Growing a small business team isn’t just about hiring – it’s also about retaining your current employees. This concept is more important than ever as companies are struggling to find qualified and interested candidates. Here are tips for both hiring and retaining top talent, thanks to members of the online small business community. Upgrade Your Onboarding Checklists by Ditching Excel Excel is often the default option for charts and checklists. But if you use this for hiring and onboarding, it may be time to upgrade. Use These Recruitment Tools to Improve Your HR Strategy HR is just like any other business department; there are tools to automate and improve your processes. If you haven’t already, try online or software recruiting tools. Remove Drudgery and Dread from the Workplace You can’t possibly get the best out of your team if they dread coming to work. So if you have an unpleasant office environment, improving it should be your top priority. Reward Employees to Improve Their Experience You shouldn’t only evaluate your team when there’s something to criticize. Rewarding team members for quality work is equally as important. Don’t Let Customers Chase Away Your Best Employees The “customer is always right” philosophy can make life harder on your employees. In fact, difficult customers may cause some team members to seek opportunities elsewhere. Learn How to Hire Freelancers Freelancers can be an ideal way to grow your team without taking on extra office space or covering benefits and training. Run Effective Remote Meetings Meetings are a big part of most workplaces. But allowing team members to work remotely – or at least attend meetings that way – can be seen as a major benefit. Find the Best State to Start Your Franchise Opening a successful franchise business requires many ingredients, like access to capital and an eager pool of potential employees. Many of these factors change based on the location. So where you choose to start may impact your ability to hire and afford a franchise. Combat Impostor Syndrome in Your Business Impostor syndrome can make entrepreneurs feel ill-equipped to run their companies. And it often impacts employees as well. Combating it may help businesses work more effectively from multiple angles. Inspire Others Through Positivity Positive attitudes can rub off on others. At work, inspiring others through happiness and positivity may even lead to improved morale and productivity. Source: smallbiztrends.com Image Credit: Depositphotos
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There is a direct correlation between company culture and business success. In today’s competitive business world, having a solid company culture is paramount for success. In fact, 72% of companies that engaged with PwC's Global Culture Survey 2021 "report that culture helps successful change initiatives happen." To create a successful business, you must focus not only on the task at hand but also on the environment and people in which those tasks are being created. That said, here's how great company culture can drive business success. 1. Enhances Productivity One of the most significant benefits of excellent company culture is fostering teamwork. Collaboration and cooperation are essential for any team or organization to succeed, even in competitive industries. A strong company culture encourages everyone to contribute ideas, offer feedback and improve processes. This can lead to increased efficiency, new ideas and innovation, which can help your business grow and thrive in an increasingly competitive market. When you have a good company culture, your employees will trust each other and the management team. This will make it easier for everyone to work together on projects and improve the overall productivity of your business. 2. Improves Employee Engagement And Makes Work More Fun Happier employees are more engaged, and more engaged employees are more productive, creative and committed to excellence. This combination leads to more satisfied customers, a stronger brand and better business results. The workplace can be a highly stressful environment for many employees often due to the pressure to perform and be recognized for their achievements. However, companies and HR professionals should not underestimate the power of employee engagement and happiness. People who enjoy going to work are happier and more productive, which is good for both employees and employers. Great company culture doesn’t mean you constantly have parties or ignore hard work; instead, it focuses on creating a positive environment where employees feel appreciated. Happy employees are more likely to be loyal and stay with the company longer, which means reducing turnover rates and lowering recruitment costs. This can also lead to higher productivity, better customer service and higher profits. 3. Attracts Top Talent And Helps Retain Them Companies need to engage in some aggressive recruiting tactics or risk being left with unfilled positions, or worse, hiring people who aren’t suitable for the job. A company with a good reputation as an employer will also have more success in retaining its existing staff. In today’s job market, people are more likely than ever to change jobs regularly, and employers need to keep their workers motivated enough to stay with the company long-term. Employees who enjoy working at a business will stay longer than those who don’t like the environment they are working in. Building a good company culture where employees feel valued and appreciated is essential if you want to retain your employees. 