This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...
Conclusion:
To conclude, this is an opportunity for the beginners and small time folks to make it big. Open your eyes and study the environment you are in. You have got everything to gain right now. It is all in your hands. Take the plunge. Remember the Lord and go forward in what you do. Nothing is too late for you to do anything about it if you are doing something about it right NOW!
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Root Step 10- Final decision on Staff Requirement:
This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...
Root Step 10- Final decision on Staff Requirement:
The crucial decision for any organisation is always regarding the cutting of jobs. But here, I have given this the last priority because if the above steps are followed as mentioned, then by the time you reach the 9th step your door to a smooth business operation in this crisis situation is wide open and you need not even think of making this kind of a decision. You still have your employee family with you. But one in ten, if you still happen to find yourself in a situation where you have to go forward with this decision, then please do it with utmost respect.
Like I said earlier, unless not in a one day emergency, first give a 6 months’ notice period to the staff in those positions which you feel has to be removed from the company. No biased decisions please. Conduct a performance appraisal based on the actual performance of the employees, announce the entire process and then make the decision. But as you do this, please give them your full support that they will be given offers again as soon as the company pulls up its socks. Also you can use your influence and refer them to various Human Resource Consultancies so that it will be an encouraging factor for the employees.
And while this happens you run the risk of creating insecurity in the minds of the rest of the employees. Once again, I urge you to explain the entire reason behind this move but also tell them the truth that it’s fine if the remaining is willing to stay back even though they just witnessed what happened, but there is very little possibility of a huge salary hike during this period. At the same time, if the company comes up, then a salary hike with the dues and perks should be assured to those remaining.
Let’s face it, the majority of the remaining staff are bound to leave despite the promises because the times are uncertain and to them a recovery may not be possible at all, especially after seeing their colleagues being shown the door, and even if there is a recovery it may take a long time which is a very long wait for them. No one can be blamed here. Neither the management nor the staff. But don’t fret, because even if they leave you can always hire freshers who are ready to work for entry level salaries. So in this way, staffing problem can also be solved. But this is a decision only to be taken in the worst of the worst times.
Root Step 10- Final decision on Staff Requirement:
The crucial decision for any organisation is always regarding the cutting of jobs. But here, I have given this the last priority because if the above steps are followed as mentioned, then by the time you reach the 9th step your door to a smooth business operation in this crisis situation is wide open and you need not even think of making this kind of a decision. You still have your employee family with you. But one in ten, if you still happen to find yourself in a situation where you have to go forward with this decision, then please do it with utmost respect.
Like I said earlier, unless not in a one day emergency, first give a 6 months’ notice period to the staff in those positions which you feel has to be removed from the company. No biased decisions please. Conduct a performance appraisal based on the actual performance of the employees, announce the entire process and then make the decision. But as you do this, please give them your full support that they will be given offers again as soon as the company pulls up its socks. Also you can use your influence and refer them to various Human Resource Consultancies so that it will be an encouraging factor for the employees.
And while this happens you run the risk of creating insecurity in the minds of the rest of the employees. Once again, I urge you to explain the entire reason behind this move but also tell them the truth that it’s fine if the remaining is willing to stay back even though they just witnessed what happened, but there is very little possibility of a huge salary hike during this period. At the same time, if the company comes up, then a salary hike with the dues and perks should be assured to those remaining.
Let’s face it, the majority of the remaining staff are bound to leave despite the promises because the times are uncertain and to them a recovery may not be possible at all, especially after seeing their colleagues being shown the door, and even if there is a recovery it may take a long time which is a very long wait for them. No one can be blamed here. Neither the management nor the staff. But don’t fret, because even if they leave you can always hire freshers who are ready to work for entry level salaries. So in this way, staffing problem can also be solved. But this is a decision only to be taken in the worst of the worst times.
What you can do as a Small Business Firm- get back to your Root Steps
This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...
Root Step 1- Change your mindset- See the market situation as an opportunity from a fresher’s eye:
Leave your office for a moment and drive away to your favourite place. It could be a restaurant, a park, your bedroom, whatever. But just go away from your office and sit down in a place where you don’t have anyone to disturb you so you can think peacefully, and see the entire world system revolving around you, from a whole new perspective. Close your eyes and forget that you are the CEO or Manager or Director. Start imagining yourself as a fresh college graduate who wants to make his/her mark in the business world.
