No matter what industry an employee is working in, they want to feel valued, satisfied, and fulfilled. Sometimes, certain business environments or experiences can make it difficult for employees to stay long-term without sacrificing their mental health and stability. If you’ve been struggling to hold on to your employees, here are a few things that you can do to reduce your employee turnover.
Create a Healthy Culture
First off, it is so important that you create a healthy culture at your business. You need to make sure that each of your employees feels valued, like their voice and opinions are heard. If your employees feel criticized, threatened, judged, or belittled, they won’t want to continue working for you. Make sure that you are sufficiently training your employees and praising and encouraging them in their different responsibilities. The communication patterns and methods that you use in your business are also very important. If you need to correct an employee, make sure that you use constructive criticism, and that you praise their strengths. Always be conscious of the tone of voice that you’re using and be careful to not use any vocabulary that could feel unhealthy or attacking. Work on building a coaching culture.
Offer Good Benefits
Next, you need to make sure you’re offering good incentives and benefits for your employees. This will help to convince them that they want to stay at your business because the benefits will make it worth it for them. These benefits could be anything from paid time off to employee vacations to raises to a company retirement plan. These different benefits can really persuade your employees to stay at your company. For example, a safe harbor 401(k) plan can avoid non-discrimination testing. This can make all of your employees feel seen and cared for.
Be Flexible
Finally, make sure that you are sufficiently flexible with your employees. Of course, you have a business that needs to be run and shifts that need to be covered, but you need to remember that your employees are human beings with personal needs. If you want them to stick around, you need to be flexible with them. When your employees have a personal emergency, family commitment, sick day, maternity leave, or any other kind of unexpected responsibility, make sure that you let them take care of those needs. If you don’t, they’ll end up feeling frustrated and burnt out, and won’t stay with your business.
So, whether you’re just starting up a small business or you’ve been running one for years, remember that everything you do determines which employees will continue to work for you. Make sure that you create a healthy culture, offer good benefits, and are flexible with your employees. This will create an environment that your employees will prosper in and want to be loyal to.
Running a small business takes a lot of effort. You work hard for your money, and it can be frustrating to see how much of that income goes toward taxes. Learning how to reduce taxes for your small business can help you retain some of that money to invest in more advanced equipment, put more money towards better advertisement, or pay your employees more.
Do Business in a Low-Tax State
One of the greatest things about doing business in America is that you can choose which states to do business in. Each state has unique tax percentages for things like mortgages, sales, and businesses. States with the lowest taxes for businesses include Wyoming, Alaska, and Florida. If you don’t think you could do a lot of business in these or other states with low business taxes, consider moving your headquarters to one of those states but still doing out-of-state sales to reach your target audience(s). Online sales have steadily increased over the past years, so you will not have a problem doing business online.
Understand Different Business Entities
As an entrepreneur, you have many freedoms. One of these includes the freedom to choose how to classify your business. Research the different classifications your business could fall under and what the different benefits of each are. For example, with an LLC, you get to choose how you are taxed. If you classify your business as an LLC, you can have much greater control in reducing your taxes.
Account for Home or Small Office Deductions
Most small businesses are run from home or a small office space. You can make tax deductions for office space needs such as electric bills, internet services, printer services, or better functioning computers or other technology if you need those things in order to run your business. A lot goes into creating and maintaining a successful small business, so it is important to keep track of these expenses with receipts and bills in order to make these deductions on your taxes.
Getting charged high taxes for your small business can be very overwhelming. However, with a little research and knowledge about small business taxes, you can greatly reduce your taxes without making major changes to your business. Learning about small businesses taxes will not only help you become more knowledgeable about the laws pertaining to your business, but help you allocate your financial resources elsewhere to keep growing your business.
It has been said that small businesses form the backbone of a community. There’s no question that this is a true statement, but in order for it to be 100% accurate, your small business must be an active and engaged member of your community. This means that you need to do everything you can to help everyone in your community grow and prosper. Here are three ways in which you can achieve that.
Raise Money for Charity
There are many ways your business can raise money for charities. You can have collection boxes, donate a portion of sales or simply make contributions. However, keep in mind that there can be many problems with ordinary fundraising if your business wants to raise money for charity. You have to account for all of the money and make sure you keep adequate records. It can also be complicated to raise money while not looking like you are profiting off of the fundraising, so it’s important that you are as transparent as possible when it comes to raising money.
Volunteer
Volunteering is vitally important, particularly for small businesses. It gives you a chance to be present, to get your name out to a large number of people who have never seen you before and to do some real good in your community. There is nothing wrong with keeping your business interests in mind while you volunteer. Indeed, it’s important. As such, find volunteer opportunities that align with your business interests. For example, if you deal with food service, working with local food banks or meals on wheels would be a very appropriate use of your time.
Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce
There are many benefits of joining your local chamber. It allows you to meet new people, network, find business deals and identify ways to get involved in your local area. Chambers provide great ways for you to grow your list of contacts. Furthermore, they can allow you to find the most efficient and cost-effective ways that you can make a local difference.
