The standard startup company encapsulates many important roles. It’s not just about one person doing the vast majority of the tasks anymore. For example, if you’re running a marketing firm, there are design teams, content creators, and the technical wizards that put all of it together. As a result, there are so many different types of people all under one roof, that it can be impossible to keep everyone happy. But the welfare of your employees, in a personal sense, is vital. When it comes to keeping your employees happy, it’s not rocket science, but there are things that you can give them that will keep them satisfied and working.
Unique Perks
While there are perks in bigger organizations that are a part of the fabric, such as statutory sick pay entitlement, or holiday pay, these things can be difficult to acquire, especially in small businesses where you are hiring freelancers or contractors on a regular basis. If you can’t afford to pay people holiday pay, and you are hiring people purely on an ad-hoc basis, is there any reason for them to stay with you? By providing unique perks, that make them feel part of something special, and by being upfront in what your intentions are as far as providing for their welfare, this is enough to keep them on side. Younger employees, such as the millennial generation, demand more flexibility from their roles, rather than financial benefits. It’s worth bearing this in mind, so if you can’t financially compensate, by implementing a more flexible approach to work, but also being earnest and thanking them for their efforts by a big gesture every so often, this can stop them fleeing to a rival company.
Nurture Their Development
Progression is the major factor for a lot of employees when they join an organization. It’s not just about someone coming on board to do a job, they want to progress and to improve, either in their role, or climb up the career ladder. If you can give your employees or contractors the signs that they can develop and improve in their role, and do something more beneficial further down the line, this is going to improve their allegiance to you. Nurturing their development isn’t just about a seminar now and again, it’s about constant interaction with your employees. You need to look at their skills, and make the most of what they have, but also what their intentions are when it comes to developing their horizons. It doesn’t even have to be within the job itself, lots of skills, even though they don’t appear to be relevant to the job, can lend themselves well further down the line. If you have an employee that wants to learn another language, providing the tools for them to do this could help you in relation to selling your product further afield. Or if you have employees that have dreams of leading their own team, giving them the opportunity to take the reins is easier to do in a startup environment. That way, they can decide whether it’s for them or not, and you’ve not lost much by giving them the chance. And by giving them the chance, they will appreciate you more for it.
Keeping your employees is much harder to do nowadays, especially if you’ve got a small business, and every role is vital. This is why you need to offer something that other businesses don’t.