Why You Should Invest In Your Employees If You Want To Grow Your Business
Business owners with traditional mindsets tend to only focus on capital investments. They believe that spending money is the only way to make more money. That means cutting costs in places like quality assurance or human resources. The message it sends to its employees is clear: the money you make is more important than you.
But modern leaders or those with more open mindsets tend to have a different view. Instead of capital, they invest in their employees — the result: a more positive workplace atmosphere and more effective work.
So how can businesses actually invest in their employees? It sounds like a promising thought, but what are the practical steps a business owner or leader can take?
1. Increase Employee Retention
A study by Kronos Incorporated found that employee burnout is the biggest threat to the workforce engagement. The study involved 614 HR leaders across the nation. 95% believed burnout resulted in a significant turnover.
Top contributors include unfair compensation (41%), unreasonable workload (32%), excessive overtime (32%). Other barriers include poor management, lack of strategy, and insufficient technology.
It doesn’t take much to reverse this trend. All it takes is to treat your employees like humans, not robots. Pay them a fair, competitive rate to make them want to stay. Assign a manageable and realistic workload. Above all, find ways to show their work as essential to the overall company vision. Those are the main points you need to hit to keep your employees around.
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2. Build a Better Culture
To look at the bigger picture, sometimes you need to look at the company culture. Unfortunately, many companies do not have a clear, defined culture. They tend to focus so much on the work at hand, they neglect the human aspect of their business. That’s why so many workplaces feel more like machines than companies.
Take a look at some of the world’s biggest brands with millennials, like Google and Facebook. Say what you will about these brands, there’s no denying that their culture is inviting. Free health insurance, free organic meals, video games, and more — they make it fun to work at its offices.
Don’t let work distract you from the humanity of your team. Make sure they’re eating and living healthy while getting some down time to have fun. You won’t see a direct effect on sales, but you’ll see a long-term effect on the talent you hire.
3. Improve employee skills
Another reason employees will want to stay: to improve their skill set. If you don’t offer your team the opportunity to grow, why would they waste their time hanging around? Money isn’t always enough.
According to a survey by The Muse, 58% of its millennial audience said they plan to change jobs this year. Not for money or perks, but to look for more learning and growth opportunities. The results were similar across age groups and demographics.
Focus on extensive training and managers willing to educate. Attend workshops, seminars, and networking conferences that expose your team to the industry. Don’t focus on hiring qualified individuals; instead, focus on those passionate about learning. It is your responsibility to give them the project management tools that will help them manage teams, clients, and projects easier and smarter. Turn your team tech savvy and it will definitely show in their work. In the end, more skilled employees will translate into better products and services.
4. Save money
It is more costly to gain a new lead than it is to keep an existing one, and the same goes for employees. According to Bonusly, the cost to replace a highly-trained employee can exceed 200% of their annual salary. Think about that for a second. Hiring a new person costs as much as keeping someone around for two more years.
And it makes sense: think of all the wasted labor hours and capital involved in hiring someone. Wouldn’t it be easier to keep your existing workforce happy? Shouldn’t you hire only when there’s a new position available? Yet so many businesses would rather go for new hires.
Keep your existing labor force happy, and you won’t need to hire new people (unless you’re looking to expand). Ask yourself: how can I make my team happier, and more capable? Consider scheduling one-on-one meetings with your team. Hand out quarterly employee satisfaction surveys. These are just a few ideas on how you can better gauge your team’s sentiment, and accommodate their needs.
5. Create a positive brand perception and reputation
In the Internet age, don’t believe that your internal operations remain secret. Your employees are also your customers. When you disrespect your team, they will end up telling someone. Whether it’s on social media or by word of mouth, your brand will be the real victim.
Even internally, if employees are unhappy, word will spread throughout the organization. Leaders will have doubts and jump ship, while team members will suffer from low morale. The lack of direction will result in wasted time chasing unimportant tasks. The low morale will infect your team’s desire to succeed.
By keeping your employees happy and willing to stay, you indirectly invite others to join. That means more skilled employees as well as loyal customers. Treat your team well, and the word will spread online and in private circles. These days, a brand’s culture and how it treats people speaks greater volumes than its price point or unique features.
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Final Thoughts
With so much to do on the day-to-day agenda and so many quarterly goals to hit, it can be easy to forget about the people. But the people are the ones that run the business. They make sure to pay company bills on time and bring in new customers to make more money. They’re the ones that work even when the boss is out of town. So make sure they’re rewarded and recognized.
We mentioned just a few reasons why brands should keep their employees around for longer. Some reasons are practical, like money, while others are more moral, like culture. No doubt there are countless others. No matter the reason, never forget the most critical asset to your business: not money, but the people.
About The Author: Alexa Lemzy is the customer service manager and business blogger at TextMagic. Her focus is on helping businesses grow and build loyal customer base. Alexa also covers how mobile technologies can enhance marketing efforts. If you have any questions, drop Alexa a line on Twitter!
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