Lemonade out of lemons: People & Companies

The ups and downs experienced this year have required our shop to make hard decisions, including staff reductions.

While not easy, these scenarios are part of the normal business cycle shop owners and managers will encounter at some point. It’s important to move forward decisively and demonstrate confidence in these situations. With owners involved in daily machine shop operations, their visible attitude will permeate throughout the shop and, therefore, they must display confidence, decisiveness and total authority. Or, make lemonade out of lemons when things aren’t so great.

How is that accomplished? The exact steps won’t be the same for everyone and will depend on the company’s situation, but when conditions require staff reductions, activities must continue to move forward for the benefit of the company. These ideas seem to work well for most shop owners I know.

It’s important to arrive early and stay late, and observe everything and everyone. When business is consistently good, delegating tasks is easier because a shop typically has more employees. But a common scenario in 2015 is doing more with fewer employees. Day-to-day operational awareness will make a difference.

Communicate with customers, vendors and employees so you don’t leave them wondering about the company status, who’s left to handle their relationship, any issues with payments or cash flow or whatever could impact them. Generally, it’s better to inform proactively than reactively.