3 Ways Small Business Owners Can Retain Workers in 2022

3 Ways Small Business Owners Can Retain Workers in 2022  

The Great Resignation. The Big Quit. The Great Reshuffle. If any of these words strike fear into your heart, you’re not alone: 80% of CEOs are scared of potential labor shortages.  

And in 2022, they should be. There’s seemingly never been a better time to be a job seeker, and it’s never been more stressful to find new talent. There are 0.5 job seekers for every job opening, and companies are hanging on to their remaining employees for dear life. Discharges are at record lows (30% lower than average, to be exact), and it’s become nearly impossible for a worker to get fired in 2022.    

As a small business owner, the loss of an employee can be even more devastating in the tiny, perfectly balanced engine you’ve been tweaking. Onboarding is expensive, and employees of small businesses often wear many hats. So how do you retain the team you have in such a tense labor market? Follow our three foolproof steps to develop a small business work culture full of happy, healthy, and motivated employees that won’t quit on you.   

1. Consider your Leadership Style  

The most effective way to retain employees? Be a good boss. During this Great Resignation, there’s no room for poor management. Before you breeze past this step, consider this unnerving stat: over 75% of all workers report their boss as the worst part of their jobs.   

You may think your team is satisfied with your leadership skills, but with less than a quarter of employees satisfied with their bosses…wouldn’t you want to be sure? If that statistic didn’t scare you silly, this one might: 82% of workers from 10 different industries say they’d leave a job with a toxic boss.  

Are we saying you’re a terrible boss? Of course not! What we are saying, though, is that even the best leaders in the world should be constantly evaluating their individual performance, communication style, and company culture.   

Unsure where to start? Check out our latest post on servant leadership: a style that decentralizes power and creates a flat hierarchy. With fewer or no hierarchical levels, you’ll boost autonomy, creativity, morale, collaboration, and efficiency, leading to happier, more involved employees.  

2. Evaluate your Compensation Plans  

Of the workers who quit their jobs in 2021, 37% listed low pay as a major reason for leaving, and 26% listed it as a minor reason. If 63% of your workers quit right now, what would you do? After a few anxiety attacks, you’d probably spend around 42 days and $4,129 (per worker, on average) to hire someone new. And then you’d have to train them.  

Luckily, there’s a cheaper way to circumvent this mess: make sure the pay for your existing employees is competitive. Encourage your workers to ask for what they want and think they deserve. Don’t make it scary to ask for a raise!   

Your team will become more invested in your mission if they’re taken care of. Some package elements to consider aside from pay:  

• More PTO 
• Reimbursement for adoption expenses 
• Covering domestic partners under health benefits 
• In-office perks like fitness centers and free food  

Another major don’t? Discouraging your employees from taking their rightfully-earned PTO. Only 23% of employees take all the time off that they’re entitled to. If your employees fall into that statistic, they’re on a fast track to burnout…and you’re on a fast track to getting a two-week notice.  

When you consider the financial needs of your employees, you reduce your turnover rate and guarantee future growth.   

3. Provide Flexibility  

“If they make me go back to the office, I’m just going to quit and apply for The Bachelor.” Just a comedic TikTok video? Perhaps, but with nearly 111,000 views from corporate workers on the app and 64% of the global workforce reporting that they’d consider quitting if forced to return full-time to the office…it’s safe to say this is a popular sentiment.  

With gas prices soaring, providing the option for workers to go hybrid or fully remote will increase your retention rate and expand your talent pool when you do need to fill a position. If your employees can work from anywhere, you can hire from anywhere!  

Providing your employees with flexibility doesn’t stop with offering remote and hybrid positions. You should also consider giving your employees more autonomy with how and when they work.   

You may not be able to stop into their office, but you can still micromanage from afar with excessive Slack messages and requests for meetings. Don’t do it! Encourage your employees to block out time on their calendar for individual work, and respect that time.   

Aside from necessary team meetings, evaluate if there’s a true need for all of your employees to have the same office hours. The traditional 9-to-5 has become antiquated, and allowing your workers to have control over their own schedules increases productivity and job satisfaction.   

Why force a night owl to work in the morning, or a busy parent to speed back home after dropping their child off at school? Flexible scheduling is kinder, safer, and more effective.  

We could boil all these steps down to the golden rule: Treat your employees as you want to be treated. If you take that rule to heart, you’ll inevitably end up with a workplace that’s full of empathy, positivity, and forward momentum.   

If you’re looking to build forward momentum with your finances, reach out to KYN today to connect with a trustworthy team of financial experts. We’ll take care of your financial wellbeing so you can focus on the big stuff…caring for your employees!