When Do They Start Hiring Again?

There’s a lot of talk lately about how employment may not come roaring back after this recession. Yesterday President Osama held a “jobs conference” to see how more jobs might possibly be created, sooner rather than later. It’s actually a rather simple question.
If you want to know when corporations are going to start hiring, you have to realize what a corporation actually IS. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, a corporation is “a legal creation authorized to act with the rights and liabilities of a person.”
In other words, a corporation is a PERSON with all the survival instincts of a regular human being. And that is how it acts. Let’s create a somewhat simple example to illustrate my point. Let’s imagine a human person, bundled up for winter, who falls through ice into deep water.
If he keeps the boots, heavy coat, hat and sweatshirt on, he’s going to drown. Being a person with survival instincts, he immediately kicks off those impediments so that he can swim to a safe shore. Think employees when we say boots, heavy coat, etc.
The financial collapse of October, 2008, was very much like a fall into deep water for many of America’s major—and minor—corporate persons. Floundering and gasping for air, these persons kicked off as many human beings (boots and coats) as they possibly could. The alternative for many was corporate death—corporations DO die.
A corporation laying people off is not really a soulless machine, or even a mean spirited one, cackling with glee as it sloughs off loyal workers. (I’ve fired people; it’s an absolutely miserable job—I cannot think of many other things I wouldn’t rather do. Almost anyone who has ever fired anyone feels exactly the same way—ulcers, sleepless nights, anxiety are common occurrences among exec’s who have to fire—one person or an entire staff.)
Just as a drowning human being is dangerous to be around, so is a drowning corporation. It reacts with desperation and violent motions. It really isn’t thinking about the value of the boots and shoes it is kicking off—just being able to breathe.
Expensive boots are lost that way—perhaps boots or coats you cannot really afford to replace. Experienced employees with skills that cannot be immediately (or ever) replaced are lost that way. You may never get them back. It can be like amputating your own arm to escape from a cave-in. It may be the only way to go on living.
So when do you go out and replace your boots and coat? When you feel safe, when you’re dry and warm again, and when you can afford to. That’s precisely when corporations start to hire again. How very much like the rest of us they really are!
“Feeling safe” comes when “business picks up”—simply, when somebody starts buying again. Step one, the corporation starts to repay back taxes owed (nasty consequences if you don’t), pay suppliers so you can produce, repay old debts so you have credit again.
“Warm and safe” comes when you can put all your part timers back on 40 hours a week. Maybe you pay some overtime to the people who are still with you. If you still aren’t sure, you take on a few temporaries who don’t cost an arm and leg to lay off.
When debts are paid, taxes paid and everybody’s got as many hours as they want, then comes “can afford to”. That’s when you hire.
That’s when you hire. When someone spends, you dare to take on more overhead. (You believe the ice is thick enough to support you AND your coat and boots.) It’s that simple. Ask anyone who has fallen through the ice. Or survived a meltdown like last year’s.
We’ll talk about how we get back to that feeling of “warm”, “safe”, “dry” and “can afford to” tomorrow.