COVID has changed everything & continues to impact our daily lives in ways seen & unseen. For the small business owner one of the greatest recent challenges has been finding & keeping employees. While the reasons behind this are incredibly complex, the end result is we now have a worker-driven economy. Those workers’ expectations are different than they were 2 years ago or even 6 months ago.

What does this worker-driven economy mean for you, the small business owner? Likely, it means that at the very least, you will be paying more for labor than in the past. But it isn’t just about pay rate, you have to create a culture that workers want to be involved in. Workers have had the opportunity to re-evaluate their lives & have found that they really would like (and NEED) a solid work/life balance. 

When I advise my clients about this concept of work/life balance, the first questions I ask are: “What do your employees want & need?” & “What motivates them?” The process of answering these questions is similar to the process of finding customers; you have to find the needs of that audience & provide an answer.

What is the answer when it comes to workers? Rarely is it just about money. Health care benefits, flexible schedules, child & elder care assistance, work from home ability are all possibilities. Sometimes it’s things like meals or food available while on-shift, gym memberships, or bonuses or benefits that are specific to your business that keep workers happy.

You really do want to keep good workers. It costs on average $7,000 to hire & fully train a new employee & it takes anywhere from 9-12 months. If you are constantly hiring & training, you are spending thousands of dollars in expenses & labor. It is simply more cost-effective to keep well-trained, high performers.  

So how do you find out what your employees want? Ask!  “Why do you like working here?”  “What would make it better?” Honestly listen to what they say & then determine what can be done to adapt. When an employee leaves, do an exit interview & genuinely listen…even if it’s not complimentary. Then, implement the suggestions.

My clients often tell me that they “can’t afford to pay more or offer benefits.”  That is understandable but you also can’t afford to lose your best employees & you can’t do it all yourself! There are ways to change your business model to meet the criteria of our new economy. You can’t afford not to!

If you’d like help evaluating your business model, feel free to email Kim or visit the SBDC website.