Of course, your time is limited, but being actively involved in community efforts is not only good for you and your neighbors, but it’s also good for your bottom line. Those are some of the many reasons that it is so important for you to do everything you can to keep your business community-centered. You can do good, meet more people and, ultimately, make more money.
One of the best ways to improve productivity within the workplace is to build a rapport with your subordinates. If you are new to the management field and are unsure of how to do that, here are some suggestions that can help you out.
Engage in Company Activities
Whenever there is a company picnic, office party, et cetera, by engaging in these activities, you send a message to your employees that you are part of the team rather than just over it. Atmospheres, such as a catered lunch, that are more relaxed will give you and your employees an opportunity to relate outside of the office politics and even make communicating in the office much easier.
Show Employees Your Appreciation
No matter who you are, whether you are a sales representative or a housewife, everyone wants to feel appreciated. The best way to get someone to perform in a manner that you want is by praising them whenever they do. Positive reinforcement will not only help your employees do their job better, but they will also be more open to listening to you as well.
Understand Every Single Job
Performing a Gemba walk may provide insight into your daily operations and help you understand what your employees are dealing with daily. Understanding what each job entails will help you empathize with your employees whenever they have an issue instead of dismissing their concerns. When your employees feel as though they are being heard and their concerns are valid, they will feel comfortable coming to you more, which will help to improve your relationship.
Provide Employees With Support and Guidance
When giving feedback that is not so positive, it is important that you not simply tell your employees what they did wrong but also tell them how they can make it right. Although correction comes with the managerial territory, it is also critical to provide positive feedback, as well, so employees know what they are doing right. Offering advice and tips that can help them be successful at work will ensure that your feedback is not only well received but also appreciated.
A good working relationship, just like any other, is based upon having an open line of communication. It is important that you try to understand your employees’ concerns, as well as, the needs of the company and communicate them in a positive and productive manner.
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Leading a retail sales team takes patience and flexibility. Not only are you dealing with the public on a daily basis, but you may be working with employees with limited employment experience. Managing people of different ages and skill sets will take a great deal of your time and focus.
Be a Leader
Mirror the skills you’d like your team members to exhibit. If you have a customer struggling to locate something, walk them to the item and make sure they have what they need before you step away. People bringing in returns may require special handling. Sometimes providing terrific customer service means letting people share a longer story than you have time for. Be an active listener. Let your team members watch you handle a difficult or unhappy customer. Remember that you are always teaching your team members, no matter how tough your job gets.
Embrace New Technology
Change can be hard for some people. If your team has members that struggle to learn new technology or customers who get unhappy when the store checkout process changes, you have the chance to shine. Changing technologies will suit some but may leave others behind. Of course, your team members will need to learn to use the latest tools available in the facility. By demonstrating that these changes will enhance their ability to do their jobs, you can reduce the resistance you have to face.
Do Research
Making sure that your team is successful will require some study on your part. For example, many retail managers now need to lead people who are much older than themselves. Reading up on generational work habits, communication patterns, and overall work expectations can make connecting with these employees easier. Factors for the business you work for, such as building and maintaining market share in a world that has embraced on-line shopping, can help you lead a team that provides magnetizing customer service. Reading some of the top rated books on retail management can provide you with great insights on how you can improve your skills as a retail manager.
Use Smart Delegation
You may have employees that are eager to learn and willing to go the extra mile. Make sure to encourage these employees to build a deep knowledge of the products sold by the company. If they demonstrate a willingness to learn, you can start delegating more responsibility to them. It’s important to note that these employees are not your competition. A well-trained and responsible team member can be the person who allows you to take a vacation or stay home with a sick family member. If you delegate and that person drops the ball, you know what they can handle and what they will choose to avoid. All of this information can help you develop your team for the best results for the business.
Focus on Organization
The retail space needs to be inviting, tidy, well-lit and unique. When you’re working in a space, use any downtime to organize the space. Whether that means refolding rumpled clothing on a display table or straightening things on a hanger, let your team see you focusing on these simple steps. If you run a restaurant, take around a pitcher of water or a pot of coffee. If you’re selling stationary, tidy the shelves and check the card displays to make sure each card has the proper envelope. The power of online shopping is that it allows customers to look at only one thing at a time. In sticks-and-bricks retail, you can successfully display a range of objects, but only if the display is well-organized and attractive.
It’s All About the Details
Each of your employees is a unique individual. Some may be punctual at the start of their shift but stretch their breaks. Others may struggle with being constantly late but work very hard once they arrive. Each of these employees brings something to the team and has areas they need to improve. Rather than trying to be an enforcer, think of yourself as a coach. Praise in public and try to promote improvement ideas in private. The late employee may be dealing with a difficult transportation issue, waiting on a babysitter or coming over after class. The employee who needs a longer break may be struggling with a personal issue or a health challenge. You may need to be flexible, but without open communication, you won’t know what’s causing the problem. Once the problem is defined, celebrate small improvements to let your employees know that you’re pulling for them and their success.
Managing people isn’t easy. Every person on your team will face challenges and struggles. To provide your employees with the right kind of support, focus on empathy and communication. Be aware of their goals and help them hit those targets or encourage them to focus on your goals for them as they get started in their retail careers. Your goal should always be their success.
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