Do I retain my employees? How do I meet payroll? Should I send people on unpaid leave? Should I let go of my team? These are the questions every business is grappling with at the moment. It is not an easy time neither is it black and white.
There is a lot of noise about how people are going to lose jobs. Some will but I challenge the thinking that it has to be the immediate response. It is the reaction we have always seen especially in many of the larger companies. It is what has been taught in many business schools. Allow me to take us through thinking about this in a different way.
Allow me to suggest to you that David should not follow Goliath. Let us be human and wise. Both tell us that it is generally not good for people to be out of employment. We need as many people as possible earning so that they can survive and live. Buy food, pay electricity bills, school fees, water, tea, coffee, order a birthday cake, get something delivered, take an uber, buy wine (while observing distance), top-up credit, etc.
This keeps the economy going. Apart from their own spending, these employees have domestic staff who then have other people they support. One person out of job has a significant impact. Imagine then 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000 people suddenly out of work. This is the time we all need to play our part and do our very best to keep people in jobs! It is not just about our business but the collective effect.
It may not be possible for every business to keep everybody but I think if all of us start with that frame of mind instead of the self-preservation that usually takes over, there could be a lot of creative and interesting things we discover along the way. To the larger Corporate. The Goliath.
You are probably still profitable. You may make less profit – but still profitable. Already the culture and practice of instantly letting go of people just because of less profit or unrealized targets were wrong. Who said profits must always rise and if not, something is wrong?
It is time to change that and this is when you can go beyond thinking of corporate social responsibility as just digging boreholes. You are the example the business community sees because what you do is made public. Take this mantle up and keep people in jobs. You probably have cashflows or reserves that can keep the business running for a while.
Your shareholder won’t die because dividends weren’t paid. Senior management can go without perks for a while if that’s what it takes. Now that we can’t travel, you will note the costs of business class tickets are already a few people’s annual incomes.
I have the feeling this experience will show us how many of those meetings were really necessary. Go beyond your P & L into purpose. The biggest collective purpose just became employment. Take one for the team! To the SME’s, where many of us fall. We are the engine of the economy.
It is time for David like habits to shine through. These suggestions do apply to big Corporates as well by the way. Goliath can learn from David. See where the rabbit hole can go. Start with the spirit of keeping people in jobs then explore the options particularly if this disruption may only be for a time. If you do have ongoing cashflows or reserves pay people for as long as you can.
Consider alternatives like partial payments depending on if and how long your business is affected. Look at which expenses can be cut or renegotiated e.g. rent, loan payments, etc. A friend of mine is even doing survival kits for her staff. Even if you can’t pay, you can make sure people have food and basics.
A lot of people’s incomes are taken up by loans so you can train them on how to have discussions with lenders or with the landlord. Do get in touch with us should you want assistance with this. No matter what the situation is, keep lines of communication open. Let them weigh in.
In the course of running business, I have been pleasantly surprised to find people tolerating very delayed pay during tough times. This is when true leadership shows. Is your vision, purposes, motive, energy compelling enough to keep people engaged? A correction that is coming our way in business is that money was never meant to be the primary reason why people work for you.
You may be assuming that without full pay or pay at all people will not step up. You may also have to adjust your mindset and allow people to figure out other sources of income as they continue to work. Human beings are multidimensional and it is time to let that be explored.
You can be a lawyer and an artist. Maybe we will debunk that we need to work eight controlled hours a day to be productive. There are some businesses that will be disrupted for much longer periods or permanently so letting go of people may be unavoidable. However, think through whether this could opportunity for re-invention and innovation.
You may need at least some of your team members to still do this. Re-hiring and re-training later is also expensive. In all this, I am not relieving the employees of responsibility. The same principles first and foremost apply to your domestic staff. Keep them in jobs and even if they can’t physically be there – pay them.
There are people, still on full pay, talking about giving unpaid leave. That’s absurd! Also, recognize and be alert that your employer is going through a tough time. It is time to be part of the solution. Put your hand up to do over and above. In all this, the person who just sits there and waits for a salary is going to be discovered (will publish an article shortly on this) and there is no reason for an employer to struggle to keep you.
We can help you figure out what extra you can bring to the table. It is time for people (employers & employees) in business to really show up. Business should not just be a place where financial transactions are the foundation of relationships. Let’s do our best to keep the right people in jobs.
Article Written by Waceke Nduati (Entrepreneurship Coach, Author, Founder (Centonomy Ltd).
Waceke’s book Making Cents is now on sale at selected bookstores and also available to order on 0715085777. For queries on speaking engagements and training programs (which are now online) get in touch through waceke@centonomy.com