A survey of 139 small business owners, undertaken by HR and employment law experts Citation, found that 65% of the business owners surveyed agree that employing a specific recruitment HR strategy has a direct impact on business success and financial growth.
Since the job market is buoyant, employers must do everything they can to retain their best employees and attract the best talent.
According to SME owners, a positive working environment is the most important factor in employee retention, with 44% agreeing so. Although salary is perceived to be the biggest incentive, the survey found that only 13% of employers cite this as the most important factor in retaining employees.
Linda Jodrell, HR Director for Citation explained why a positive environment is so important for small businesses: “Smaller businesses can have higher engagement levels than larger ones because their people are not just a payroll number, they are a person – and this really matters to people. Give someone support in a time of personal need and you will get it paid back ten-fold.”
As well as providing social support to employees social perks are also key to creating a positive working environment. Despite this, almost a quarter of small businesses (23%) were found not to offer any social perks or social engagement events to staff.
When asked the most popular reasons behind employees leaving businesses, although 42% agreed it was for a higher salary elsewhere, pay was not the overwhelming response. Over a third (35%) of business owners said employees leave due to the need for personal growth and one in five cited lack of opportunity, implying a lack of visible progression within the company.
Employers don’t need to offer huge pay increases but instead focus on reviewing the HR strategy to create a culture of loyalty and engagement. Despite this, 66% of businesses surveyed had not proactively taken any action to change or review their recruitment and HR strategy in the last two years, despite recognising the importance of keeping happy and motivated staff.
