Create a Winning Employee Retention Strategy
Employee retention is a critical issue for today’s small business owners. A low unemployment rate and shortage of skilled labor means one thing: If you have good employees you’d better work harder than ever to keep them.
It’s easy for small business owners to blame large corporations with attractive salaries and bonus packages for luring their employees away. Contrary to popular belief, salary isn’t the main reason why employees leave, says Beverly Kaye, co-author of Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay,and owner of Career Systems International (CSI). The key to retaining employees is offering exciting and challenging work; career growth, learning and development; and working with great people, according to CSI research. Only one-third of survey respondents considered inadequate pay as a reason to look elsewhere for new jobs. But if the pay isn’t competitive and the job isn’t rewarding, the employee is likely to leave for greener pastures, says Kaye.
Source: Career Systems International |
To stay competitive, retaining talented staff is a top priority for Amanda Vega, owner of a 10-person marketing/PR company in Phoenix, AZ. Vega’s solution is performance-based perks. Employees who bring in new accounts valued at $2,000 per project, receive an iPod, and those who generate $50,000 in new revenue are rewarded with new MacBooks in addition to their 15 percent commission. When staff completes a project early they can “bank” their days. In some cases productivity has been so great that employees have earned an entire month of vacation. When surveyed, employees say “perks and flexibility are the number one reason they stay,” according to Vega.
So what’s the result of her creative employee retention strategies? Vega hasn’t lost an employee in seven years. Furthermore, several clients have increased their accounts because her experienced employees are getting results.
Small business owners can’t win the battle for talent on “money alone but you can win on culture,” says Kaye. A close-knit and energizing work environment can be more appealing to employees than large businesses weighed down by red tape and internal politics. Flexible measures such as dress down days, half day Fridays during the summer months and allowing workers to leave early to see their children participate in sports all go a long way among employees who crave a more fulfilling work/life balance.
Learn from your employeesFinding the key to retaining your employees may simply be a matter of listening to them and learning what makes them tick. Kaye suggests asking employees questions: What part of your day do you find most challenging? How can we make your life easier? What part of the job frustrates you? If you owned the shop, what would you do to improve the business?
