Crosshire

Survival of the Fittest

Executive Hire News, January/February 2009                                           Go to main Crosshire page

This year, many academics and worthies who still enjoy protected salaries and index-linked pensions will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. While the likes of you and I ponder whether we can afford to repair our kit to the standard we would like, or authorise a few hours overtime to help out a customer in need, the halls of our learned institutions will be considering
‘The Origin of Species’ as never before.

One thing is for certain: Darwin’s theory of adaptation for survival is just as relevant for business as living organisms. Thanks to Sod’s Law, we do not have the luxury of changing over the millennia, we need to do it PDQ or we will be joining Monty Python’s exparrot as an extinct species! I am pleased to report that already many hire outfits are taking action to protect their business and their staff during the present emergency.

As always, innovation is being led by the independent segment where, instead of massive job cuts and depot closures, I have heard of a number of initiatives that have been adopted to ease the pain of downturn. A number of you have put staff on three or four-day staggered weeks and, in most cases, although the business owners are continuing to work as normal, they are also accepting a corresponding cut in salary. Some independents are talking of co-operative arrangements to ease costs, particularly of transport and repairs. As I write this, a regional machinery distributor and a local hire company have agreed to join forces in a merger that is intended to produce economies, without sacrificing the independence of the individual organisations.

Such innovations are uncharted territory and will cause eyebrows to be raised, but the consequences of doing nothing are possibly similar to the fate of some of the species Darwin documented. The first to suffer the effects of recession have been our suppliers and it is unfortunate that a few have, indeed, become extinct.

It is pleasing to see that, despite what must have been a tremendous temptation to economise and walk away, many suppliers have decided that they will support our industry by exhibiting at the Executive Hire Show next month. This is an act of faith in the future of the hire game that we should all support. It may be less likely than previous years that we will go to the Show with the intention of placing orders, but we ought to support our suppliers. After all, they may surprise us with what’s on offer!

We are, indeed, in partnership with them as part of a multi-million pound supply chain. Despite the garbage being pedalled by politicians and some journalists, many of you will have noticed that the world did not end after Christmas, and punters did start ringing up for kit again. We have had more than one call from newcomers whose first choice would have been a large outfit, but they have been let down due to staff cutbacks, broken delivery promises or even depot closures. The name of the game is SERVICE and it is delivered by PEOPLE. We need our suppliers as much as our customers, so I do hope that we will see a good turnout at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on 11 and 12 February.

For those who are able to spend a few quid, I am told that there will be some pretty keen offers on the stands. Most importantly, the Show represents an unrivalled opportunity to talk to each other and demonstrate that, as in previous hard times, our wonderful and diverse industry is capable of innovation and change - and not just to survive, but also to prosper.

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