Manage IT Staff in a Shrinking Economy

It's official! Late last week, the economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research convened to examine financial trends over the last 12 months. Their conclusion? The decline in economic activity since 2007 "was large enough to qualify as a recession." In fact, the Bureau said, the decline was not just large, but consistent. One of the best measures of the health of the economy is the number of people employed in paying work, and that figure has decreased in every month since last December.

Naturally, IT jobs are no exception. Recent studies show declines in the number of available jobs across the board of IT categories. Hiring freezes, layoffs, and salary cuts are becoming commonplace -- and for many IT departments it couldn't come at a worse time. So what can small and midsized businesses do to weather a shrinking economy while still making the most of technology?

For starters, if you're in the job market, don't get too spooked. Executives at such job-search companies as Dice.com and ExecuNet say this slump isn't likely to be as bad as the last downturn, which happened during the aftermath of the dot-com bubble of the 1990s.

Unfortunately, however, employees are typically one of the biggest line-items on a business's budget. If you're already facing the prospect of cutbacks, here are some tips for maintaining an effective IT staff and keeping your company technically proficient in lean times:

-- Don't be too quick to reach for the pink slips. Trading dedicated IT staff for part-time consultants is a popular option for many small and midsized businesses, but consultants can have hidden costs. Make sure you can get the IT support you need on a timely basis, because each hour that a critical server is down can mean significant business losses.

-- If your budget demands a hiring freeze in the IT department, look for tech skills when hiring for non-IT positions. Why shouldn't your marketing reps know HTML, or your accountants know their way around a database? Employees who can wear several hats are sure to be in high demand in lean times.

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