Every time you turn on the news, or a news feed pops up on your phone, recession is more than likely the topic of the broadcast or article. Recession is a scary word for most, especially small business owners. Don’t panic, there is a solution to help you through, that you may not have considered.

As small business owners are battening the hatches and counting the pennies to prepare for a tightening economy, outsourcing some of the responsibilities may be a strategy to consider as well. While outsourcing seems counterproductive to tightening the purse strings, it can free up time to focus on the more important details of running your business, especially if you are outsourcing the right things. What are the right things to outsource, you may be asking? Payroll and HR services for one.

Outsourcing your payroll and HR services offers a two-pronged solution to recession woes. Because business owners are reevaluating the roles of their employees and seeking solutions towards making the most of the time their employees are working, business owners are asking themselves if having someone completing payroll every week is the best use of time. More often than not, it isn’t. Outsourcing can free up valuable time, leaving time to focus on more important tasks that can be of benefit to profiting the company. Additionally, adding an HR component offers the business owner resources to assist with keeping employees calm and secure during these challenging times.

What does HR have to do with a recession, you may be asking. Lots! Having a quality HR department standing behind your business offers business owners resources and tips in alleviating the stress of uncertainty among employees. By utilizing a quality HR program, employers are provided with suggestions and strategies to navigate employee culture within their business.

Entrust Payroll Solutions partners with an HR provider that offers tips to HR clients to heighten awareness of how employees may be feeling during this stressful time. One suggestion is to always be aware that your employees may be worried about how a recession might affect them both personally and professionally. It is imperative that employers are as transparent as possible with their employees to eliminate unneeded stress. It is also important to be mindful that your employees may be suffering from financial hardships that are not known to the employer. For example, a spouse could have had a loss in wages, thus impacting the family in a way that the employer may not know. By being empathetic to employees during these difficult times, business owners can create a culture of respect and security within their business, ultimately increasing productivity because employees are able to focus on their work and not their finances.

Uncertainty is hard on everyone, especially financial uncertainty. Small business owners have a tremendous weight on their shoulders to keep their business going, as well as providing employees with reassurances of the business’s financial situation. While tough decisions may have to be made, it is important to have professional support offering guidance in those decisions. Outsourcing payroll and HR services during a recession seems like the opposite of what a business owner should do during a recession, however, it very well could be the one thing that helps most with assisting small businesses in making it through!