Your Business Risks in an Economic Downturn
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Without a thorough evaluation of its business model, any manufacturer can be severely threatened by an economic downturn. While devising creative solutions to keep your business running despite unfavorable economic conditions, keep in mind that changes to your business can result in changes to your liability exposure.
Facing Your Supply Chain
It’s no secret that the financial security of your business hinges on that of your partners, vendors and suppliers and that in tough times, everyone is looking for a way to cut costs.
Never rely on the insurance coverage of your business partners to protect your assets or protect against third-party liability claims. In the event of financial insolvency, a business’s upstream partner organizations could eventually be held liable for claims filed against it. However, healthy, well-insured partner organizations are no substitute for comprehensive liability coverage for your business.
Ultimately, in order to protect your company it may be a smart long-term investment to expand your coverage limits. While many businesses may opt to cut costs by lowering their coverage, dropping coverage could result in paying out of pocket for an expensive claim caused by suppliers’ shortcomings. If you are involved in outsourcing or are considering this option to mitigate costs, first talk to RISQ Consulting about covering the associated risks.
Verify Contracts
In a turbulent economic climate, it is more important than ever to have thorough, seamless contracts. They should clearly outline the obligation of each party and discuss dispute resolution policies so that if something goes wrong, you avoid a messy and expensive disagreement.
It is never a good business decision to sign a contract hastily, but especially in difficult economic times be sure to look into all the risks and legal ramifications. Small companies who partner with larger companies are often strong-armed into making decisions with which they are not completely comfortable.
When you experiment with new products or services, you will inevitably face a learning curve, which puts you at a larger risk of facing product liability claims.
Making Changes
In many cases, change is the best way of reacting to an economic crisis. It allows you to explore and exploit new customer bases and offer additional products or services. While expanding in either of these ways can revolutionize your business and keep you afloat in tough times, it could also expose you to additional liability.
When you experiment with new products or services, you will inevitably face a learning curve, which puts you at a larger risk of facing product liability claims. You may want to consider purchasing additional lines of coverage to protect yourself, as your surplus lines insurance policy may only cover claims arising from one particular product.
By the same token, shifting or expanding your client base may put you at risk of unexpected class action lawsuits. The same product or service may evoke disparate reactions in different sectors of the market. This is another instance in which it is important to be covered for potential liabilities resulting from a change in your business. Contact RISQ Consulting today to be sure your plan for escaping an economic downturn unscathed does not backfire.
- Published in Blog
Hiring Trends Are Pushing Employers to Focus on the Employee Experience
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Employers have been forced to navigate and respond to several challenges over the last few years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a tight labor market, rising health care costs, inflation and a potential recession. These challenges have pushed many organizations and their employees to their limits. According to a recent survey from management consulting firm McKinsey, more than half of business leaders say their organizations are not prepared for future economic and geopolitical challenges.
Workforce changes are now impacting employers in 2023. Organizations are posting fewer job openings, extending fewer offers and prioritizing best-quality hires. As a result, employers are shifting from prioritizing growth to focusing on hiring key talent. However, many organizations have failed to find effective ways to support employees’ long-term health, well-being and growth, potentially undermining their efforts to attract and retain top talent. This article explores how current hiring trends are forcing employers to redefine the employee experience in order to improve hiring outcomes and attraction and retention.
Current Hiring Trends
A recent study from enterprise management cloud company Workday found a 10% decline in open roles in the first quarter of 2023 and a 4% decline in job offers compared to the same time last year, even though the number of applicants has remained relatively the same. This is the first time since 2020 that requisition growth has declined. This trend is especially pronounced among tech and media organizations, where job seekers are expected to compete with approximately 27 candidates for each opening. This number marks a 248% increase from the first quarter of 2022.
These statistics likely indicate the end of the growth era as employers shift their attention to efficiency over growth. Economic and market factors are pushing organizations to increasingly prioritize hiring the right candidates for each new position and internal productivity, leading to fewer open positions and job offers. As a result, ensuring a positive employee experience is becoming more important to help employers improve employee engagement, productivity and retention.
Strategies to Improve Employee Experience
As employers shift from growth to efficiency, a positive employee experience is essential to improve hiring outcomes, attraction and retention efforts and productivity. Understanding the current workplace dynamics and employee experience, including any challenges and opportunities, can help employers establish strategies to improve employee experience.
Focusing on Employee Engagement
The following are aspects employers can emphasize as they focus on employee engagement:
- Employee health and well-being—As employers increasingly prioritize efficiency over growth, employees will likely feel pressure to be more productive. This can increase the risk of employee burnout, especially since many employees are already under significant pressure to perform. Therefore, employers will need to find ways to improve employee efficiency without increasing burnout risk. Supporting workers’ health and well-being can help reduce this risk.
- Hybrid work—While the majority of employees feel productive in a hybrid environment, many employers find that hybrid or remote work makes it difficult to trust that employees are remaining productive outside of the office. Employers are more likely to improve the employee experience by focusing on outcomes rather than hours worked. Defining clear goals and objectives, as well as ways to effectively measure them, can enable employers to better prioritize employee work and cultivate an environment of trust, even in hybrid or remote environments. This can help reduce the risk of employee burnout and foster employee autonomy.
