Why Employee Retention Should Be a Top Priority for Your Small Business

By Annabelle Smyth

What is the most important aspect of running a small business?

Is it finding clients? Is it ensuring you’re making a profit? The answer you get depends on who you ask.

 

So many things go into running a small business and making it successful. Of all the running parts that make your small business successful, retaining your employees is huge. Losing employees is bad for obvious reasons like, not having enough people to run your company. But there are so many more things that employees do, and losing them will cost you big time.

What It Costs You When An Employee Leaves  

There are many hidden expenses associated with employees leaving your business.

A study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that some employers may need to spend up to nine months of an employee’s salary finding and training next candidate. This is a huge setback in not only time but money! Can your small business really afford this kind of delay?

An article written by Josh Bersin of Bersin by Deloitte goes over ways employees leaving can drain your profits. They include:

• Time taken in reviewing/interviewing applicants. This is time that could be spent doing more important things.
• The cost of advertising on job boards.
• A decrease in productivity. The article mentioned above says that it may take new employees one to two years to achieve the same level of effectiveness of the former employee.
• Errors included in the learning process. You can bet your new hire will be making mistakes. This is unavoidable and part of the learning process.

What Your Small Business Can Do To Retain Employees

As you can see, there’s so much that goes into hiring a new employee. It sucks up time and money. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to retain your employees? Certainly, sometimes there is nothing you can do if someone decides to leave. However, let's focus on the things you can do to ensure your employees are happy and stay that way.

• Improve your company culture. If you notice that your employees seem unhappy, take a look at the policies you have in place. According to a survey by BambooHR, using reward and recognition can go a long way toward employee engagement and retention. Employees need to feel trusted, and if your work environment isn’t providing that, something needs to change. Take a look at your company culture and tweak it appropriately.
  
  
• Provide a safe workplace. Your employees need to feel safe at work. What does this mean exactly? Make sure you have a no harassment/bullying policy. It’s imperative everyone in the company understands this and takes it seriously. Nothing will force a good employee to leave faster than being harassed.
  
  
• Have an open communication policy. If someone has a problem with how things are being run, don’t make them jump through hoops to address their concern. This is especially doable in a small business setting. Be open about communication and expect the same of your employees. 

Retaining your employees is essential for keeping your small business afloat. Let your employees know you can about them and appreciate their work. As discussed earlier, it will cost a lot of time and money hiring a new employee. Don’t make the mistake of taking people for granted. Take advantage of the strategies above and continue to grow your small business effectively.

 

 

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