If you are a student of business, the past 18 months have been an incredible learning experience. The recession prompted unprecedented reactions from the business community regionally, nationally and globally. Many say business as we knew it will never be the same. In some instances, thank goodness.
Our economy, once based on the fundamentals of supply and demand, had morphed into one based on greed, corruption and fear. Now, too many people have lost their jobs, and they’re coldly characterized as “casualties” of the poor economy.
I’ve spoken at more than 50 job-search group meetings in the past year at local churches, libraries and community halls. I’ve seen a tremendous number of hard-working top talent sitting on the sidelines. People are waiting and hoping to get back to productive and challenging jobs. Many of their searches have hit dead ends. Their frustration is evident in their faces.
Businesspeople in our region can help them get back to work. Whether it’s by hiring or by spending in ways that stimulate the local economy, it’s a matter of being creative, taking a few risks and sacrificing. In the long run, we all benefit from lower unemployment.
Buy local! You may have heard this slogan before — because it works. I challenge every CEO in Northeast Ohio to commit to using local vendors whenever possible. From printing to architectural design to executive search, our region boasts great companies that can do the job. When you use a firm outside the region instead of a local firm that can handle the project, you kill local jobs — plain and simple.
Consider taking a few minutes right now to send an e-mail to your management team requesting a list of all your company’s vendors and their locations. Let your managers know that their jobs are on the line if they do not make every attempt to work with local vendors and justify their decisions to go outside the region.
The CEO $10-per-hour pay cut. That’s all it would take to employ a full-time intern at your organization. Better yet, hire two part-time interns and show them how great it is to work in Northeast Ohio. Imagine if just half the CEOs in our region took the $10-per-hour challenge: The impact on the media-hyped brain drain would be dramatic!
Get creative. This is exactly the time to think out of the box about your business and its products and services. Historically, great new business opportunities have emerged out of poor economic times. Perhaps the next great idea could come out of your company. That great idea could spawn new employment.
Take a risk. With so many people eager to get back to work, it’s an amazing opportunity to acquire talent that was out of reach in better economic times. Great talent is exactly what you need on your team — at all organizational levels.
Ask! One of the great lessons every company leader should have learned over the past few years is to include employees in decisions. In retrospect, many theorize that if employees were asked back in early 2008 how to address the impending economic downturn, creative solutions may have surfaced, saving countless jobs and perhaps softening the effects of the recession. Now is a great time to get your troops together. Ask them how they would approach job retention and creation in your company. They will appreciate the inclusion, and you will appreciate their thoughtful and constructive responsive from your most important stakeholders.
Take action. If you are not a fan of the local, state or federal tax structure or bureaucracy, let your elected officials hear your voice relentlessly. Complaining to colleagues and peers will not change a thing. Decreased taxes and bureaucracy ease the cost burden on businesses and can fuel job expansion.
It’s been disheartening to see fear-based decisions rule in the past year. Decisions intended to avoid the recession’s symptoms, like excessive unemployment, often brought on those symptoms instead. Many businesspeople have not yet learned how to manage effectively and lead courageously in challenging times.
Now is the time to reverse the trend and seek ways to retain and create new jobs. Our region depends on it — and all our jobs are on the line unless we change our ways.