Employee Retention Ideas for a Bootstrapped Budget
All good small business owners know the value of key employees and their importance to their business’ success. They’ve invested time to find qualified candidates, contributed resources to train them, and are acutely aware of the significant financial and opportunity losses that would be incurred if an employee left the company. While some employee retention strategies rely on high salaries that far exceed the market average, not all organizations can afford this. So what is a bootstrapped company to do when it comes to attracting and keeping valuable employees?
There are many affordable strategies for employers to implement, and many are easier (and perhaps more fun!) to implement than you might think. It’s important to remember that money isn’t the only factor that affects employee satisfaction. Individuals value other benefits, such as flexible schedules, opportunities to grow, as well as appreciation in the form of small rewards. In this article, we will review three ideas for employee retention that don’t involve higher salaries.
Flexible Schedule
More and more businesses around the world are beginning to see the value of flexible schedules. While the traditional 9-5 dominates most corporate schedules, that leaves employees with little to no time to run personal errands, such as make doctor appointments or pick up their children from school. Offering your staff the flexibility to set their own schedules, whether it be to come in and leave earlier, or simply take a big break in the middle of the day, can be a big draw to keep them at your firm. In fact, a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 89% of the human resources professionals surveyed reported that having flexible work arrangements positively impacted their employee retention.
Mentorship Programs
A big priority for all people, especially those just entering the workforce, is the opportunity to advance their careers. While all good employee retention strategies should involve promoting from within, employee empowerment can be further achieved through the establishment of mentorship programs. Connecting seasoned and experienced employees with those recently out of college will provide invaluable industry advice and connections to your staff. Providing your team members with this opportunity to either share their expertise or learn from industry experts is empowering and can help prevent them from looking for other work opportunities.
Small Rewards
For employees to feel valued at the company they work for, management must make the effort to make the staff feel like they are recognized and rewarded for their hard work. While offering a large bonus may not be feasible, showing your appreciation with small rewards can be just as meaningful. Superstar salespeople can be encouraged to outsell their colleagues with gift cards to their favorite stores or restaurants. Even small denominations such as $25 or $50 can serve as motivation for excellent performance.
Acknowledgement of staff’s time and effort, such as offering your employees a half-day off after they just worked two weeks of overtime, will surely be appreciated. Other small rewards can include one-on-one time with the manager, which is something employees rarely get, catered lunches or simply a park picnic for a chance to get out of the office.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing that your employees are only motivated by money — that is far from the truth. While that does play a role, employees want to feel recognized and appreciated by their management. Flexibility, spontaneity, and creativity can go far to make up for limited funds or bootstrapping. Show your staff that you notice their hard work with small and affordable rewards.
An important aside to consider is that as your business’s workload grows, you may reach the point where in order to retain your current employees you need to hire more staff. Employees that are overworked on a consistent basis will look for other work, no matter how many rewards are bestowed upon them. It is advantageous for companies to have enough working capital to hire new staff for busy seasons or periods of increased demand. Small business loans through IOU Financial enable businesses to hire new employees in order to ease the burden their current staff may carry. For more information about how a small business loan can help with staffing needs, contact IOU Financial today.
