start me up!

How does a small company attract and retain top talent?

These are summarized from a discussion, kicked off by Yogesh Jain on LinkedIn two months ago. There were some outstanding answers, and I may have picked too many of them as is!

Jeff Goodell – there is a great opportunity for upward mobility within the company, that is, there is a great possibility for transitioning into roles of greater responsibility and at a greater pace.

Joy Jennings –
- Eliminate bureaucracy and/or layers of approval
- Give more vacation time than other companies in your industry
- Empower employees -- give them responsibility if they want it
- Encourage flex time -- let them come and go as they need

Andy Newman – consider educational opportunities and training development as retention tools. [And] regular communication is essential in small companies. If people don't know what is going on there they will bail for a large company.

Matthew Bowie – as long as the company doesn't have unsettling change, and shows employees just how much they mean, you will most-likely find the company with long-term employees just because they like staying in a family-type environment.

Janna Kay – bring your dog to work Fridays, bagel Tuesdays, yoga Wednesdays, team building exercises off site, flexible hours, believe and support work/life balance, supreme benefits package, great pay, mutual respect, positive company culture, bottom up input on company culture and policies, etc.

George F. Franks III – most people leave due to their boss. So it is very important that all managers and supervisors (anyone leading people) be trained, monitored, coached and that their employees have opportunities to provide feedback on THEM.

Joseph Campagna III – you can attract heavy hitters with the promise of future payout. Private stock option plans and profit sharing are two easy ways to do this. Multitudes will leave cushy Fortune 500 jobs if there is the opportunity [for more] than just a paycheck, even if it's [for] a long haul.

Larry Boyer – small companies are often able to go after and win some very interesting project work simply because large companies don't look at anything under a certain dollar amount and/or their overhead is so large as to make them uncompetitive with small companies.

Becky Fitzgerald – Knowledge workers care about being valued and adding value - make sure you acknowledge both sincerely, if you cannot, you won't keep them.

Michael MacKenna – Attention Small Business Owners and Management: INCLUDE your people in the decision process, open the doors, invite them to meetings, and your talent retention will increase right along with your profits.

Vimal Menon – there are many small companies who have a good work culture, code of conduct and ethics, high values which ensure the employees give back something to the society and also help them grow in confidence.

Lee Cendana – I would... include that a small company offer the best employee fringe benefits package as possible: medical, dental, vision, life, and/or cafeteria. [Also] Ben Codi – the PEO (Professional Employer Organization)… helps small organizations attract and retain talent by providing the benefits and hr support highly qualified employees expect in this competitive business environment.

Labels: recommendations

posted by Ron @ 4:20 PM