You’re fresh, the world is old and the events are new. What are you going to do now? How to start a new business? Which product would you like to invest in? Where are you going to find lenders? Which area do you have in mind? Do you think it would be wise to start an ice cream parlour just because you love ice cream? Or would you open a financial consultancy firm so you can sell your financial wisdom to the investors who are worried sick during this crisis time? Or perhaps you may want to start an agricultural farm because you know how the prices for vegetables are soaring each day and maybe you can be the person who sells it at subsidised rates thereby ensuring daily customers.
It’s your call. Which industry is booming now? Which is slumping? What do consumers want? Which product is required most at which area? You think about it and take the decision. There’s no point looking back and worrying now. But look back if you want to take something useful like the courage you had the first time when you stepped out to do something new, to take the venture into something which you never did and to take the risk when you knew that you were still inexperienced- a fresher. Start thinking like a fresher and you will be surprised at the fresh ideas that come into your mind.
Root Step 1- Change your mindset- See the market situation as an opportunity from a fresher’s eye:
Leave your office for a moment and drive away to your favourite place. It could be a restaurant, a park, your bedroom, whatever. But just go away from your office and sit down in a place where you don’t have anyone to disturb you so you can think peacefully, and see the entire world system revolving around you, from a whole new perspective. Close your eyes and forget that you are the CEO or Manager or Director. Start imagining yourself as a fresh college graduate who wants to make his/her mark in the business world.
You’re fresh, the world is old and the events are new. What are you going to do now? How to start a new business? Which product would you like to invest in? Where are you going to find lenders? Which area do you have in mind? Do you think it would be wise to start an ice cream parlour just because you love ice cream? Or would you open a financial consultancy firm so you can sell your financial wisdom to the investors who are worried sick during this crisis time? Or perhaps you may want to start an agricultural farm because you know how the prices for vegetables are soaring each day and maybe you can be the person who sells it at subsidised rates thereby ensuring daily customers.
It’s your call. Which industry is booming now? Which is slumping? What do consumers want? Which product is required most at which area? You think about it and take the decision. There’s no point looking back and worrying now. But look back if you want to take something useful like the courage you had the first time when you stepped out to do something new, to take the venture into something which you never did and to take the risk when you knew that you were still inexperienced- a fresher. Start thinking like a fresher and you will be surprised at the fresh ideas that come into your mind.
Small Business Firms
This is part of a series of posts I wrote in October 2008 concerning the arrival of the Global Recession...
Small Business Firms
For small business firms, this is a great opportunity. See, the big firms are big because their investments are big, their stakeholders are big, their manpower is big, their commitments are big, their dues are big, their profit expectations are big and the risks they take are big. Their whole business model is a big cycle. That is why they are called big business firms. So a dip in their profits will definitely cause a big impact on them. This affects their dues, their commitments, their manpower, their stakeholders and the result is too costly for them to depend on their investment which is why they have so much to lose in this period of uncertainty. Hence they have some major changes to make in their strategies.
Small Firms- Big Hopes
Small business firms have got small investment. The risk is lower here. Yes, the problems you face are similar in nature to those of the big firms. But the cost of recovery and costs to be incurred in making changes are considerably very much lower as compared to your big brothers. You can start by minimising your profit forecast, cut down the price of your product and provide discounts, devise different effective ‘Need of the Hour’ marketing strategies; reduce your distribution channels, apply resource management techniques and simplify the transportation routes to yield minimum costs, strictly adhere at minimising administration costs, and there is in fact so much more you can do if you just sit, calculate your ledger books and analyse the whole thing from a new and different perspective.
Small Business Firms
For small business firms, this is a great opportunity. See, the big firms are big because their investments are big, their stakeholders are big, their manpower is big, their commitments are big, their dues are big, their profit expectations are big and the risks they take are big. Their whole business model is a big cycle. That is why they are called big business firms. So a dip in their profits will definitely cause a big impact on them. This affects their dues, their commitments, their manpower, their stakeholders and the result is too costly for them to depend on their investment which is why they have so much to lose in this period of uncertainty. Hence they have some major changes to make in their strategies.
Small Firms- Big Hopes
Small business firms have got small investment. The risk is lower here. Yes, the problems you face are similar in nature to those of the big firms. But the cost of recovery and costs to be incurred in making changes are considerably very much lower as compared to your big brothers. You can start by minimising your profit forecast, cut down the price of your product and provide discounts, devise different effective ‘Need of the Hour’ marketing strategies; reduce your distribution channels, apply resource management techniques and simplify the transportation routes to yield minimum costs, strictly adhere at minimising administration costs, and there is in fact so much more you can do if you just sit, calculate your ledger books and analyse the whole thing from a new and different perspective.
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