March 19, 2019 | Mason Roberts
You're a small business owner who is already on the fast track to success with an amazing team behind you. Your employees are ambitious and hard-working, and they make an amazing group.
Your small business is only becoming better and better because of your rock star staff. That's great! You owe so much of your success to the people you hire to make it all come together. But, what if they are feeling unappreciated and unheard and you don’t even know it? How can you ensure that they'll stay on your team?
This is a challenge for many small businesses, especially as your business grows larger and larger. Often times, business owners find themselves paying less attention to their loyal staff as their responsibilities grow. This will make the staff feel as if they aren't appreciated, possibly beginning to grow resentment towards the upper management of their small business.
If you are the sole employer of the small business, it is your responsibility to be aware of how your employees are feeling. One of your main goals should be to find a solution for your employees who feel this way. Make them feel like they matter. Provide your staff with motivation and incentives so they feel like they are a part of a business that matters.
Tackle Your Turnover with These Easy Tips
If you are a business owner who wants to keep your employees, here are a few ideas on how to keep them happy.
Listen To Employee Feedback
Having open communication with your employees is a great way to gain their trust. They will come into work feeling like they have a voice. They should be able to come to you with feedback from any type of situation. With this idea, it is a good idea to have weekly meetings with all of the staff and check in on how everyone is doing.
Ask them questions about anything that could be causing friction in the workplace, as well as how their day-to-day has been. Show them that you care about their experience. With this idea in mind, you should also be open to one-on-one meetings if requested. If an employee is requesting to meet you for lunch or anything of the sort, they probably have something they want to tell you but didn’t feel comfortable enough with other employees or managers around.
Lastly, a good idea may be an anonymous feedback system. There are many different types of people in the world, outgoing or extremely timid. There is a good chance that you will hire employees who do not feel comfortable giving feedback face-to-face. Having an anonymous system will give these people the voice they want without being put in an uncomfortable situation.
Share Your Opinion
An undeniably good way to get personal with your employees is to let them know how you, as the business owner, feel about their work. Let them know when they are doing a good job. Let them know if their work needs a little improvement in a certain area.
If your employee is doing a good job, award them with something, like a raise or promotion. If other employees understand that with their hard work, they will be rewarded, they'll continue to push and grow. Also, give employee reviews. Go over what their strengths and weaknesses are to help them become the best employee they can be.
Share The Responsibility
Sharing responsibility with your employees is a way to them that you trust them. This will not only show them that you trust them, but it will give them the confidence and room they need to succeed, as well as growing in the skill set they have. Giving them responsibility will make feel like they are a part of something they actually want to be a part of. They will not feel like they are mere, unimportant employees hanging out in the background of your small business.
Allow Time To Recoup
Being generous when it comes to sick days, vacation days, emergencies, etc. is an important part of whether the employee will choose your business or not. Many people will go looking for work elsewhere if they do not feel like they are able to have time off when needed. All employees are different and go through life differently. It is very likely that your employees may need a mental health day here and there to recharge, and as a business owner, you should be open to this and hear their argument on the matter.
Show your Employees Respect
If you do not respect your employees, sooner or later, they will leave. Where this matter is concerned, keeping employees is easy. You just have to treat them like human beings, not people who are there at your disposal. While, yes, you will have employees who put up with some disrespect from employers, eventually they will be sick of it.
No one will deal with being treated less than they are forever. The employees will go out and look for other jobs in the meantime and be gone before you know it. If you give your employees respect, you should receive respect as well. You can not expect respect and loyal employees if you do not reciprocate the actions.
Develop Incentives
Be aware of who you have hired and what they may need. If you have many young mothers or fathers on the books, maybe find a way to give them a daycare option. This will make the odds of them working hard and being attentive higher than if they are worried about their children every morning. This should eliminate them potentially being late and distracted.
Another option for this may be an education option for promising employees. Figure out a way to offer a cheap education program to young employees so they can further their careers with your business. This will show the employees that you are serious about their staying and growing with your business.
Also, awarding your most hard-working employees with promotions and more duties. This will make them take the position even more serious, and help others work that much vigorously to get to where the others are.