The Client
A local family-owned business manufacturing, selling, installing and servicing high-quality double glazing which needed to adjust to the downturn in business caused by the recession.
The Challenge
The business had been successful for many years and prided itself on the customer care it gave to its clients.
However, with the fall in business caused by the recession they needed to cut costs. They had looked at lots of options but reluctantly came to the conclusion that they needed to reduce their staffing costs.
They wanted to avoid redundancies wherever possible because they wanted the skilled people they employed still to be available when the market improved. They asked their accountant for help and he referred them to Cherington HR.
The Solution
Helen Astill of Cherington HR worked with the business owners to help them review the staffing in each area to see how the work could be redistributed or the teams restructured to maintain capability whilst saving costs.
She helped them plan for and carry out structured consultation meetings with the employees over the likelihood of redundancies and helped them get agreement from the workforce to work reduced hours until business improved.
The Results
As a long-standing family business, the owners were friends with many of the employees and had a strong sense of loyalty towards the staff.
They didn’t want to let their colleagues down, but had faced a situation that was beyond their control and had welcomed some external objective assistance to help them deal with the problem from a business perspective.
The vast majority of the employees wanted to stay with the business. As a result of the consultation process, they understood the issues facing the company and as a consequence were happy to agree to working reduced hours.
