The average recession lasts 11 months

It is not often that I start with a fact but that one was a real eye opener.

It is so easy in times like this to cut staff and squeeze suppliers dry. But by remaining visionary, innovative and brave and by going against the conventional approaches your competitors are taking, you stand a chance of not only weathering the storm but coming out of it stronger and more capable.

The short term boost that a reduced wage bill can create hides longer term costs. Most directly the cost of rehiring and retraining employees is often greater than the saving of cutting numbers initially. What is difficult to calculate is the cost of how the job cuts are handled on those who lose their job and those who remain.

It has also been shown that even where redundancies are necessary, how they are handled makes all the difference. In organisations where leaders make the announcement and then head for the safety of their offices for the duration, there are more claims of unfair dismissal than when they make themselves available to answer questions about job losses and the reasons behind them. In addition, the staff left behind remain more positive and productive where redundancies have been managed effectively.

And a downturn can be a great time to focus on staff development - within reason of course. At times like this, re-engaging staff behind the bigger vision for the company, helping them to manage their stress levels and, at the same time, learn skills which will be vital to the continued growth of the business takes courage. Most competitors will be hunkering down, cutting spending on people development.

If you really do need to cut jobs, what do you need to do to protect the relationships with all staff for the long term?