Want to recession-proof your business? 3 ways to prepare for the downturn without laying off employees

The recession is scary. For good reason.

People-first leaders like you are forced to make layoffs and RIFs. Not only do they hurt your heart, RIFs are culture killers. And when culture takes a hit, productivity dips too.

Combined, Field of Talent’s worked in recruitment for centuries. We’ve seen multiple recessions and several great leaders make awful people decisions.

But good news – you don’t have to.

Below you’ll learn how top companies prepare their organizations for a recession… without losing any employees.

1. Prepare current employees & resources

Look within your organization for shifting resources

If you can’t hire the best talent on the market, you’ve got to use what you have.

But knowing you and your team, that’s not such a bad thing. You guys rock!

Shift your current employees and resources to fill gaps as needed. Need to ramp up your marketing while your competitors scale back? Try these methods:

  • Move more budget to marketing
  • Relocate employees to the marketing team to take on extra work
  • Shift some relevant responsibilities from the marketing team to salespeople

A simple shift will ensure you don’t skip a beat during the downturn. Which is crucial when you want to emerge from the other side a winner.

2. Double down on candidate experience & get the best talent possible

What does a great candidate experience look like from their POV? Give them what they want:

Because of the Great Resignation and rise of remote work, candidates are in the driver’s seat. They want to work where they want, how they want, for whom they want.

Double down on candidate experience during a recession

While the market is down, it’s the perfect time for you to focus on building a faster, more personal hiring process that leaves your candidates thinking Wow, I love this company.

It may feel a bit weird in a recession to focus on hiring when others are doing the opposite. But Warren Buffett has some wise words for you …

“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”

— Warren Buffett

3. Reduce inefficiencies & speed up your hiring process

You know speed is the name of the game.

Speed is the name of the game in recruiting

But it’s hard to find the time to take a long, hard look at your hiring process. What do you actually need to do?

First step is to find the inefficiencies hiding in your process. What can you eliminate or streamline to speed everything up?

  • Improve your job descriptions with SEO and accurate information.
  • Plan each hiring process with subject-level agreements. Make sure your hiring manager is confident.
  • Engage applicants immediately when they apply to your job. This will cut overall time-to-hire. We use PivotCX to do so.

Need to cut costs?

  • Drop your headhunters. They’re expensive and not any better than your alternatives (like an RPO).
  • Negotiate discounts with hiring software companies. They’ll be willing to retain a customer and get more cashflow.

Now, when the economy picks up again, you’ll be positioned to scoop up the top talent and beat your competitors to the punch.

Need help navigating layoffs and the overall recession? Field of Talent has worked with leaders and companies across the spectrum to prepare and emerge the other side poised for growth.

Schedule your complimentary consult here.

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Want to recession-proof your business? 3 ways to prepare for the downturn without laying off employees