Though the economy is in OK shape right now, there will come a time when it isn’t, and that will be hard on many businesses. Businesses that face hard times financially have to cut back, and that often means laying off people. That can be tough not only on the people losing their jobs but also on the business itself. Having to do a layoff hurts a company’s reputation, and it also hurts the morale of the remaining staff. And having to do a layoff can mean getting rid of people who have valuable skills, which can mean increased training costs once business picks up again. To help ensure you consider all your options before cutting staff, you may want to work with a restructuring consultant.
A restructuring consultant can help you through a rough patch in your business by offering you advice on business decisions and also offering services to you and employees that might be affected by a layoff. You might be thinking that if you are in such dire straits that you have to lay off employees, why would you spend money on a consultant, but the money can be well spent. A restructuring consultant has the expertise and experience to know what is best for your business during a difficult time.
One of the best ways a consultant can help you is in the area of human resources. For example, if you have to get rid of employees, you may automatically expect to do an involuntary layoff based on certain criteria, such as seniority. However, a restructuring consultant may come up with other ideas. For instance, about 2.5 to 3 million people leave their jobs voluntarily each year, so you may have people on staff who were already contemplating a move somewhere else. Offering a voluntary buyout with severance may push some of those people to leave, which can cut down on the need to involuntarily lay off people. Your consultant also can help those who are forced to leave by connecting them with outplacement services through a professional job placement agency to help them find a new job.
A restructuring consultant also may be help you to avoid laying off people altogether. For example, you might do an across-the-board pay cut or put people on unpaid furloughs. That allows people to keep their jobs, and it might spur some employees to look for work elsewhere. There also might be non-personnel ways to save on costs that you haven’t thought of, and a consultant can help to identify some of those.
A downturn in business can be tough to deal with, but working with an experienced, professional restructuring consultant can help to make things easier and help you to make better decisions regarding the future of your business.