Your business has slowed as the economy has gone into a stall. You feel that nearly everyone has given you 100% of their effort, however it hasn’t been enough and cuts are going to have to be made. Some of them to very good people. Of your staff, consisting of 30 sales and support personnel, you are going to have to release 7. You have reviewed the job descriptions, performance reviews, tenure, attendance records, and productivity levels. You have also worked with other departmental managers to determine where overlaps have occurred and where some of the remaining positions can be consolidated. Two key pieces of information were realized during that time. The first was that due to hard work and an efficient structure you organization had been running fairly lean all along. The second was that 5 of the 7 positions you need to cut are easily recognized.

The dilemma is that the remaining two positions that need to be cut are difficult to determine. There are four employees with very similar records of achievement, time with the company, and overall fit within the department and organization.  You don’t want to make any cuts that effect lives arbitrarily, but your standard HR measures aren’t giving you much to work with that will assist your decision.

What steps will you take so that you make the right decision in these difficult times?