Cuts, bonuses, and recession

I got an e-mail the other day from Rick Gould, managing partner at consulting firm StevensGouldPincus with a few pieces of advice for firm leaders who are trying to make their way through this devastating economy. The words in the headline showed up most in the e-mail he sent, as in:

Cut wherever possible. No more temps, non-essential travel and entertainment, or freelancers. Layoffs may even be necessary. (Gould also recommends a hiring freeze.) And management should cut take pay cuts.

Give staff bonuses only when the tough times have passed as a reward for all the extra work everyone has to do right now. Lower-level account and administrative staff should be the only ones privy to extra pay right now.

Meet the challenges of the recession mano a mano and take heed of the lessons from the 2001 recession.

"So PR Pros should not complain, just roll up their sleeves and do what is needed to get through this and still maintain respectable profitability of at least 15% and hopefully 20%, which was the average of firms for last year," Gould says.