This is a CTP of initiative: Impact Hub Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
This CTP concerns a reduction of staff that took place in October 2015 in IH BH. The aspect that most strongly provoked this change, according to the interviewee, was financial issues. IH BH had low profitability. The reduction and consequent reorganization of the team for the Hub’s tasks was part of a series of changes in IH BH, including a new business model and a change of physical space.
IH BH had 8 employees before this CTP. In early 2016 IH BH has only 2 employees. The two major partners of IH also work in the business daily.
According to the interviewee, the staff reduction has also resulted in closer ties between IH BH and its members by facilitating collaborative work, as stated:
"There is a lot of cooperation, it is not every man for himself, everyone is together, everyone knows what the Hub is, so everyone helps. We represent the name of the Hub, especially now, in this transition phase, we moved physical space, everybody understands, everybody knows that the Hub wants to improve, then who are here want to improve along with us ( ...) as we are now only three, joined, it is well directed, everybody knows everybody. No one is ashamed to ask, to talk. It improved a lot, today everyone speaks”.
The decision to reduce the staff left the owners with a larger plan to adapt to a new business model. The model is driven by a reduction in expenditure in order to find a financial balance and new purposes.
According to the interviewee, the employees that departed helped in the decision. She points out that the previous members of staff did not work effectively, "people were not dedicated, maybe they did not like to work here anymore, and they were no longer involved. Now the team of employees are all involved”.
The involvement of the two remaining employees, along with the owners, was crucial according to the interviewee in order to create a nice atmosphere. She points out that communication is much easier now than it was before.
The respondent also points out that the IH BH members entrepreneurs were co-producers of this CTP, to the extent that the various factors in the year 2015 involved owners, members and employees.
July 2015 - Business model change - in june / july IH BH changed the business model aiming to balance their financial issues.
October 2015 - Physical space change - moved to a new physical space in order to better accommodate the plans for the new business model that demanded more physical space to build individual rooms for member companies.
Since 2011 - Low profitability / expense reduction - realized they needed to change something in BH IH to better balance revenue and expenditure.
July - October 2015 - Change of member companies - with the change of the business model and of the physical space, some member companies left IH and others entered.
2015 - Time of many changes to IH BH - with all the alterations described, 2015 was a year of very significant changes to the team (members, owners and employees) as a whole.
2015 - Alignment purposes - the team (members, owners and employees) that remained is a team aligned with the new business model and its purposes.
October 2015 - Integration and Participation - With all the changes that had occurred, all participants were more united and integrated, "Now there are fewer people with whom we can count on, we have become more united."
October 2015 - Tasks more clear and defined - with fewer people, tasks had to be better defined among employees and became clearer. As a consequence the responsibilities were also clearer and this helped.
October 2015 - Weekly meetings prepared collectively - The weekly collective meeting is a moment in which all matters of the Hub are discussed. According to the interviewee, before reducing staff, just part of employees were invited. In 2015, with the staff reduction, all participated in the preparation of the agenda and the meeting: "Before I did not know the meeting was going on, I just knew what I had to do, I did not know what was happening."
The interviewee states that there were no objections. Both, member companies and owners (who had taken the decision to reduce staff), as well as the administrative employees who left, did not express opposition or reveal discord: "I have not seen any comment from anyone, I think everyone understood that it was a transition”.
The interviewee states that when it was announced that the team would be reduced, she realized that she could work more effectively.
The interviewee believed, when she heard about the reduction, that the work on the one hand would be easier and on the other hand, would be harder, "I knew that any doubt I had, I could count on the team, I was happy when I knew (because she stayed). I saw no challenge in this reduction. I saw challenges in physical space and business model change, but the staff reduction, for me, was quiet. And that's exactly what happened. Everything became easier (...) It was really not a problem”.
The interviewee believes that smaller and more engaged teams are more agile both in communication and in problem solving.
According to the interviewee, the staff reduction process and the way it was conducted also taught the value of their work and how to rely more on people. She further states that, simultaneously, when she improves her own work, the work of others also improves, "Before there was no communication, the team work was mechanic, to open the space, do tasks ... now we are closer and I feel closer to the people. The atmosphere is more communicative”.
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