Tough Decisions: Finding a Silver Lining to Downsizing

The old saying goes: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. And in running a business, it’s not always smooth sailing. Just about every type of money-making endeavor, regardless of how much you plan around it, will run into problems that’ll test your resolve and determination.

Last week, we talked about how you might find yourself stuck during this ongoing pandemic. Whether you’re not meeting sales targets or finding it difficult to operate, even business owners can find themselves in a predicament where they might not know how to take the next step forward. And the only way to get past that seemingly invisible wall in front of you is to will yourself over it.

You probably already know that as a business owner, you sometimes have to make hard decisions – decisions that might keep you up at night. And arguably one of the hardest and most stressful decisions you can ever make is to let your employees go.

No one ever wishes to lay off hardworking workers. After all, they’re people too, who like you, might also have mouths to feed and bills to pay. So it’s difficult for everyone involved. But you have to remember that there are situations when downsizing is necessary to save a struggling business.

When you’re faced with these hard decisions, you should first know your objective. Find out what it is that you want to do with your business as this will make it a little easier to weigh your options. Do you want to sacrifice your business to save your entire workforce? Surely, you don’t. And when you know your objective is to keep your business afloat, downsizing becomes a logical decision.

Yes, you may feel guilty – that’s unavoidable. However, you also have to trust in your employees’ ability to stand on their own two feet somewhere else, while you worry about your own company.

Here’s an analogy: Picture yourself in an airplane that crash lands in the ocean. All the passengers, including yourself, are safe. The flight attendant hurries you out of your seat, telling you to leave all your belongings and head straight to the emergency exit. You disembark from the sinking plane and board a life raft.

This small inflatable boat is safely keeping you out of the water as you wait for rescue to arrive. And it’s able to do so because it can handle the load. What if all the life raft’s passengers brought their bags with them? Won’t it sink?

The same is true for your own business. When you have a lesser load, it’s easier to find ways to survive. It might also afford you some resources to innovate and evolve, in case that’s what you want to do. Sometimes you don’t realize it, but your business can perhaps be a lot more efficient with a smaller team.

All we’re saying is that there are silver linings to downsizing that you may not be seeing just yet.

Having said that, you can’t just let your employees go without paying the proper dues. You have to give them their separation fees and make the necessary arrangements for them to have a smooth exit. But as long as you don’t shortchange and cheat your employees, you shouldn’t feel guilty about the decision.

At the end of the day, you have to know that you’re only doing what’s best for your business. Downsizing is an intentional decision that you’re making to ensure your business continues making a profit and is not just breaking even. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Because who knows, maybe someday, you do well enough to expand again or even hire back the people you laid off.