Employee turnover is an important issue that can affect small businesses. Some estimates claim that it costs more than twice the amount of an employee’s annual salary to find and train a replacement. When resources, including time, money, and energy, are spent on hiring, productivity decreases, the rest of the employees are burdened with extra duties, and there’s very little surviving company expertise. So, if you want to prevent those problems, you need to keep your employees happy and satisfied so they don’t look to leave. Here are six tips for keeping your best employees.
Guarantee fair wages
First and foremost, you need to guarantee that you’re paying your employees competitive wages. Research the industry standard is and find out what some of your competitors pay. Although there are other important benefits that job seekers look for besides salary, if you’re not in the ballpark of what other companies pay, you can be sure that your employees will be tempted to entertain other job offers.
Recognize employee contributions
Tell your staff how much you appreciate them. It might mean calling them into your office to personally recognize their efforts or it might be making an announcement at a staff meeting to praise their achievements. If your employees don’t feel like anyone cares how or what they’re doing, they might look to find someone who does.
Build personal relationships
Getting to know your employees and co-workers on a different level helps to build camaraderie and develop company loyalty. Encourage socialization, collaboration, and team-building or even consider taking time out of your weekly staff meetings to facilitate some bonding.
Provide empowering resources
It’s hard to ask your employees to do their jobs well if you don’t give them the right tools and resources. Make sure they have adequate technology, the latest software and apps, and any other resources they might need to be productive and innovative. Consider those tools to be an investment to make sure you meet your company-wide goals.
Offer some flexibility
Provide a competitive benefits package. Though some people are drawn to the salary, others want benefits that affect their lifestyle. There’s the traditional benefits package with health insurance, life insurance, and disability. And there are those increasingly popular, unconventional perks, like flex scheduling, remote working opportunities, gym memberships, and on-site childcare. Most aren’t feasible for all companies, but you probably have a sense of which would help your current workers. Or, which might attract new ones.
Offer and receive honest feedback
Encourage your team to offer feedback and ensure they know your listening to their concerns and innovations. They need to know their opinions and ideas are valued, respected, and trusted. Then, offer honest feedback—praise and constructive criticism—to your employees. It shows you care about them and prioritize their skill development and career advancement.
