Dos and Don’ts of Talent Retention: Tips for Small Business

What practices should you be taking and steering clear of to keep your employees from leaving? We’ve put together three key dos and don’ts of talent retention that any small business should keep in mind.

1. Do listen to employee feedback. Surveys and suggestion boxes are great ways of collecting
feedback. Afterward, let the team know that you’ve heard their thoughts and ideas by implementing
changes where possible.

2. Don’t rely on gimmicky perks to keep employees engaged. Ping-pong tables, free popcorn and
bean bags won’t alone keep your employees motivated. One survey revealed that, for over a third of
employees, gimmicks are the least wanted perks in the office.

3. Do be flexible with how employees prefer to work. Consider allowing your employees to work in
a hybrid or fully remote setup. Research has shown that 98% of employees would like to work
remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers.

4. Don’t encourage an atmosphere of overworking. Only recognizing employees when they have
been working for long hours can contribute to burnout and a toxic workplace. Remind your
employees to clock off when their day is over.

5. Do create a culture of learning and development. Ensure that your company holds space for team
members to share knowledge, ideas and feedback with each other and that employees feel
empowered to ask questions and make decisions.

6. Don’t neglect what employees actually want in a benefits package. Put simply, if you’re not
offering your employees what they want, they’ll look for it elsewhere. For example, 80% of
employees aged 42 and over want a role that offers healthcare coverage.

While every company is unique, analyzing common employee trends and expectations across
industries can shape the ways any organization needs to adapt to keep a hold of their talent. This will
affect how you attract future employees, too — after all, a business stuck in its ways (for instance,
refusing to consider hybrid setups) won’t be appealing to new generations of workers with modern
mindsets.