How To Keep Hold Of Employees As A Business Owner

If you’re embarking on a journey as an entrepreneur or business owner, you’ve probably had a lot of sleepless nights. Usually, these are caused by things like how you’re going to finance your venture, wondering if your product or service is going to be a success, and what needs to go into your marketing strategy. 

But there are a few other things that might’ve slipped your mind. And one of the things that’s fundamental to your success in business is your team. More specifically, how do you build, keep hold of, and motivate a team of hardworking employees?

Culture

A strong team stems from a strong culture. Whether you’re new to the world of entrepreneurship or you’re a veteran business owner, implementing a strong culture should be top of your list. The implications of a strong or weak culture can be severe, but if you can carve out a great workplace culture, you’ll see the benefits to your staff and in areas such as idea generation, recruitment, and reputation.

On top of this, you’ll find that you’ll be able to retain staff for longer. It goes without saying, if people enjoy where they’re working they’re less likely to look for other jobs. But how do you create a culture that feeds into keeping hold of your staff?

It’s common for businesses to put time and money into social events and team-building exercises. But a strong culture comes from the little things too. Consider your office interior and ensure you’re offering employees a welcoming place to work every day. It could be as simple as adding a coffee machine and pool table to your office. Even redecorating and adding sofas and cushions to your office will be appreciated.

Relationships

Many business owners see their relationship with their staff as employer and employee. But those who are prepared to go deeper will reap the rewards in terms of their team’s productivity and commitment. 

It could be as simple as ensuring you have conversations with your employees about their life outside of work. Get to know their interests, their hobbies, and their family setup. Then take a genuine interest in what they get up to in their spare time. This helps to break down barriers and increases the chances that rather than seeing you as a boss, they see you as a friend. 

Older schools of thought may tell you that this is dangerous and that you should keep a clear line between colleagues and friends. But in 2024, many workers don’t want corporate relationships with colleagues and some of the most creative brands in the world rely on a relaxed environment where boundaries of years gone by have been removed.

If you are able to reach the point where you’re seen as a friend by your employees in today’s world, you’ll likely find that they’ll work harder for you and be a part of your organisation for longer. 

Career Progression

Ensuring each member of your workforce has a roadmap or career progression plan is one of the best ways to motivate them and also make them feel like they have a long-term place in your organisation. 

Career progression isn’t all about the employee though. It’s also about putting a plan in place for them to get to where they want to be which should benefit both the company and the individual. This could be in the form of mentoring, courses, qualifications, or any other form of training and development.

40% of workers today feel that they should receive more training opportunities which highlights the importance of growth to today’s workers. Ensuring you create a culture of growth will help to retain current staff but also attract more skilled workers when you are hiring.