult things to do if you run a small business is to lay off your employees. In a large Corporation perhaps it is a lot easier because there is someone at the top that you can blame when you hand someone the slip of paper telling of the bad news, telling them they no longer have a job. You can simply say you’re sorry, but the budget cuts have already been decided from the boss’s boss.
When you own a small business you have to look your employee in the eyes and tell them that you can no longer afford them, or that they are not valuable enough to keep paying them during the recession. It’s hard to run a little company where you are on a first name basis with every single person that works for you, people you know and whose families you know, and I am sure you know the names of their pets as well.
One of the most important things you can do if you have to lay off workers, is to stay in touch with them, because when the business picks back up you are going to want to hire workers again, and it is a lot easier to hire someone that’s already worked for you that you don’t have to train. After all, a new employee doesn’t provide much productivity to your business until they become efficient in the way you do things.
A company can save a lot of money by hiring back to their old employees as the economy gets better. And guess what? The economy is getting better, customers are starting to shop again, and sooner or later you’re going to need all those people back. If you don’t stay in touch with them, then you have to take risks hiring new people you don’t know. And you might go through three or four people just to get the employees who you can trust. Indeed, I hope you will please consider this.