With employers facing dropping employee retention rates, how can a small business owner maintain loyalty? Not only does turnover cost time, effort and money but losing a valuable employee can affect the productivity and momentum of the team. As a small business owner, you may not have the resources to provide benefits like Michelin Star snack bars and company trips the way Fortune 500 companies can; but lucky for you it turns out that these aren’t the driving factors that cause an employee to stay or leave. From professional growth opportunities to positive reinforcement, there are many ways to promote healthy work environments that encourage employee retention, happiness and loyalty that result in career and company development.
Perhaps the most important factor that impacts employee loyalty, is instilling trust. You’ve hired your employee for a reason so commit to them the way they have to your business. Micromanagement consisting of daily check-ins, accusatory suspicion and counter-productive tasks that monitor their activity is one of the fastest ways to lose an employee. It causes tension, builds a divide that will prevent them from vocalizing feedback and will make coming into work feel like a chore. Instead, set expectations with scheduled check-ins that act more of a feedback session and status updates rather than an interrogation. Of course, its important to set boundaries, but encouraging a working relationship rather than a dictatorship will more often than not keep both employee and employer happy.
Other ways to keep employees loyal is by offering career development training, room for growth and recognition for noticeable efforts or wins. Working for a small business tends to result in employees being dedicated to the owner as much as they are the company. Small teams will inevitably form interpersonal bonds in ways that they wouldn’t if working for a big company where interaction is limited to co-workers on your team. So, take advantage of the opportunity to connect with the individuals who are committed to helping your business grow by committing to doing the same for their careers.
That being said, keeping employees loyal isn’t all about snacks and puppies in the office. Sure, it’s nice, but if you really want to drive a deeper connection with the individuals who work for you, demonstrate appreciation, respect and gratitude towards them for choosing your small business to help grow. Of course, it’s inevitable that people will leave and when that happens, be excited for them for following their dreams the way that you are following yours. And when you see them next, you can be sure that they’ll remember the impression you left on them and how it not only shaped their memory of working with you, but perhaps inspired their future career path as well.
