Mirroring the economic strain that many South African households are experiencing, many local businesses too are feeling the economic ‘heat’ as owners grapple to maintain turnover and profitability. During this time, many business owners consider or even implement retrenchments, but there are a number of factors to consider before taking such drastic action. This is according to Kgomotso Ramoenyane, Executive General Manager of Human Resources at Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS) , who says that during financially challenging periods, human resources is one of the departments that often receives the most attention. She points to June 2016 quarterly employment statistics, released by Statistics SA this month, which reported a decrease of 67 000 employees – when compared to March 2016. “Times are extremely tough and quarterly employment losses were observed in all industries apart from electricity and construction industries. “When faced with shrinking revenue figures, smal...