My staff complain that we are understaffed. Should I blow the budget?

Dear Aunty B,

We are growing really fast but are barely profitable. The problem is my hardworking staff are constantly suggesting we take on more people. I would love to, but in all honesty we can’t afford it. I read Lou Coutts recently who says that one big problem is not resourcing up at the right time. Should I take the leap, resource better and blow my budget this year?

Pete,
Sydney

Pete; absolutely not. Look, the temptation is to keep building overheads to cope with the volume of business and to take the pressure off existing staff.

But what happens when business stalls? Or you have a flat patch? Or you start running into a credit crunch?

It is too easy to add staff, but much harder to cut them back. And this is a lesson straight from a billionaire. He told me the most profitable businesses are those that are running ahead of their overall structures, with everyone apparently overextended in order to keep up.

So Pete, tell everyone that a healthy culture is a hardworking culture.

Don’t feel guilty and certainly don’t blow your budget this year. None of us know what’s around the corner.