Why small businesses should re-recruit their most valuable employees

BY BOB NEALON

At small businesses without a dedicated human resources function, it’s easy for employee recruitment and retention efforts to fall through the cracks. The pressures and demands of day-to-day duties often do not allow business owners or other key managers to focus sufficiently on their roles as coaches of their teams. This article is the first of a three-part series from Robert Half International offering helpful tips on recruiting and retaining your employees.

With still-high unemployment levels, why should companies worry about employee retention? Aren’t people just glad to have a job? Yes, many are. But that doesn’t mean that some members of your staff won’t look to leave as soon as signs of continued economic improvement emerge.

More than one-third of workers we interviewed for a new report, Workplace Redefined: Shifting Generational Attitudes During Economic Change (available at www.roberthalf.us/WorkplaceRedefined), said they don’t feel they’ve been fairly compensated for assuming heavier workloads during the downturn. Perhaps as a result, nearly four in 10 said they expect to seek new job opportunities when business conditions change for the better.

As the economy slowly gains momentum, your competitors – particularly large organizations with attractive perks and benefits packages – may be looking to lure your best workers away. Could this really be a threat in this economy? The short answer: again, yes. In the third-quarter Robert Half Professional Employment Report (www.roberthalf.us/per), 42 percent of executives said it is difficult to find skilled professionals today, up five points from the second-quarter survey.

Here are some tips for making sure your employees won’t be tempted to jump ship any time soon:

Conduct ‘job interviews.’ Now is the time to re-recruit your most valuable employees and emphasize the advantages of working for your firm. During the original hiring process, you asked prospects about their work with previous employers. To re-recruit them, ask your current employees to talk about what it’s like working for your firm. Encourage them to respond candidly to questions such as “If you could change something about your job (and/or this company), what would it be?”

After the interviews, evaluate your employees’ answers and determine how you’ll act on their feedback. For example, their responses may prompt you to make major changes, such as launching a formal professional development program, or minor adjustments, such as implementing a more casual dress code. Or if, in the course of the interviews, you discover that one of your top people wants to move into a managerial role, you might give him or her opportunities to direct project teams.

Sell them on your strong points . Is your company a fun place to work? Do your employees feel like they’re part of a family? Does your firm have a reputation for outstanding customer service? Play up your company’s best traits – it will remind employees why they chose to work for you in the first place. Some small businesses allow employees to bring their pets to work, or provide pastries and coffee every Friday morning, for example.

Keep the lines of communication open. One advantage of small businesses is that communication between you and your staff can take place quickly, directly and informally. Make the most of this by getting out of your office and talking with your employees on a regular basis. Let them know what you’re doing to keep the company strong, stable and on track, particularly if your business was hit hard by the recession. Also, be open with your employees. Share your thought processes whenever practical so they understand the logic behind a decision and how it will affect them.

Provide your vision and ask for input . At a small company, your success depends on getting your staff’s buy-in. During the recession, you may have been forced to share the pain through wage cuts or furloughs. When things start looking up, you should share the benefits as well. Let your employees know what your company’s future looks like and involve them in the plans to make that vision a reality. This gives them a sense of ownership and empowers them to implement their ideas. Rather than presenting ready-made solutions, for example, give employees a chance to provide input. One useful motivator is to present your team with a business challenge and ask how they would solve it.

Give them opportunities to advance . At a small company, employees typically perform a variety of duties beyond their official job descriptions. To help them develop their skill sets and groom them to take on new responsibilities, start a cross-training program for your best people. During cross-training, they can spend a few hours a week shadowing coworkers whose roles relate to or complement theirs.

Let them know the y ca n grow with you. Because there may not be as many advancement opportunities at your firm as at a larger one, you have to show employees that they don’t need to leave to find new challenges. Help staff members map out a career path so they feel a sense of steady professional growth and progress.

By employing the retention tactics above, you can hang on to your most valuable talent and avoid the high costs associated with turnover. Though you can’t stop every good employee from leaving your firm, you can get a jump-start on retention to better your chances of keeping top talent on board for the long term.

Bob Nealon is a branch manager for Robert Half International and oversees the company’s Braintree office. For more information, call (781) 848-9800 or visit rhi.com.

Published in Cape & Plymouth Business August 2010