Whether you’re the head of a department at a big company or you’re self-employed, one thing is certain; a bad economy forces you to scale down. Unfortunately, many bosses go for the easy fix and lay off employees in order to get the bottom line down to a number that everyone can live with (everyone, that is, except those left without jobs).
However, there are ways a smart business leader can streamline overhead without eliminating the workforce. Depending on how hard the financial meltdown has hit you, it could be your business simply needs a makeover in order for it to be financially fit again. So before you hire some corporate consultant bozo bean counter to come in and fire everyone (leaving you to do all the work), try these five business makeover strategies first.
1) Go Virtual All the Way
Yes, it might be time to give up the big, fancy (expensive) office space in favor of letting everyone work at home. Next to employee salaries and benefits, office space rent is the second biggest expenditure a business has (sometime it ranks first, if a small business has few employees). Email and the Internet are virtually (no pun intended) free by comparison. With communication so readily available in the form of iPads, smart phones, chat rooms, Skype, video conferencing, conference calls, etc., there’s really no reason you and your employees have to all be under one roof in order to get things done.
2) Send Your Travel Budget Packing
For a multitude of reasons (Hello, TSA!) business travel has lost its charm. Plus, it’s more expensive that ever to fly. Most airlines now charge for EVERYTHING from checked luggage to peanuts. I expect any day now they’re going to make us all step on a scale before we board and charge us to fly by the pound!
If your employees can drive to a business location, rather than fly, have them do it. But for business meetings, employee reviews, even sales calls that can’t be reached by car in a reasonable amount of time Skype is the way to go. As mentioned above, a Skype meeting is free, but just like a regular meeting you can still see your employees smiling faces (and you don’t have to spend a small fortune to do it). Plus, they still get to sleep in their own beds at night. It’s a win win situation.
3) Trade Extra Hours for Vacation Time
I used to work for a company where I had to fly out on Sundays to be at a customer’s site by Monday morning. Instead of paying me for my time, my boss gave me an extra vacation day. In a time where everyone is so busy no one can think straight, trading vacation days for extra work is sometimes equally (if not more) valuable to an employee. If you can’t afford to pay your employees for their vacation time, make sure they know it’s a “use it or lose it” situation.
Also, encouraging your people to take some time off makes for more rested and relaxed employees after they come back to work. Or they can choose to stockpile their extra vacation time in their sick leave bank. This is especially attractive to parents who may have to take time off to take care of sick kids.
4) Buy Used Equipment
With E-Bay, Craigslist, and online classifieds there is a plethora of options when it comes to buying stuff used. If you’re looking for something specific for your business anything from computers and printers, to ergonomic chairs can be found used online at places like UsedBusinessEquipment.com or UsedBizStuff.com.
If you’d rather touch and feel your used stuff before you buy it, resale shops, garage sales, and estate sales are greats place to hit when you need to furnish an office. True, you can’t be as picky as when you buy new (and most don’t come with guarantees), but wouldn’t you rather be more flexible about your business purchases if you could shave a few hundred (or thousand) dollars off the cost?
5) Cut Employee Hours
If you give employees the choice of reducing their hours versus a company-wide layoff (or closing the doors for good), which do you think they’d choose? However, be prepared to possibly lose employees if you cut back on their time too much, as they still have to make enough to earn a living. Also, if you provide benefits DON’T cut back on those just because you’re reducing work time. The idea behind this option is that it’s a temporary solution to a long-term problem. People don’t mind giving up one day a week of work, but they don’t want to give up health insurance.
Running a business (or a department) is never easy, but it’s even trickier in a bad economy. However, a company makeover can mean the difference between business as usual or becoming an overworked one-person show. And with all the other concerns a bad economy thrusts upon you, do you really want to have to figure out how you’re going to add more hours to your day?
Have you already given your business a makeover? If so, what are some of the things you’ve done to keep your doors open? We’d love for you to share your insight.
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We’ve all been there: it’s a beautiful day and you can’t bear the thought of going into work. So you call in with the lame-old excuse about feeling ill even though you know your boss doesn’t buy it. Besides, “feeling ill” is at best only a short-term solution that won’t win you any fans at the office. That’s why if you’re going to play hooky, you need an excuse that will help you save face as well as your sanity. Here are some ideas.
1. (For women) “I have really bad cramps.” Now before you dismiss this one, think about it: Who can argue? It’s such an embarrassing topic that nobody will ever challenge you. It’s one of those things that men honestly have no clue about and women can sympathize with.
2. (For men) “I have horrible diarrhea.” Again, before you dismiss this one, remember that it’s such an embarrassing topic — especially for a man — nobody will doubt your sincerity. Plus, it’s simple. You don’t need an elaborate back story because no one wants to hear the details. If anything, your boss and co-workers will admire you for your honesty.
3. “I’m having an allergic reaction to _______, and I need a day to recover.” This excuse requires a few details about when and where it happened as well as the details of your food allergy, but Google should give you everything you need. The upside of this excuse is that you can use it more than once. The downside is that it requires a good memory and some vigilance: for instance, you can’t claim a peanut allergy and then gorge yourself on Thai food at the next company junket.
4. “My grandmother’s/grandfather’s memorial service is today.” This excuse works for two reasons: first, because elderly people die everyday no one is going to think your excuse is unlikely; second, no one is going to question (or resent) a death in your family for fear of offending you. If you play your cards right, this excuse is good for four free days — one for each grandparent — with each new job.
5. “My wife/husband is extremely ill and I need to stay home and take care of them.” The excuse is a gem not only because you get a day off, but also because it makes you seem sensitive. The only drawback is that it requires an accomplice — namely, your spouse. As such, you may want to save this excuse for a special occasion when the two of you can organize a special three-day weekend.
6. “One of my children got in trouble at school. I need to go meet with his/her teacher and the school counselor.” This is only one of a multitude of excuses you can use with mischievous children. Just recycle the same formula — child gets in trouble, child needs help, parent to the rescue. This works with children of all ages, from children traumatized by irresponsible day-care workers to playground fights to errant teenagers. (Hey, this is one of the perks of having kids — they torment us 364 days of the year and we get 1 day off. Fair trade.)
7. “I took some work home last night and will be going through it today from home.” Whoever invented telecommuting should be sainted. Just remember that in order to sell the “working from home” excuse you need to email or call the office a couple times throughout the day to maintain the ruse that you’re working. The best time to do this is at lunch — that way you get credit for the call but you don’t have to answer too many questions.
8. “I have a doctor’s appointment.” At the very least, this excuse is good for a half-day; however, you can get a full day depending on how you plan it. Remember that people are nosy and they will probably toss-out some open-ended questions about how you’re feeling when you get back. The key is to be vague on the details. Visits to the doctor are much more effective if shrouded in mystery, which allows you maximum flexibility if you need to use the excuse again.
9. “I got pulled over for speeding on my way to work the other day and I have to go to traffic school.” The idea here is that you had minor trouble with the law (emphasis on minor) and you have to pay your dues. A variation on this would be letting your license expire — or at least claiming it did — which means you had to go to the DMV and take a written test as well as a driving test, which could easily take a full day. After all, the DMV has its reputation for a reason. And finally …
10. “My accountant made some clerical errors on my taxes and I’m being audited.” In the wake of the Enron scandal and the demise of Arthur Andersen, this excuse is a sure-thing. The important thing is to make the accountant look like the bad guy — you just need to be there to make sure he doesn’t do anything shady. Once again, the key to this excuse is to make everyone feel sorry for you, not envy you. What are your best excuses for getting out of work? Better yet, what are some of your worst excuses?
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