The past few years have been tough on small business owners working to build the workforces necessary to growing a company. Rising costs of employment, paired with a down economy, have simply reduced the resources most business owners have available to invest in a workforce. In the most recent Small Business Success Index, many small business owners pointed to less success in training and developing employees — 58 percent consider themselves highly successful, down from 65 percent a year ago.
Creating the right team is crucial to a small business and has long made small businesses competitive as employers: employees at smaller companies tend to get more opportunities for development, more responsibilities and even more opportunities to increase their own income. But many small business owners report struggling with workforce issues right now.
Making the Most of an Improving Economy
Most small businesses are seeing their financial situation improving. That means an end to at least some cost-saving measures and perhaps an increase in hiring. It’s time to take a look at how you can improve your existing team and where you need to consider hiring more help. Your employees are about to have a lot more options in terms of employers and you’ve got to make sure that they have reasons to stick with you.
Just as one of the best strategies to manage your workforce during economic downturns is to talk to your employees and make sure that they’re kept up to date on what’s going on, it’s good practice to talk to them during good times as well. If you’re thinking about how you can improve things for your team — as well as how to develop them into a better workforce — check in with them and see if there’s any requests on the table. You may be surprised: an employee may be more interested in increased responsibilities or help furthering his education than a bigger benefits package. There are plenty of ways to help both you and your employees move forward and they may have some suggestions in that direction.
Avoiding Workforce Problems
If you feel that your business may be one of those that isn’t having as much success as in years past, it may be particularly crucial to look for solutions. For the past few years, most employees have been reluctant to try to leave their current employers — after all, there was no guarantee that they could easily find a new job. There are still elements of a jobless recovery right now, but the overall economic situation is headed in a direction where many employees will feel better able to replace an unsatisfactory job.
As a small business owner, it is necessary to make sure that trained, valuable employees have little incentive to start job hunting. The shape your efforts will take depend on your industry, as well as the needs and expectations of your employees.
Image by Flickr user Bill Jacobus
Web.com is now offering forums designed to support small businesses in cities throughout the US. Learn more about these forums here: http://Businessforum.web.com/
Tags: SBSI, small business, social media, Workforce
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