Delivering On 2023 Growth Initiatives with a Smaller Budget

Your 2023 budget just got slashed, but you’re expected to produce the same outcomes as you did in 2022. More likely, you’re asked to surpass them. It’s an ongoing conundrum for small and midsize businesses: how to perpetually do more with less.   

As a key contributor to our clients’ human capital and hiring strategy, we’ve seen firsthand how businesses make the most of their hiring budget, reduce turnover, and overcome roadblocks during times of uncertainty. We’ve been part of collaborative partnerships, creative problem-solving, and thoughtful leadership tactics — proven methods to make the most of a team’s budget and resources. 

As Q4 closes and we prepare for 2023, these are our recommendations to reinforce and expand revenue-generating activities in your human capital strategy:

• Leverage Human Capital Strategy to Produce Proportional Solutions
• Prioritize and Fill Revenue-Generating Roles Quickly
• Add International Candidates to Your Distributed Team
• Give Room for Freedom, Innovation, and Creativity
• Choose Commission-Free Recruiting

Leverage Human Capital Strategy to Produce Proportional Solutions 

A simple but effective equation: If you have a 20% budget reduction, set out to find a 20% solution. By tackling priorities proportionally, you can focus on incremental improvements that still meet your budget:

• 
  Instead of implementing an across-the-board hiring freeze, set a priority list of roles to generate an X percentage in productivity or revenue. (See more in the next section.)  
• Instead of letting staff go, focus on reassigning and upskilling. For example, if you have too many administrative roles and not enough sales reps, they can be trained to do outbound calling and marketing outreach. Executives can be trained to use automation platforms, and scrappy customer service teams can learn to make simple web graphics, email templates, and sales assets. Remember, time spent on training and professional development yields long-term dividends.  
• At the same time, be realistic about what a small team can accomplish with restricted resources. Expecting employees to take on too much responsibility will sabotage your team’s ability to prioritize, streamline, and improve workflows. Eliminate your most costly projects and above all, focus on sustainable time management.
• If you are forced to make layoffs, anticipate the cost of ripple effects and make a plan to support your remaining employees. Burnout, anxiety, and unexpected turnover will have a major impact on your team’s performance.  

Prioritize and Fill Revenue-Generating Roles Quickly

Whether assessing your retention, adding a new role, or forecasting your team’s hiring needs, it’s essential to focus on revenue-generating roles first.  

The same goes for advertising opportunities. While it’s tempting to slash promotional budgets, investing in targeted campaigns to happy, repeat customers could be essential to maintaining your growth.  

These roles and activities must remain intact for your business to weather the obstacles ahead:

Add International Candidates to Your Distributed Team

When your organization needs to hit major growth projections on a reduced budget, you may think you have little to no flexibility in hiring new team members — especially if you’re expected to keep pace with projected wage inflation.

But by expanding your team internationally, you open up a range of cost-effective hiring solutions. This is due to significant differences in global payscales and living costs: A highly qualified candidate in one country may require a lower salary than a candidate in another. 

With a global EOR partnership, it’s possible to cut payroll costs while offering a fair and competitive salary to international candidates. Your business can hire, expand operations, and forge new progress — all within your budget and target growth projections. 

Give Room for Freedom, Innovation, and Creativity

We’ve all seen it: In times of crisis, leadership may cling to strict protocol. And while it’s wise to manage your time and finances, beware: Overly prescriptive lockdown can restrict your team’s creativity and innovation. 

To ensure creativity correlates to productivity and purpose, seasoned business leaders have learned how to formalize its tactics. Here are a few ways to develop creativity into purposeful and sustainable innovation for your business:

• Set a clear vision and strategy, even if just for the interim and recuperation stage.
• Be prepared for setbacks and misfires. Clarify your expectations and budget restrictions, but resist the urge to punish failure or overly prescribe outcomes. 
• Be consistent in promoting innovation well after a budget cut or crisis period has passed. Creativity should be integrated into your culture and long-term operations. 
• Keep a journal or record of your creative tactics. This can be used as a playbook for future seasons. 

Choose Commission-Free Recruiting

Wherever you hire, outsourced recruiting should be built for your budget. While traditional agencies continue to charge high commissions and contingency fees, IsoTalent offers a cost-effective, full-service global solution to make the most of your recruiting investment. 

Teams can reduce their recruiting costs by 40% or more with our on-demand, pay-as-you-go pricing model: 

If you’ve been asked to do more with less budget, our model offers an easy and efficient way to reduce your recruiting costs, as both a short-term budgeting fix and long-term, full-service global solution. 

As your organization takes on unexpected challenges and budget cuts in 2023, remember to keep an open mind, foster collaboration, and respect your team’s best assets: grit, diversity, and dedication. And when you need help recruiting exceptional talent, expanding your global hiring, and delivering on 2023 growth initiatives for your budget, get in touch with our team.