4. Enhances Brand Reputation Company culture is the foundation of your organization. It encompasses where and how people work, the values that guide their behavior and the systems that reinforce those values. A strong company culture enhances your brand reputation. Prospects can quickly see how your company operates and whether you invest in your people. It’s hard to hide because it’s an integral part of the company and a key driver of your success. A great company culture is a powerful tool for setting yourself apart from the competition. The most successful companies make their team members their number one priority and provide them with a positive, supportive working environment. 5. Heightens Customer Satisfaction Your company culture should be a genuine reflection of what your brand stands for and what matters most to your business and customers. When you create a culture that is true to these values, people will see through it and recognize your sincerity. Influenced by a great business culture, a business’s reputation is vital in attracting and retaining customers. This is because customers need to trust the company they are doing business with. If a company has a bad reputation, it will find it hard to attract customers as customers are more likely to purchase products or services from organizations they respect and admire. Building your reputation through your culture can give you an edge over your competitors. Bottom Line Ultimately, it would seem that having a great company culture is essential to business success. Everyone wants to work for a great company, and that’s something that every company—startup or otherwise—should strive toward. Whether it’s through employee appreciation or some other means of fostering a collaborative atmosphere, there are plenty of ways to improve on this, so why not get started today? Source: https://www.forbes.com Image credit: Getty
Building your small business team is always challenging – but even more so in 2022. You may not be able to control the overarching uncertainty and worker shortages. But you can make sure your hiring and onboarding practices are in order. Here are tips from members of the online small business community for building a solid small business team. Welcome New Hires Once you find the right people to hire, it’s time to make them feel like part of the team. The right welcoming strategy can help them collaborate more effectively and work more productively. Mandy Caruso of ClickUp shares tips for welcoming new hires here. Re-Open Workplaces Safely with Hybrid Models Many offices are starting to reopen. But there are still many safety concerns. Luckily, hybrid work models offer some flexibility and safety benefits, while still bringing some workers back in person. Harry and Sally Vaishnav go over the benefits in this Small Biz Viewpoints post. Consider These Factors in Changing Professions There are many reasons why people choose to change professions. This isn’t just relevant for job seekers. It may also be relevant to business owners looking to hire those professionals. Get some insights from this post by Lisa Sicard of Inspire to Thrive. Then see what BizSugar members are saying here. Reduce New Hire Churn Constantly hiring and replacing employees can put a huge strain on your HR and leadership team. So it’s in your best interest to keep employees for as long as possible. To reduce new hire churn, check out this post by Grace Donaldson of Process Street for tips. Prepare Before Expanding to Another State Expanding a small business requires growing a team, researching a new market, and completing lots of paperwork. Going into a new state may even require some specific legal steps. Nellie Akalp goes over specifics in this CorpNet post. Create Repeatable Processes with Great People Part of the reason an amazing team can help your business get more done is the ability to create processes. Repeatable tasks provide more efficiency within teams. To learn more about this concept for teams, read this Startup Professionals Musings post by Marty Zwilling. Ensure a Happy and Comfortable Workplace Happy employees tend to get more done. While you cannot ensure that everyone on your team is satisfied in their personal life, you can provide a comfortable workplace. This Platter of Gold post by Anthony Williams includes tips for doing just that. Deliver the Best Customer Experience Hiring the right people for your customer service team can dramatically impact the experience. But this is just one aspect of improving the customer journey. Learn more in this Noobpreneur post by Ivan Widjaya. Then head to the BizSugar community to see what members are saying. Find the Best Tax Deductions for Your Business The tax deductions you can take depend on the structure of your business. If you’re self-employed, you’re likely the only official team member in your business. But there are still opportunities to save during tax season. Tim Parker of ZenBusiness lists options in this post. Acknowledge Employee Burnout So many workers have felt burned out over the past few years – perhaps none more than those in healthcare. Even if you don’t run a healthcare business, it’s important to notice and address when your employees have reached their limit. Lauren Galli shares an employee’s perspective in this Strella Social Media post. Source: Smallbiztrends.com Images: Depositphotos
