Every business owner or manager has dealt with a departing employee. Not
only do these events negatively impact your business’ productivity, but they also cost you a good amount of money. In fact, a recent survey by BambooHR, published in HRMorning explained that the estimated total cost of losing an employee, along with an ineffective onboarding process, equates to $10,000 a year.

In today’s economy, retaining your best employees is crucial for the success of your business. Luckily, researchers agree with this statement, which is why many have sought to get to the bottom of retention issues. Here are two very prominent findings based off of their recent studies.

Finding No. 1: Take care of new hires

Many business owners focus their retention efforts around existing and legacy employees, but efforts surrounding new employees are just as important. HRMorning recently published research, conducted by software company BambooHR, which revealed the following reasons for why workers leave their jobs:

  • The expectations of the job were unclear.
  • The management wasn’t a good fit.
  • They didn’t receive adequate training.

When it comes down to it, each of these reasons can relate to how business owners, or managers, conduct their hiring and training processes. The results showed that many employees expected to enter a new position with clear guidelines from leadership. They also expected to have one-on-ones and personal trainings, especially in the first week of the job (33% of respondents wanted early trainings to come from their own manager, more than any other option).

With that said, storage owners need to pay close attention to how they are onboarding their new employees. While you don’t need to necessarily hold the hand of a new employee, you should at the very least make them feel like leadership – and in extension, the company – is taking a personal interest in them. If you are ever unsure on how to best hire and train a new employee, seek out aid from an outsourced HR professional, or consult your internal HR resource.

Where's the balance between management and culture for better employee retention?Where’s the balance between management and culture for better employee retention?

Finding No. 2: Culture counts

While this finding may be obvious, many business owners chose not to dedicate resources to building an engaging enjoyable workplace. If retention is an issue however, studies have provided evidence as to why these owners should change their mind. For example, an employee engagement firm, TINYpulse, revealed that 15 percent of employees who were displeased with their company’s culture were more likely to pursue another job opportunity.

“Culture is what you actually feel when you enter a business.”

When many business owners hear the word culture, they think of corporate events and free lunches. While these are some great perks that are sure to increase morale, building a good culture does not always need to involve spending money on employees. In fact, BambooHR’s survey found that less than 1 percent care about that aspect of the job. Instead, employees cared more about the business’ overall environment.

Culture, Forbes contributor and HR expert Josh Bersin defined, is what you actually feel when you enter a business. How are people behaving toward one another? Do they appear to be excited about being at work? What does the office’s space look like? These questions help critique a company’s culture, so it’s important that storage owners provide answers for their business and find employees who share similar values.

Getting started

It’s up to business owners and managers to ensure that these practices are a top priority within the organization. If resources are not available, business owners can seek out assistance from an HR outsourcing organization such as AlphaStaff. Not only can AlphaStaff provide guidance on hiring, employee onboarding, and culture, but we can also offer great incentives to further enhance your retention efforts. Through a partnership with AlphaStaff, you can offer your employees health benefits, retirement plans, and great corporate perks.