Preparing For the Storm: Part III

In this series, we’re discussing preparing for economic storms. After staying close to your biggest customers, the second step during a recession is to consider a hiring freeze.

As a good shepherd, you should protect the jobs of your existing employees. By adding team members during a downturn, you may risk needing to make hard decisions later.

Instead, if possible, consider using temporary labor or contractors to perform the needed duties until you need and can afford another full-time employee. It’s better to deal with a slight slow down in productivity than to jeopardize the livelihood of one or more of your employees.

In Ezekiel 34:15, God proclaimed how to be a good shepherd when he said, “I Myself will feed My flock and I Myself will lead them to rest.”

The Lord promises to watch after and nurture his own. He will “strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I[he] will watch over” Ezekiel 34:16. Even those who seem strong or capable still need to be looked after and have their best interests attended to.

Your current employees are your first priority. As leaders, we need to be proactive in finding ways to protect our current team during a challenging economy.

Questions For Reflection

• What are the needs of your business? How might you reorganize responsibilities to temporarily accommodate your business’s needs?
• When was the last time you checked up on your employees? Are they struggling because of the economic storm? How could you be there for them?