“An employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager.” – Bob Nelson
With the increases in minimum wage in some cities around the Bay Area (Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose) business owners are seeing their workforce shrink. These workers are going were they are paid better and small businesses are having a very high employee turnover rate. Turnover can have a big impact in your bottom line. The cost associated with hiring a new employee (ads, time spent reviewing resumes, interviewing candidates, onboarding, training, etc) can be very expensive! Money, can be a big motivator for employees to leave; however, is not all! What the employees care about? 5 words: money, flexibility, respect, interesting work and autonomy.
Money: how is your compensation plan? Your plan needs to be competitive to bring good talent. How do you determine your employee salaries? You need to research and use some of the salary tools that the web has to offer (Bureau of Labor Statistics data, salary.com, payscale.com), ask around and find out what other companies are doing. Establish pay grades and salary ranges. Create a solid compensation plan that you can rely on to bring the best talent!
Flexibility: Based on the WorkplaceTrends.com “2015 Workplace Flexibility Survey” found that 75% of employees ranked workplace flexibility as the most important benefit they want. Almost all employees are looking for that work/life balance. What flexibility programs does you company has to offer?
Respect: Workers want to feel appreciated at work, they do not want to be mistreated, to be shouted at, or humiliated. Most employees want to do good job and to be treated as part of the team. What is the workplace culture in your small business?
Interesting work: No worker want to be bored at work. Imagine yourself doing the same boring work over and over again with no relief in sight, for how long would you endure a mind-numbing work? How your company can provide a job that people enjoys and provides the mental stimulation they need?
Autonomy: Let your employees thrive! Allow them to get the results your business needs in a way your workers feel fulfilled. There is more than one way of doing things and achieving your company goals
If your small business is having a high turnover rate it may be because your company is not providing the right incentives for your employees to stay and be productive. Are you creating a workplace culture that supports high performers?