- Growth and recognition—With a heightened emphasis on existing employees rather than new hires for growth and innovation, employees must provide talented workers and high performers with recognition and ample growth opportunities. Providing internal mobility opportunities can boost employee engagement and retention. It can also increase workforce productivity and efficiency by ensuring employees are in the right positions for their skill sets. Employers can further ensure this by mapping skills and capabilities across their organizations.
- Organizational strategy—As internal and external pressures shift, creating clear strategic goals can help employees prioritize their work in accordance with high-value initiatives. This can allow employees to stay focused and improve engagement by utilizing their skills and providing a sense of purpose.
Leveraging Technology
As employers increasingly focus on employee experience to further organizational growth and innovation, leveraging new technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), can help create additional growth opportunities. Incorporating AI and ML technologies can help organizations run more efficiently by automating and streamlining manual, error-prone tasks, allowing employees to attend to high-value work. Employers that offer technology and other tools to support their workforce can help improve the employee experience by increasing job satisfaction. This can also help organizations to grow efficiently and economically. However, employers should familiarize themselves with the functionality and limitations of AI and ML technologies. Being aware of the limitations can allow organizations to evaluate and determine how best to use these technologies.
Employer Takeaway
As organizations adjust to the end of growth-based hiring, prioritizing workplace efficiency and employee experience is essential. Employers can do this by supporting employee health, well-being and productivity and leveraging technology. By considering employee needs, employers can focus on areas of improvement and increase workforce engagement.
For more workplace resources, contact RISQ Consulting today.
- Published in Blog
Prioritizing Wellness During The 2022-23 School Year
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Many may be excited for school to start after a long summer. However, the new school year can come with new and recurring challenges. The 2022-23 school landscape looks different from previous years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mask mandates are on the retreat, with many schools ending preventive measures such as quarantines and regular screening tests. Additionally, COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are available to school-aged children.
Although the school year seems to be back to normal, caregivers, parents and children will likely still face uncertainty, stress and other emotions. The return to school and its associated routine can impact everyone differently; therefore, it’s worth taking a proactive approach to approaching wellness during this transition.
This article explores ways to care for yourself and your children during the school year.
Checking In With Children
Although schools, playgrounds and lunchrooms may seem more normal this school year, children may experience stress and uncertainty. Children may even engage in more social situations than in previous years during the pandemic, which can create different environments.
As such, you should monitor your children for signs of anxiety or distress. Be on the lookout for changes in a child’s behavior and mood or physical symptoms, such as:
- Increased defiance or irritability
- Disturbances in sleep
- Loss of appetite
- Lack of concentration
- Less energy
- Sadness or crying
- Nausea, muscle tension or dizziness
- Refusal to go to school or engage in virtual schoolwork
If a child or others in the home shows any of these signs, they may have anxiety about their schooling situation. Children are resilient, but it’s still important to pay attention to signs of anxiety—and seek professional support if any warning signs persist.
Taking Care of Yourself
With school back in session, here are some healthy ways for working parents and caregivers to make the school year more manageable and balance their work and personal responsibilities:
- Set reasonable expectations. Establish realistic expectations about what you think you can accomplish each day or week. Don’t be hard on yourself. Cut yourself some slack and focus on completing high-impact items and responsibilities.
- Develop a schedule. Creating a routine that works around your work schedule and family needs is essential. Additionally, consider consolidating certain activities such as housework, chores or extracurricular activities to one or two specific days to help everyone stay focused.
- Set boundaries. If you feel stretched thin between being a good caregiver and an efficient employee, it may be helpful to set some boundaries. Remember that you’re in control of how you’re expending your energy and can free up mental space to allow yourself to be more present where and when it matters.
- Create healthy habits. Be sure to get plenty of sleep and eat well so you can be fully charged to take on the day. It’s also important to stay active and incorporate movement into your daily routine. It may help to schedule a workout first thing in the morning, during lunch or in the late afternoon so it will fit in around school.
- Make good use of weekends. If school and work both happen on weekdays, be sure to use the weekends to recharge, reduce stress and have fun as a family. If you prefer alone time, make that a priority. Everyone needs a break from responsibilities, whether that’s work or school.
- Ask for help. Lean on your networks for support if you need help getting through the workdays. With many extracurriculars and school programs back, don’t wait to ask others for help if you’re overwhelmed. Be honest and communicative with your family and co-workers if the current situation isn’t working well.
It’s also important to recognize your unhealthy coping methods and find alternatives such as meditating, exercising or talking with a friend.
Conclusion
Although school is back in session and starting to resemble the pre-pandemic days, caregivers and parents may still seem stretched thin balancing caregiving and working. Children may also feel overwhelmed with school and social aspects. You can explore healthy ways to cope with lingering uncertainty and make balancing all your personal and professional responsibilities manageable.
If you’re feeling stressed or experiencing burnout related to kids returning to school, talk to your manager about your situation and to learn more about employer-offered resources.
Additionally, talk to your doctor or a licensed mental health professional if you’re concerned about your or your child’s mental health.
- Published in Blog