Employco Blog

For workers in their 50s or younger, the term stagflation may be unfamiliar. But anyone who experienced the combination of high inflation and recession in the 1970s is well-acquainted with this unfortunate economic phenomenon. The factors that produced stagflation are back again today. Businesses will need to evaluate their operations to see what can be optimized to help fine-tune their operations in a challenging economy. Evaluating your HR processes and expenditures can play a significant role in helping your organization navigate stagflation.

Stagflation – Then and Now
During the 1970s, the Fed pursued aggressive strategies to reduce employment after the Vietnam War – even in the face of high inflation. Spending on social programs also rose significantly during this period. At the same time, the oil embargo and rising production costs added to the increase in consumer prices while generating a recession.

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Dealing with the prospect of an economic downturn is challenging for any organization. It’s better to be out in front of it than behind and the time to plan is NOW. Here are some HR strategies to help your organization weather a recession.

Evaluate Your Employees’ Skills and Provide Training
In an overall strategy to help reduce costs, employees are often asked to do more with less. That’s especially true during a recession, where employees may need to take on additional tasks or work when an open position is put on hold or layoffs are necessary. Now is the time to evaluate your employees’ skills to ensure you have the right people in the right positions. Investigate where you can upskill or cross-train people for potential new roles, and then provide that training. Succession planning can also help you evaluate who could step into a position if an employee departs, helping to maintain continuity.

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In any company, good communication is vital. Effective communication promotes trust and builds stronger teams across the company as it helps strengthen relationships. It boosts productivity and can help resolve issues quickly. Having the right communication strategies and policies in a hybrid workplace becomes even more critical and challenging. In-office communication is often synchronous, with many face-to-face interactions in real-time throughout the workday. But in a hybrid workplace, with employees spread out across various workspaces and time zones, much of the communication throughout the day becomes asynchronous, and it’s easy for communications to slip through the cracks. Here are some strategies for maintaining good communications in a hybrid workplace.

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Employment trends expert Rob Wilson weighs in on how employers can prepare for a recession

While many people were encouraged by the positive jobs report at the beginning of the month, other experts say that we should brace ourselves for the possible reality of another recession.

“The fact that we added so many jobs in June is wonderful news, but it can also be very misleading,” says Rob Wilson of Employco USA, an employment solutions firm with locations across the country. “I think part of the reason why we gained so many jobs at the start of the summer is that many college-aged kids and young people took summer work, but when fall hits, I think we may have disappointing numbers again.”

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