Managing Your Pandemic Manpower Woes

The pandemic has changed a lot of how we run our businesses and, above all else, it has impacted how we manage our workforce. It has led to a lot of businesses having trouble in finding their feet and keeping operations going or even keeping their employees. But there are some solutions that may be worth looking into. Here are just a few of them.

Credit - CC0 License

Investing in remote working

It’s a strategy that a lot of businesses have already had to do. You might not be able to turn your entire workforce into a remote working team, but there are software suites like https://hive.com/product/ that can make it a lot easier to have much more of the work behind your business done from remote locations. Whatever roles can be done from the home, you should at least make sure you have a plan to allow them to flexibly do so, so that if you do have to close your doors in the future or scale back your in-office workforce, you have options to keep their productivity in play.

Be flexible with your manpower

If you are unable to sustain a secured position for your workers, then you might have to be open to making not only their work-life more flexible, but to make your entire approach to labor more flexible, as well. For instance, you might be able to work more cost-effectively with freelancers for certain types of labor. The more specialized the labor they provide, of course, the more likely that they are able to find a permanent place of employment, so it’s not a decision that can be made across the board.

Covering the costs of keeping them

A lot of businesses have had to let employees go as they could not justify the cost of keeping them, whether it’s due to a loss of business or simply because they cannot keep that number of workers at all times. However, if your business has had a decline in gross receipts or been suspended by the state, then sites like https://tri-merit.com/erc/ could show that you are entitled to the employee retention credit. This is a benefit specifically made to help companies keep hold of their employees.

Know when you have to cut back

Unfortunately, there will be a time that keeping on your team can start to affect your budget more than you are able to handle. It’s up to your budgeting skills to find what ways you can to accommodate them if you are losing business, but if you cannot, then your employees are a lot easier to replace than your assets such as property and machinery, so you may have to let some go. The unfortunate reality is that businesses can bounce back for reduced manpower more easily than they can from, for instance, reduced manufacturing capacity.

The tips above can’t solve all manpower woes your business might be facing as a result of the pandemic. There are some challenges that you might not be able to overcome without thinking about reducing your labor. That decision should be prepared for, but not used as your first resort.