Employee retention strategies are critical to the health of your company. This is particularly true for smaller businesses, which often don’t have the luxury of employing multiple people in the same role. Every team member is essential. 

Having a strong team can
give you the confidence necessary to drive your business forward. When a star
employee submits their two-week notice, that momentum is shattered. 

This can leave you wondering what you could have done, if anything, to keep that employee from looking elsewhere. Think about it: When was the last time you focused on how to better retain your employees?

As a business owner or manager, you’re juggling many responsibilities to keep your business running smoothly. Unfortunately, dedicating time to keeping good employees may slip off your daily priorities.

So what can you do to keep your best employees around longer?

We asked eight of Insperity’s top employee engagement specialists the question, “What’s the best advice you’ve given a small business about how to retain employees?”

The resounding theme in their answers: retention starts during recruiting and continues every day.

Here’s what our specialists had to say:

1. Don’t rush recruiting and onboarding

Develop a
recruiting infrastructure. Making the right hire from the start has a
tremendous impact on retention. It starts with defining your talent goals
and moves all the way through to development of a strategic
onboarding process. 

Even if your company is small, you can gain boosts in new hire productivity, engagement and retention just by investing some time in a plan that helps your new hire feel like an important part of the organization.

Despite what you may think, offering your employees a bigger paycheck isn’t going to keep them around for the long haul. Make sure your employees feel valued and can see how day-to-day projects contribute to the greater good of the company.

The goal is for employees to see their role not as just a job, but as an experience that will help them grow and achieve their own goals. In return, you’ll get a more productive worker who is willing to give it their all and has a vested interest in the success of your business.

 Jill Chapman | Director, Early Talent Programs

2. Make a first impression that lasts

Create an onboarding experience. During an employee’s first few weeks,
they will decide whether or not they have made the right decision to work for
you, so make
your onboarding more than just paperwork.

During this time, be sure to articulate and illustrate your company’s purpose and values, as well as how this new employee fits in to the overall success of the team.

By clearly communicating the significance of their role on the team, you will have a motivated employee dedicated to helping the team succeed.

Chris Brennan | Performance Consultant

3. Be a consistent part of your employees’ experience

Be purposeful to
ensure your employees know they are your top priority. Everything you do – or
don’t do – makes a statement to
your staff about their level of importance to you and the business.

If I looked at your calendar, would I be able to tell what and how much you are doing to invest in employee relationships, development and retention?

If not, then they are likely not receiving the prioritization they need for you to achieve the highest potential for your organization.

Kelly Yeates | Vice President of Service Operations

4. Lead with your heart and soul 

The decision to be engaged is in the heart, not in the mind.
The most important thing small business leaders can do is be authentic.

If you publish core values, you must live those values. If
you talk about servant leadership, your employees have to see
those behaviors in action. If you talk about the importance of trust
and confidence, you have to give those to others to get them in return.

Employees want to be part of something real.

I know your dad already told you this, but it is what you do
when you think no one is watching that defines your business and personal
brand.

5. Leverage an individual’s motivation to help them succeed

Understand that
your employees are likely not as emotionally invested or passionate about the
business as you, the owner. Therefore, as a small business leader, you need to
understand and meet people where they are.

Determine what
motivates them. What do they value and how can you leverage those values to
make your business a place that they want to be?

Show employees how
working for a small business often provides intrinsic rewards that larger
businesses often can’t provide.

Dawn Motsiff | Senior HR Advisor

6. Demonstrate a clear path for their success

Employees are more likely to stay if they are in an environment where expectations are clear, and employees feel valued and rewarded for their contributions. 

Employees want to feel their work is meaningful and rewarding, and can see how it contributes to the success of the business.

Good leadership and management are critical. Consider the saying, “employees leave a manager, not the company.” A good manager leads with integrity and serves as a valuable resource in helping employees be successful in roles and finding job satisfaction.

Being a servant leader means setting
your team up for success, establishing clear expectations, providing
clear and meaningful feedback, and empowering employees.

Keith Mishler | HR Consultant

7. Give them the confidence to represent your company well

Employees are a company’s biggest asset. They are the face of the company, regardless of industry and company size. That’s why it’s important to empower your employees to do the right thing.

You can do this by being clear on what your expectations are
of them, rather than assuming they should know what’s expected.

Megan Moran | Manager, HR Services

8. Ask employees what would make their world better

I find that small businesses, especially those in the
technology industry, try to keep up with the trends set by Google and
Microsoft. As a result, they try to offer similar benefits or perks
attempting to emulate the bigger companies in an effort to retain
employees. 

While eccentric perks may seem nice, I suggest clients go right to the source for information. Survey employees about what’s important to them, and do so on a recurring basis.

Ask them why they joined your company and, more importantly, why they’ve stayed? Use their feedback to create programs or a culture that meets those needs.

Eric Cormier | Manager, HR Services

Want more information to help you develop successful employee retention strategies? Download our free magazine, The Insperity guide to employee retention.