Take care of your employees and they'll take care of you -Bonus- save money too!

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Brittany Drozd, One of Thousands of Entrepreneurship Coaches on Noomii.

As the owner or leader of a business, have your ever found yourself in this situation?

It’s the busiest season for your business, and a valuable employee just quit. The anxiety is rising up inside you as you foresee the overwhelming future….
- longer workdays and working weekends
- time to find and hire someone new
- cost of training someone new
- lost productivity and money

It’s very difficult to anticipate and properly plan for employee turnover, especially in a small business. Each employee’s role is crucial to your operations and success as a company. Therefore, it’s never a good time to lose someone.

Moreover, employers often underestimate the true costs of losing an employee. With loss in production, training costs, and your time (the most valuable resource) spent covering and hiring, research shows that companies are losing an average of 50%-125% of the salary of that employee in the process. For example, if you lose an employee who makes $50,000 annually, the company will spend approximately $25,000-$62,500 in lost production, hiring, and training.

That’s expensive. Especially for a small business.

What a less expensive option?

Although it’s difficult to respond to a lost employee, there are proactive steps you can take to avoid the loss completely and save your money! Here are a list of strategies explained to save you $10,000s, keep employees happy, and be a smooth operator:

Get feedback: This is the first mistake most employers make. They fail to get feedback when an employee is leaving.
Conduct an exit interview every time an employee resigns, quits, is fired, or laid off. This will give you so much information about what an employee’s actual experience is because they have nothing to lose at this point. That definitely impacts the level of feedback you will receive.
Most employers don’t do this because they’re afraid of what they’ll hear. But that fear causes blindspots. Don’t become blind to what’s happening in your business.

Expectations vs. Agreements: If you’re an organized company, your employees likely have jobs descriptions and employment contracts that detail what’s required of them. However, do you have expectations of that employee outside of what’s written and signed? That can lead to big problems.
When you add a new task or responsibility to an employee’s role, don’t just expect that they do. Get an agreement! The difference is paramount.
Covert expectations lead to disappointed employers and frustrated employees. Clearly state all that you expect from your employees, and make sure the understand what’s expected and that an agreement is formalized.
Get it in writing. This is isn’t always possible, but when it is, make sure it ends up in writing. This formality will help you hold others accountable and save you lots of money by limited turnover.

Invest in THEM: There’s never a good time to spend more money, but do it where you’ll get the greatest return on your investment – the PEOPLE in your company! Research shows that today’s employees will turn down a job that offers more money in exchange for a job where they feel they personally have impact, are recognized for their work, and have a voice and decision making power. How can you do this at your company?
– Create bottom up communication systems. Ask employees for feedback on aspects of the job they do everyday. They will likely provide new perspective to an old problem.
Give out fun awards at non-work events. Have an employee appreciation day. Buy lunch for the office.
Praise publicly. This goes a loooong way. You will see you’re employees become more invested in your company. This will increase your retention.