Employees are interested in professional development, and organizations want to hire and develop employees who can step into leadership roles. But where's the disconnect? What do organizations need to do to make the corporate ladder climbable? Here are some specific steps that employers can take to build their leadership pipeline while offering opportunities shown to increase employee engagement, productivity and longevity. A look at the research According to Gartner research, more than half of employees indicate that it’s important for their employers to offer real opportunities for personal growth. Employers benefit as well. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) indicates that when organizations offer comprehensive training, they experience a profit margin 24% higher than those that spend less time on training and development activities. These efforts can also help in building the kind of diversity in leadership ranks that so many companies — and their customers and employees — value today. Positive impact on diversity Being proactive in coming up with ways to lay the foundation for employee development and growth can go a long way toward addressing the lack of diversity in senior leadership positions. This is true all the way to board seats. It’s well-known that the leadership pipeline can be a rate-limiting factor for upward growth if that pipeline is populated primarily by traditional stereotypes. And yet, at many organizations, that continues to be the case. It's not necessarily because of anything these organizations have willfully done to keep persons of a diverse background out of the pipeline, but more because of what many have not done — proactively taken steps to ensure that typically underrepresented groups of employees are getting the training, development and coaching support to move into higher-level roles. Here are some ways organizations can invest in making the corporate ladder climbable while paving the way for greater leadership diversity. Help managers develop coaching skills Don’t assume that your managers are all adept at and comfortable with coaching employees and helping them grow and develop to move into higher-level positions. Many aren’t. But you can help to provide the tools, training and resources to help them serve in this very important role. As part of this training, teach managers how to work with employees to develop personal development plans (PDPs) as part of the performance management process. Encourage both upskilling and reskilling Not every employee will be interested in moving up the proverbial ladder. And, let’s face it, most organizations have very limited opportunities for employees who may be interested to move into higher-level roles. That doesn’t mean, though, that they can’t or shouldn’t pursue opportunities to learn new skills that might prepare them for other lateral, or even lower-level, positions within your organization. In today’s fast-paced and continually changing environment, the need for new skills is apparent in organizations of all kinds. Upskilling can provide as much value for meeting employee development needs for some employees as preparing them to move into other roles. Many companies already know this. In fact, LinkedIn’s 2021 Workforce Learning Report indicated that 59% of respondents say that upskilling and reskilling initiatives were their top priority in 2021. Provide leadership opportunities Leadership opportunities don’t need to be limited to those that involve supervising or managing others. The ability to lead a committee, task force or project team can offer a valuable leadership opportunity for employees while offering a way to evaluate employee competencies and potential to serve in more formal leadership roles. Develop a role for career development coaches Managers and supervisors aren’t the only members of your staff who can play a role in coaching employees in their career choices and preparation for new roles. Your HR leaders and staff members can also play a role here, as can learning and development staff. In fact, having dedicated, go-to career coaches on staff can provide valuable resources to both employees and managers. Serving in this role can provide a great professional opportunity development for employees, helping them develop a key management skill that, as we’ve seen, is often lacking. Offer tuition and certification reimbursement If you don’t already, consider offering tuition and certification reimbursement to allow employees to attend college classes or other training programs they may be interested in. Organizations can gain tax benefits from offering reimbursement, making this a win-win in more ways than one. As employees develop their skills, they become more valuable to their employers. It’s an investment that can pay off in multiple ways, including allowing employees to level up in their current positions. These are just a few of the most effective ways to help your employees climb the corporate ladder — if that’s what they want to do. And even if they don’t, providing support and resources to help them develop desired personal and professional skills can pay big dividends — for them, and for you. Source: entrepreneur.com
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