Need creative ideas!

Alex2003 · October 2003

It looks like our 2004 Budget will be substantially shorter... Working in local government sector (both union and non-union employees), I would appreciate some creative ideas as to how to avoid RIF and reduce personnel cost (I realize I am asking for an almost divine intervention

We may not be able to do much with union employees due to contracts (and limited yearly increases of 2-3%, anyway). Some of our 24-hr operations like jail and police may not be affected either, I am afraid.

I know that some local government offices reduced their services by staying open 37.5 hours/week. In the private sector I made people burn their vacation/PTO, close facilities to save on utilities, postponed/reduced yearly increases, etc.

Has anybody had any manageable luck with other alternatives? Thanks!

Alex

deniseE · October 2003

Do you have anyone that might be interested in an early retirement? Or people that might be willing to go to a part-time schedule temporarily?

Maybe look at cutting out some of the extras....supplies, equipment leases, that sort of thing. Are there service contracts that you can either not renew or get out of?

I guess it really depends upon how much of a shortfall you're facing. Since you're in the government sector, are you left to make this choice or the city/township will make it for you????

Betty I_O · October 2003

We also have had to live with the reality of budgetary constraints, as well as lowered Federal/State reimbursements for services (we are a hospital system). What we have done to avoid RIF situations is to use a "Cancellation of Hours." Believe me, it's not "divine intervention," but it has worked for us and we've managed to avoid layoffs for almost three years using this system. We've also shortened some hours in certain areas (non-patient/public) from 40 to 36 or 32 or even 30 hours on a temporary basis, usually for no longer than three months to preserve jobs. If you'll give me your e-mail address, I'll send you a copy of our policy; it may generate some other ideas for you.

Alex2003 · October 2003

My e-mail is:

[email]alamm@calhouncountymi.gov[/email]

CBates · October 2003

Unfortunely, my company is also faced with this situation. We managed to
delay RIF by asking employees to volunteer for temporary layoffs. We carried their benefits for them during the layoff and they were eligible for unemployment benefits. Typical layoff was for three weeks. It helped.

Christine M · October 2003

In Massachusetts, we have a program sponsored by the Division of Employment and Training called Worksharing. Within this program, you group people according to job titles, depts, shifts or basis other than seniority or age, and reduce workhours for the entire group by anywhere from 10-60%. The employee is then eligible to receive a corresponding 10-60% of the pay they would normally be entitled to under unemployment. The net effect is that employees basically get about 1/2 pay for the hours they do not work. This program was very popular with our employees and helped us get through a temporary slump in business without losing talented and trained employees.

I took a brief look at the Michigan unemployment website and did not spot something similar, but you might want to check with them. I originally heard about this a few years ago from a contact in New Jersey where they offer a comparable program. I had not heard of one here, but when I contacted our DET, I was pleased to learn about our program.

Good luck!

Alex2003 · October 2003

Thanks for all your ideas. I will definitely check the MI Unemployment site for some guidance there. Again, my e-mail is: [email]alamm@calhouncountymi.gov[/email] in case you would like to share some of your policies with me. Thanks again.

Alex

HR Queen · October 2003

We are a manufacturing company and we are looking at a Strategic Spending Initiative. We are evaluating ALL contracts (temporary service, cell phones, copiers/printers, etc.) and we are coming up with a lot of extra money. We are working on hiring dislocated workers so that 50% of training wages are reimbursed to the company. It's amazing how we take things for granted when we've been spending that money each month.

I also like the idea of offering an early retirement package, if that's an option for you or working reduced hours. There are probably some people who might appreciate the opportunity to work less hours and still retain their benefits.

Good luck!

Need creative ideas!

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