SMALL BUSINESS: Employers walk a tightrope during holidays, bad economy

Managing employees during a bad economy is difficult, and managing them through the holidays can also be a challenge. Small-business owners may find that doing both is particularly rough this holiday season.

The employee issues that tend to come up during the holidays, such as productivity dips and time off, can create more tension when business is down and the boss is hoping to get as much work done as possible. There’s also the sad fact that layoffs often happen during the holiday season, and employees may be hoping for raises or bonuses that companies just can’t afford.

Owners who are worried about receivables and cash flow may not be feeling in a holiday mood. Human resources and management consultants say it’s a good idea for owners to keep their nervousness to themselves —- bad behavior looks worse when it happens during the holidays.

“Since every owner has some anxiety, they have to be additionally mindful and careful of their tone of voice, their facial expressions, their body language so that they’re not saying one thing and meaning another,” said Lisa Aldisert, president of Pharos Alliance, a New York-based consulting firm. Aldisert said employers who treat staffers with disrespect or who are unpleasant stand to lose their most talented and valued workers.

“When the economy turns, those people are going to be the first ones out the door,” she said.

Owners can make a mistake out of fear or uncertainty, and it can register as a hostile act with workers. This certainly applies where layoffs, or the possibility of layoffs, are concerned.

Many HR professionals agree that it’s a bad move to shock employees by abruptly telling them that they or their co-workers are being laid off. It’s hard enough for workers to deal with that kind of surprise at other times of the year, but during the holidays, it will enrage everyone, including the staffers who still have jobs.

Most consultants advise owners to let the staff know the company’s situation before it gets to the crisis point, which might help avert layoffs. Employees may help turn things around; they often have ideas about how to get the work done better and cheaper. Since their jobs may be at stake, they may be motivated to help the company.

It’s also a good idea to let employees know soon that they’re not getting year-end bonuses.

Productivity can be an issue during the holidays because employees are often distracted, thinking about buying gifts, juggling family visits and trying to get away from work to attend holiday events at school. Many hope to take a few minutes out of the workday to do some online shopping.

That can rankle an owner in the best of times; now, it may be maddening to a boss who needs staffers to focus on bringing in more revenue.

Rick Gibbs, a senior human resources specialist with Administaff, a Houston-based company that provides human resources outsourcing, said that a little flexibility and tolerance at holiday time will help a company in the long run. For example, giving workers a break during the day to do their shopping or run an errand is likely to make them more, not less, productive.

“It’s a gesture that probably doesn’t cost a lot, and it acknowledges that the holiday season is going on,” he said.