Four months make the year. The team is the same size in all twelve.

Most businesses with seasonal demand size their team for the average month, then lose money twice: once in the peak and again, more quietly, in the trough.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for Four months make the year. The team is the same size in all twelve.

Demand in most businesses has a shape. Accountancy practices have January. Landscaping has spring. Fit-out contractors have the run to Christmas. Hospitality has a week that pays for a month. The shape is usually well known internally, discussed every year, and almost never reflected in the structure of the team, which stays roughly flat while the work it absorbs varies by a factor of two or three. The instinct behind the flat line is reasonable. Skilled people are hard to find and harder to replace. Letting them go in September…

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