Uncertainty about the future has meant businesses of all sizes must be ever vigilant about everything they do, the money they spend, where to invest, where to pull back.

Responding to a questionnaire last month, ICOM agencies named the most important steps they are taking to find the right balance between protecting their agency's bottom line against another recession and being prepared for growth. Their responses can be categorized into four broad areas:

Areas related to personnel/people
Maintaining conservative employment levels
Retaining the best talent
Cautious permanent hiring; more use of freelance talent
More communication and training to keep staff informed and motivated

Areas related to expenses/p&l
Extreme vigilance overall about margins, pricing, expenses
Continually improving efficiency while delivering the same or higher level of service through better productivity
Quarterly reviews of business performance vs. plan
Strong control on credit
Requiring progress payments on all projects
Mandatory three quotes when using external suppliers

Business development/partnering/client-related activities
Aggressively pursuing organic growth and assuring good client relationships
Targeting industry-leading clients in new business efforts
Recommending more below-the-line solutions and digital to clients that have been forced to cut budgets
Applying more stringent criteria for new clients even though seeking to increase the number of clients to better spread agency risk

New services/technologies/misc
Investing in new technology
Offering new services especially public relations and digital
Better integrating all services