Recession-proof, is there such a thing?

A looming recession, or economic downturn as some say, is the proverbial white elephant in the room when recently talking to our clients or colleagues and associates in the marketplace. Most are seeing indicators of a downturn along with some developing trends responding to the speculation*, but it seems only a few are well-positioned to be proactive with the information.

It is notable, we think, that larger established companies and older members of the workforce have the requisite experience needed from previous recessions to understand how best to navigate the upcoming season when compared to their younger counterparts. Though established/larger companies have more complex decision environments to navigate and tend to move slower overall, they generally have more resources to research, respond and ride out an economic winter. 

On the other hand, smaller firms and younger members of the workforce may be faster and more agile when responding to market conditions but may lack the wisdom of applied experience in a downturn and thus risk squandering their limited resources and opportunities. 

A recent example of wisdom-in-action comes from one of our large construction clients. 

At 60 years old, they have seen and weathered every economic cycle. During a lunch meeting to discuss expanding our engagement scope, we learned they decided to tighten up spending after seeing the writing on the wall (indicators mirroring previous economic downturns) by shoring up their most significant spend category early…people.

By pausing all personnel requisitions and choosing not to replace recent administrative job vacancies, they are immediately reducing the salary and overhead burdens associated with full-time workers.

You may be asking how a meeting about budget cuts serves to expand our supplier partnership; we asked the same question! 

Because they have important strategic initiatives already underway, along with customer-driven projects requiring completion this year, they are looking, instead, to bring on fractional resources (contingent corporate workforce) to get the knowledge-work done at a fraction of the price and without the commitment of maintaining full-time employees.

That is to say…keep the projects rolling, hedge needed skillsets with part-time expertise, hold more control over personnel costs, and reduce associated operating risk. Brilliant. And yes, the new level of comfort with a remote workforce has helped to make the transition to a contingent workforce easier and faster than ever before. 

So, how do you hedge a recession and continue to grow during this time?

One sure-fire way is to look at what you can accomplish with the right contingent workforce strategy as a means to thrive, not just survive.  

At TAG CXO, we specialize in fractional technology Executives-as-a-Service, on demand. When you bring on a battle-tested technology executive (part-time or interim) from TAG CXO you automatically get a tenured leader who has navigated through previous economic downturns.

Our executive leaders bring 100% of the skills needed to plan and organize your IT agenda while providing access to a tried-and-true network of their trusted professional peers who are ready to execute at a fraction of the cost and risk of a full-time team. 

We would be delighted to learn about your situation and help you navigate your season ahead. Please feel free to reach out.  

-Your TAG CXO Team 

*Sources: 
Bloomberg, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Chapman University Economic Forecast