Employee turnover can be devastating for small businesses. Some claim that it costs more than twice the amount of an employee’s annual salary to find and train a replacement. When resources—time, money, and energy—are spent hiring someone else, productivity decreases, the rest of the employees are burdened with extra duties, and there’s no one to pass along important knowledge. So, if you want to prevent those problems, you need to satisfy your employees so they don’t look to leave. Here are six tips for keeping your best employees.
Pay fair wages
You need to guarantee your employees competitive wages. There are very few people in the world who are willing to work for less money than they could get elsewhere—and most of those people are already clergy, teachers, or missionaries. Find out what the industry standard is and what your competitors pay. Although there are other important benefits that jobseekers look for besides salary, if you’re not in the ball park of what other companies pay, your employees will surely be tempted to entertain other job offers.
Recognize employee efforts
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 coworkers 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 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—health insurance, life insurance, and disability—and then 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
Praise and constructive criticism are crucial for you to provide your team. It shows you care about their skill development and career advancement. But it’s just as important to give them the opportunity to share their feedback, too. Show that you’re listening to their concerns and innovations. They need to know their opinions and ideas are valued, respected, and trusted.
For more tips on keeping your most talented employees, check out our website at https://www.chiefofstaffkc.com.
Blog written by Erin Greenhalgh