It is painful for small business owners to eventually lose their top employees because they decided to work for more prominent companies. Even if you want to prevent them from leaving, you cannot do anything if they already made up their minds. If you know you have nothing against the competitors, you just need to accept that you are losing them.
It does not mean though that you have to keep bleeding top candidates. Make sure that you do these things to retain them in your team.
Offer opportunities to grow
Some of these employees are not only after money. They also want the chance to improve themselves. Therefore, if you offer them the opportunity to grow, they might decide to stay. For instance, you can offer them other roles in the team where they will feel that they matter. Talk to these employees and ask them how they think they could significantly contribute to expanding the small business. You can also offer opportunities to study while working. You can subsidise the tuition fees, or you can simply provide flexible working hours.
Renegotiate their contract
Be willing to change the terms of the agreement if you think it will help convince the employee to stay. Firstly, you need to consider a salary bump. You can determine how much the employee deserves based on performance. You also need to think about the possibility of losing this person in your team and what it means. Apart from the salary, you can also offer bonuses. The working hours might also change if the employee can perform well, even when working at home. Besides, if you require this employee to represent your company for business trips even during the weekends, it is fair enough to be flexible with working time.
Offer a leadership position
Some employees also want to feel that they matter, and the company trusts them to take the lead. If there are leadership roles suitable for this person, you can offer one. Besides, if you do not want to lose this employee, it means that your level of trust is high, and you will not mind assigning a leadership post.
Do not forget to thank them
Make sure that your top employees feel that they matter. Even a simple thank you would suffice. You do not need to offer significant bonuses to make the employee feel worthy. Sometimes, a thank you note left on the desk is enough to make the employee feel good. The work environment could be quite toxic at times, and it is one of the reasons why some employees decide to leave. If you do not want to make them feel that way, the changes need to come from the top.
If you are still unsure if your best employees will stay despite all these things, you can consult with HR experts at London HR consulting. They will offer advice on how you can make your employees decide to continue working with you. They will also provide other information necessary to boost your employee morale.