Many of the best small businesses have an equally small team of incredible experts able to “wear many hats” as the need arises. Most small businesses are proud of their small teams, cozy venues, and connection to the local community. However, when it comes to competing with the “big business” world, there are a few places where smaller businesses tend to fall short. These are almost always things acquired by the economy of scale, like benefits. For example, you probably don’t have a closet full of spare computers for a quick replacement should one of your workstations go down in the middle of a busy day. Unfortunately, another economy of scale is leverage in arranging for employee benefits. Insurance, retirement, and medical plan packages always get better the more employees you can load onto the plan, meaning that your business of five to fifty people just isn’t going to be able to compete with the benefits packages and flexible options available to the big corporations.

The Turnover Problem

No doubt, you value each and every one of the employees in your small business and would be sad to see them go. Unfortunately, the temptation of big employment packages, impressive benefits, and glittering office buildings is often more than many professionals can resist. Many small businesses struggle with a higher than usual turnover rate because the young professionals you hire want to move on to ‘bigger and better things’ while older professionals tend to have an eye on their retirement and healthcare plans. The key to reducing turnover is to make working for your small business a more rewarding and far more personal experience than employees can find elsewhere.

Benefits are the way that big impersonal corporations try to show their employees that they matter, and benefits do matter to employees who are building a lifestyle but they aren’t everything. There are several strategies a concerned small business can use to make it clear how much each employee is valued and to compensate for a less-than-competitive benefits package. In many ways, you can offer ‘job perks’ that no big corporation ever could.

Offer More Family-Friendly Flexibility

Not all benefits require an expensive package with an insurance company. More than any small team manager in a big corporation, you can provide your employees with flexibility and consideration for their personal circumstances. Flexible hours for parents, for instance, can allow them to come in early or work weekend hours so they can be home for their kids after school. Or for parents who have a child who can’t go to school for some reason, you may be able to make a safe place for kids to play and nap in your venue so they don’t have to spend sick leave hours to stay home with the child. You can even offer special days off for wedding anniversary celebrations or more flexible maternity/paternity policies that are very difficult to secure in the corporate world.

Pay Premiums In Lieu of Better Options

Some small businesses make plenty of money but still can’t swing the benefits packages that come with a large number of employees. If this is your situation, you can effectively sweeten the deals you can offer by paying a portion of healthcare and insurance premiums instead. This can make the benefits you offer more valuable to your employees and shows that you’re more than willing to give back a greater portion of the money they make for the company than a large corporation would. You can also make use of your flexibility by building each employee a custom retirement plan based on their priorities and preferences or putting together a great uniform option that is better than most big business options.

Allow Workspace Personalization

If you’re looking to make your work environment more rewarding to balance the benefits issue, consider breaking another corporate rule by encouraging your employees to personalize their workspaces. Whether they work at a desk, a cash register, or manage an entire kitchen, a little personalization can go a long way to making your employees feel ‘at home’ in your small business and a lot more like family than a professional automaton only there for to provide work for pay.

Let Everyone Have a Say in Company Decisions

Many professionals crave more influence in their workplace than they see, something that is harder to achieve in a monolithic brand with multiple branches than in your cozy small business. If you value your loyal employees like family, then treat big company decisions more like a family decisions. Though your word is the final say, introduce any plans for change or problems you’re seeking solutions to and ask each employee for their input. If they don’t have anything to add right away, let them know that your door and ears are open. It’s entirely possible that one of them, after mulling over it for a few days, will come up with something excellent you wouldn’t have thought of without them, and incorporating team ideas will make them feel more like part of the founding team.

Conclusion

How do you find—and keep—high-quality employees in such a competitive market? Contact us for staffing and employee retention tips. We’ve got you!