The number one concern of today’s HR managers at small to midsize businesses (SMBs) is talent retention, according to Insperity’s 2024 Business Outlook Report. Finding, hiring, and training employees only to lose them to another employer is an ongoing challenge in a world where so many team members are considering their next opportunity or questioning their relationship with work. In addition to being costly and time-consuming, turnover can negatively impact morale, jeopardize customer relationships, and slow down an organization, says Kelly Yeates, vice president, service operations, Insperity.
So, how can you reduce turnover? The answer sounds deceptively simple: make employees happy.
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Reducing stress is a great way to boost happiness and focus. One survey found that finances are the
top cause of stress for 57 percent of employees. Offering competitive pay and benefits can reduce financial stress and is critical in competing for top talent.
“Competitive pay and benefits are the price of entry to even be able to play in the employer environment that we’re in. It’s almost as simple as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If you cannot meet those physiological and safety needs of your employees, you’re never going to be able to expect that desired level of engagement, that discretionary effort, from your employees,” Yeates explains.
Start with the basics
Source: Insperity’s 2024 Business Outlook Report
of SMBs use compensation reviews and competitive wages as part of talent strategy.
Competing on salary alone with deep-pocketed larger companies is challenging for SMBs. Judy Bircher, vice president, health and welfare services at Insperity, suggests considering compensation within a larger total rewards approach, working to understand employees’ desires, beyond a paycheck.
“It’s about treating an employee like a person,” Bircher explains. “You have to look at the whole person to be able to make sure that you’re meeting their needs.”
By offering health benefits and perks that reflect physical, mental, social, financial, and professional needs, you show your team you care and improve their health and happiness. While rising health care costs are a real concern for business owners, a professional employer organization (PEO) can help SMBs obtain competitive benefits at a lower price tag than they would on their own.
Care for the whole person
Survey employees to find out what they want from a wellness program. These results may reveal gaps in awareness about the organization’s existing benefits. If people are asking for perks you already provide, you’ll need to improve communication about your offerings.
Measure and monitor the use of benefits, in addition to surveying employees, to determine what is most valuable to your organization.
More than half (52 percent) of U.S. employees prefer either remote or hybrid work, according to a 2024 survey by Morning Consult Pro. Bircher explains, though, that employees want more than remote work options—they want the freedom and flexibility to get their work done as they please. While some positions require employees to be on-site at set hours, such as retail sales associates, flexible work is possible for many roles, Yeates explains. Offering employees flexibility can create better work-life balance and more time for activities that bring people pleasure outside of work. Employees will bring those good vibes back to the workplace.
Flexibility rules
SMBs may have fewer opportunities for upward mobility than larger companies, which can be a retention challenge, Bircher says. SMBs can still satisfy employees’ need for on-the-job learning, though, by offering flexible, customizable skills-building opportunities and providing employees ample time to partake in these trainings.
Another way to improve workplace satisfaction is to show employees how their contributions connect to the company’s wider mission. Employees with a sense of purpose at work are happier and more engaged.
Finding meaning at work
Employees with a sense of purpose at work are happier and more engaged.
Improving employee happiness can be challenging when people value different benefits. But by taking the time to understand your workforce, communicating your commitment to your team’s well-being, and considering the tips above, your company can create a positive workplace that can help improve retention.
Employee Financial Wellness Survey, Insperity's 2024 Business Outlook Report
SMBs' Top HR Concerns
Retention
Culture
Employee Engagement
56
%
%
55
%
51
Source: Insperity’s 2024 Business Outlook Report
%
48
Other tips for designing a whole-person employee wellness program to improve happiness include:
Source: Oxford University
Happy workers are more productive than their less happy counterparts.
%
3
employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development
%
Source: LinkedIn
94
Happy Workers More Productive, Oxford University
State of Workers, Insperity's 2024 Business Outlook Report
Workplace Learning Report, LinkedIn
Fast Tip
Review salary survey data to understand industry benchmarks. A professional employer organization (PEO) can help you get the data you need.
Source: Insperity’s 2024 Business Outlook Report
in business and HR leaders use remote and/or hybrid work as part of their talent strategy
10
6
Encourage people to keep their cameras turned on in virtual meetings. This helps teammates build personal connections and managers gauge employee happiness and well-being.
Fast Tip
Resources
To create happiness at scale, offer multiple ways to meet employee needs. For example, you might cover in-person therapy coverage, as well as virtual or text-based counseling.
Reward employees for participating in preventative health programs, and provide paid “care time” so employees can get their annual checkup.
Consider a caregiving benefit to help cover the costs of caring for children and/or elderly parents to reduce employee stress.
Don’t just offer benefits—make it clear you want people to use them. Ensure front-line managers understand your offerings so they can help connect employees to resources.
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