The end of the furlough scheme is 31 October 2020. Still a little way off, but greater flexibility was added into the scheme from 1 July. As the economy steadied itself (in theory at least), and lockdown measures eased, flexible furlough was introduced.
This allows employers to bring their furloughed staff back on a part time basis. The challenge (and the reality) is that as we arrive almost at September, the hopes for recovery seems a way off yet and there is no word from the Chancellor that furlough will be extended any further.
COVID19 infection rates are rising sadly, schools are reopening and Autumnal weather will drive more people inside. The virus spread does not understand the Chancellor’s economic recovery plan.
This is a long-winded way of saying that businesses in Hampshire have some difficult calculations to make this Autumn about how they resource their organisations. Large employers in the retail, travel and leisure sectors are already making swathing cuts to their workforces. The numbers may be large, but in many cases it’s a smaller percentage of overall employee headcount.
The trickle down effect of letting good people go
The largest segment of the economy is SME businesses. They are the engine room of UK Plc. Take a business that employs a marketing team of two. They may make one redundant, but they are removing 50% of capacity. If a business has just one professional e.g. in IT support, HR or marketing, the choice is starker. There may be an option to reduce hours, but that may not serve either part very well.
The opportunity for flexible marketing resourcing
A business that needs to take some, but not all of the marketing resource and headcount out of its cost account can look at outsourcing. The benefits are:
- an agency that understands your business and its customers will get up to speed quickly.
- access to high quality advice and expertise on affordable terms.
- access to both strategic planning advice and high quality implementation.
- no contracts, so you can flex the level of support needed month by month.
The challenge in writing a blog like this is defending the accusation of opportunism and seeking to profit at the expense of other people’s misfortune. Not so. A business has a duty to its stakeholders to be managed sensibly. This includes how it remains profitable.
Marketers are nothing if not a pragmatic bunch
Marketing, like training is a cost centre that is turned to early on when reductions need to be made. If an outsourced or agency solution can provide a similar service for less money, that’s a business decision.
Taken at a macro level, the more businesses that decide to outsource marketing, the more good people these agencies will need to bring into their fold. Marketers are nothing if not pragmatic and the good ones will see that as one door closes, another one opens.
To understand how outsourced, flexible marketing can help your business, feel free to contact us.
