Most small businesses I know are always trying to attract great people, but can’t necessarily offer the same “perks” as larger companies. This puts them in the tough position of trying to attract these great people however needing to be creative in the offerings they have. The good news is perks and pay are not all the employees are looking for today.
According to a Gallup poll, roughly 70% of people are not engaged at their current job. Think about what this actually means…..7 out of 10 people are going to work and not enjoying what they are doing. That is a HUGE number! This is happening in the age of ping-pong tables, catered lunches, and nap pods. How can this be?
The simple answer is today’s employees want to work at a place that aligns with their values and purpose. They value flexibility and growth more than catered meals and game rooms. More than ever before, those entering the workforce view their paycheck as secondary. This gives small businesses a key advantage over their larger competitors. Small businesses are built where they have more direct access with their employees than larger companies.
Engagement matters as well…it matters a lot. A Gallup report confirms this. In businesses with highly engaged teams, profitability increased by 21 percent, sales productivity by 20 percent, and output quality by 40 percent. And with absenteeism down by 41 percent, it would seem that those employees actually liked going to work. There are real accounting and finance reasons to make sure your employees enjoy coming to work.
Here are four ways you can hire and retain great employees without breaking the bank.
Employee Growth Plans
Today’s employees are making career moves in the pursuit of happiness. While employees still have a yearning to work their way up, the pursuit of happiness is now their number one desire. A recent study by Cornerstone OnDemand found that the biggest motivator for changing positions is the promise of purpose and fulfillment, not financial incentive. This same Cornerstone report found that 66% of employees will seek internal opportunities before looking for a position elsewhere. This translates into the fact employees would rather stay and make it work at their current employer rather than find a new job.
With that in mind, employers must provide a plan and path for growth for their valued employees. They must provide a futuristic vision and plan for employees to reach the next level(s) at their small business. This most likely requires some sort of investment by the small business in continuing education courses to fill the gaps an employee might have as they build their skills for a new role. This must be an actual plan, not something that an employer desires to do. A plan requires steps and action items to complete.
Flexible Work Arrangements
At Monkey Bizness, the small business I run on the side, I have two key employees that are vital to our success. While both could most likely seek work elsewhere that would pay them slightly more, they are very happy in their current roles. Each of them represents a different employee “type” that we have been able to make a flexible work arrangement work for.
The first is our Director of Marketing. This is not a position that works on the retail side of the business. This person has two kids and a strong desire to be a part of their life growing up. What Monkey Bizness is able to provide is a 40 hour per week schedule that fits around her life. Each week we have our goals of what will be accomplished and it is up to her to figure out how that will get done by next week. While working from home helps her be able to pick up her kids at 3:30 at the end of the school day, the flexibility provides her with the comfort of knowing she is accomplishing everything she needs to within the confines of how her job fits into her life.
The second is our General Manager who runs our two retail locations. Flexibility is something people in the retail world struggle with. After all, most retail businesses have set hours and don’t have the flexibility in altering those hours. Our General Manager is a remarkably talented individual who has the respect of all that work for her. She also is the mother of two young kids and has a strong desire to be a part of their life. Monkey Bizness is able to offer her the ability to make her own schedule. While we can’t do this for all of our retail employees, we do offer it to 1-2 of the ones we want to make sure are around for the long term.
Discuss Your Vision and Their Growth
Futurism is a trait many appreciate but few actually have. Being futuristic means being able to paint a picture of the future that inspires others. Think of some of the most inspiring politicians in history and their ability to articulate the future was one of the traits that made them so inspirational.
Talk to your employees about the future and your vision for what you want your small business to become. You need to have individual conversations with those you want to come along on the journey with you and articulate their role in the voyage.
You should also have individual “coaching” sessions with your key employees. This includes sitting down and discussing their future, performance, and goals. There are entire books written on how to coach employees so I won’t go into much of it here. However, these coaching sessions should be done regularly and have a set agenda.
Keep in mind, you don’t need to do this with all of your employees (although, you can). At the very least, you should do this with the key employees on your team that you wish to retain long term. Seeing that 70% of employees don’t guide their professional growth, this could be a huge advantage for small businesses that implement some sort of plan.
Smaller Perks
Of course, you can’t get through an entire article on this topic without discussing some actual monetary perks.
First, let me mention the boring, old retirement plans. Most companies mistakenly think that implementing a retirement plan is a costly measure. Retirement plans are actually incredibly flexible and can be structured in a way that meets most budgets. You can talk with your financial professional or accountant on different structures and how they might work for you. These plans often have the added bonus of certain tax advantages for small business owners.
In a more retail setting where a retirement plan or medical insurance is not reasonable, I have seen plenty of companies go the Aflac route. We have actually implemented an Aflac plan at Monkey Bizness with great success. Their supplemental insurance plans often fit the overall needs of a retail or hourly employee. They also have things like dental insurance which can be great benefits.
Worker’s love their pets and as such, perks around pets can be a real benefit for some employees. I have actually had a couple of clients which allowed their employees to bring their dogs to work on certain days. I have had an employee that paid for one day of pet sitting each week so they wouldn’t have to stay at home. While I have not had a client do this, I have heard of companies offering pet insurance for their employees.
Another perk, in larger cities, is a transit pass. In Denver, I have seen many businesses offer light rail passes to employees who not only use them for work but use them on their own time as well. Along this same line are gym memberships. Many times if an employer approaches a gym, they can get a group rate for all of their employees.
Lastly, you can be creative and individually tailor perks to your employees. I had a client once who had a small management team and she gave each of them something personal each month. For instance, one of her employees had a high school son’s graduation party coming up and she gave her a gift card to Party City. Not only was it a great perk, but it also helped build more of a family atmosphere.
Small businesses need to be creative when thinking about how to retain employees. Employee retention is key to long term success. Not all employees need to be retained, but small business owners need to have a plan to retain their few employees they believe are vital to the success of the business.
If you would like to discuss employee retention more or how a certain plan may fit into your budget, reach out to Krieger Analytics. We’d love to discuss your small business and employee retention goals. What are you waiting for, phone calls are always free!