BizSugar.com › Management › How to Cut Payroll Costs Without Layoffs

Aside from the personal toll, losing highly skilled workers can inflict long-term damage on a business, making it hard to bounce back and forcing managers to spend precious time and money recruiting and training when conditions improve.

Yet many entrepreneurs are trimming payroll costs without laying off hard-to-replace employees. Naturally, the first line of defense has been to shrink nonessential expenses such as travel and business meals, make do in smaller quarters, and postpone or cancel big-ticket investments. But some business owners are preserving jobs by reducing hours, encouraging employees to take unpaid leaves, and chopping pay (often their own).

If you're feeling the squeeze, it may be possible to squeak by without losing your company's best assets. Following are three strategies to help keep your prized employees on board.