16 ways to keep your best employees without breaking the bank

Employees matter. No, they really matter. In fact, as the forces of globalism and the proliferation of technology relentlessly level the proverbial playing field, it's safe to say that the men and women who work for you are everything. Think about it. Your competitors have access to the exact same resources as you. That means infinite choices exist not only for your customers, but for your employees as well. According to Joanne G. Sujansky, Ph.D, CSP, if you're not seeking ways to nurture them and meet their needs, they will seek greener pastures—and your customers will follow them over the fence.

"Many leaders don't realize that the rules of business have changed almost overnight," says Sujansky, founder and CEO of KEYGroup®. "The old paradigm says that your primary focus should be on keeping your customer happy. The new paradigm says the employee has taken over that spot. Keep her engaged and she'll keep your customers happy. Neglect her needs and she won't be so concerned about keeping her end of the bargain. In the end, not only will she go elsewhere, your customers may follow suit."

Make no mistake: when employees start searching for greener pastures, it's a bona fide disaster. After all, your employees are the face of your organization. They build strong relationships with customers and vendors, they know the ins and outs of your operation, they train new hires and indoctrinate them into the company culture. On top of that when you lose great employees, it hurts customer retention and the morale of the rest of your team.

And every time a great employee leaves, you have to shell out the cost of rehiring and retraining his replacement—a cost that studies have shown could range from 70 to 200 percent of that person's annual salary. You also lose that employee's institutional memory, another great asset for your company.

Clearly, preventing "greener pasture" syndrome must be top priority for today's leaders. And while it may sound self-evident, the best approach is to make your pasture the greenest. Ultimately, that means becoming what Sujansky calls a Vibrant Entrepreneurial Organization, or VEO: a company with a culture that allows that elusive sense of employee ownership to flourish. But in the short run, it means making your company a place employees truly want to be—and "lip service" won't do the trick.

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