“When the nextrecession happens, what will be the biggest impact on your businessand your clients? What preparations are being made?”

Lessons from the past

I think the biggest impact for our clients is a reduction instaff and how that affects their total operations. Employers havechallenges when reducing staff, including government regulations,employee morale and overall efficiency of operations. As they looktowards cost reduction, their biggest spend is on wages andemployee benefits, and these are therefore the first places theyoften look to cut without considering any potential unintendedconsequences. During the last recession, we found our clientsstruggling to remain profitable and making quick decisions ratherthan clearly thought-out actions.

We understand these challenges, having assisted clients in thepast as they've made difficult decisions in order to survive. Inaddition, this time, since HR is one third of our practice, we havea heightened awareness of decisions affecting employees and theirfamilies. It is important for us to educate our clients on HR bestpractices, including employee benefits, and prepare them in theevent of a recession.