A recent survey found that 90% of U.S. CEOs expect an economic recession, shifting business leaders’ attention from finding and hiring workers to right-sizing for an period of lower growth.
For leaders making decisions about if, when, and how far to downsize, here are some unique and inter-related considerations for the current environment: 2. Spotlight flexibility even at the expense of efficiency: The supply chain constraints experienced since the pandemic have highlighted the challenges with sacrificing flexibility in the search of greater efficiency. The drive for better margins has left many businesses with little ability to absorb a supply shock.
4. Encourage local decision-making: While the economic downturn is likely to be felt globally, the specifics of individual markets will be quite different. To avoid making decisions that may be appropriate for one region but not for another, leaders will benefit from more disperse decision-making. In difficult times the instinct for leaders is often to make centralized decisions.