In our Board Briefing published last autumn we covered the issue of making employees redundant if necessary when furlough came to an end.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/planning-redundancies-after-furlough-discontinued-tony-groom/
But since then, it has become clear that there are staff shortages in many areas and businesses cannot find the people they need going forward.
With Furlough due to end at the end of this month this is a tricky time for employers.
You may need the staff to get your business activity back to more “normal” levels but after more than a year of disruption and lockdowns your cash flow and balance sheet may be at a very low ebb and not able to support the overheads associated with retaining staff, never mind recruiting more people.
So what to do?
Clearly you need to retain the goodwill of existing employees, even if you are considering redundancies in the immediate term.
As our briefing points out, communication, keeping them informed and treating them fairly are all key to this.
Our briefing asks the board: “Are we thinking strategically enough about a future beyond the immediate crisis?”
Perhaps it is time to seek additional help from a turnaround adviser?