Managing Resources During Budget Cuts

You Cut 15% of the Workforce… But the Workload Stayed the Same? Here’s the reality: We were already doing more with less before the budget cut. Now, we’re expected to absorb even more responsibilities with fewer people. Sound familiar? For those of us who’ve been in the workforce long enough, we’ve seen this play out across every industry—tech, government, military, healthcare, you name it. But here’s the problem: Organizations cut headcount without cutting the workload. And somehow, leaders expect the remaining workforce to just figure it out. So, what do you do when you're left holding the bag? 💡 If you're an 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳, this is where your real leadership begins. Instead of waiting for more resources that may never come, here’s how to lead through the chaos: 𝟭. 𝗥𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 🔹 If everything is urgent, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 is. 🔹 Identify mission-critical tasks—protect what truly matters. 🔹 Negotiate deliverables with leadership. 🔹 Challenge unnecessary work—cut the fluff. 𝟮. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 🔹 Your best leverage isn’t 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳—it’s 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳. 🔹 Use AI tools and automation for redundant tasks. 🔹 Simplify processes—cut unnecessary steps. 🔹 Redistribute work intelligently—not just to the most competent. 𝟯. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 “𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸” 🔹 The most valuable people often pick up extra 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳—mentorship, documentation, problem-solving. 🔹 Make it visible—track it, quantify it, and address the bandwidth issue. 𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗽, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 🔹 Leadership needs to know the real impact of reduced resources. 🔹 Frame conversations around 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 🔹 Offer solutions—not just complaints. 🔹 Get buy-in for realistic expectations. 𝟱. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 🔹 Working more hours ≠ More impact. 🔹 Measure success based on 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴, not effort. 🔹 Encourage asynchronous work and flexibility. 🔹 Push back against unnecessary meetings. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲: If your workforce has been cut, your strategy has to change. 🔥 What strategies have worked for you when dealing with workforce reductions? Drop them in the comments!

When “budget cuts” cost you twice. And they always do but not in the way the financials show. 🔻 Freeze hiring. 🔻 Trim external vendors. 🔻 Delay “nonessential” Workday projects. Short-term savings = success… right? Not exactly. Here’s what never shows up in a cost savings report: • Top Workday talent hears the silence and quietly starts looking elsewhere. • Remaining team members pick up the slack until they burn out or break down. • Critical upgrades, compliance fixes, and optimizations fall behind setting you up for bigger, more expensive problems later. You save now, but you pay twice later. Once when the talent walks. Again when the system fails. __________________________________________________________________________________ If you're tightening budgets this year, here are some things we have seen companies implement that are actually working: ✔ Prioritize critical Workday roles not blanket freezes. → Protect the expertise that keeps your ecosystem from drifting. ✔ Use sourcing sprints instead of staffing cuts. → High-impact support only where it matters most. ✔ Invest in retention before it’s reactive. → Quiet departures don’t start with exit interviews they start with silence. ✔ Audit your Workday support model. → Most teams have hidden gaps post-go-live. Know them before they cost you. If you invested hundreds of thousands (or even millions) in Workday… Why would you underfund the team that keeps it running? It doesn’t save you. It chips away at what you just built. And well... no one wants that. __________________________________________________________________________________ We’re seeing some truly creative solutions emerge. If your team’s doing something smart to stretch budget without sacrificing your Workday system and team, please drop it below 👇 so others can learn from it too. And if you’d like to see more of what we’re seeing behind the scenes? Just reach out. Happy to share.

If you're in-house and need to cut budget, trying harder isn't a plan. In these situations, GCs and ops folks' first instinct is to avoid OC phone calls and just cut things if contracts can be gotten out of. Not saying you may not make the budget in year 1, you might. But you (1) can't sustain just pushing things off and avoiding issues for the next couple of years, and (2) you and your people are burning the candle on both ends. Better strategy: (1) go grab a resource from somewhere about best ways to minimize spend. (Go to Practical Law, google it, call a trusted confidante, I don't care but go do a little research. You're a legal person, so you are a stellar researcher!) (2) Once you have some ideas, take some time to think about how you can implement some of those ideas internally, and if you have other legal minds with you, brainstorm together. (3) WRITE THE PLAN DOWN along with your hoped for/expected savings for each part of the plan you're going to implement. Example (a) We can start doing X internally, (b) here is how and who, and (c) this can save us Y.] Btw, I'd be happy to help you with that strategy piece if you need to talk. That said, I don't even need to talk to tell you that most solutions will boil down into 3 pots. (The magic is in how you make the soup.) Pot 1: Technology - Using tech to simplify, automate, and cut costs. Pot 2: Better utilizing internal resources and time - Can you reorganize your people to keep more high $$ projects in-house? Or maybe it is low-value stuff that could actually be done internally quickly instead of sending outside. Pot 3: Better rates on OC projects - First, yes, you should negotiate those large annual rate increases from your OC firms. That said, I'm not really talking about that. I'm talking about taking some time to make sure you're paying the right money for the work. If you're in bet-the-farm litigation, okay use the AmLaw firm and pay that rate. However, when you're doing the more standard stuff that still needs to go outside, take the time (research or developing the network) to figure out if there is a boutique shop that can do it well and for less or maybe an ALSP can help. Are you utilizing reverse rfps? Plenty of options here. I hope all of this is helpful. In short, if you're inhouse, you don't need to just hope that you can cut enough, you can craft a strategic plan to make it happen! Good luck!