Are you looking for the secret to small businesses that crush their competition year after year?
It’s not a bigger budget. It’s not better marketing. It’s not even sexy advertising videos on TikTok.
Ready for the real secret?
It’s their people’s strategy. If you don’t have a strong workforce strategy your small business will never reach its full potential.
Let’s talk about why:
Running a business is hard enough. Between generating new sales and keeping the trains running on time most owners tend to forget one thing…
Their employee workforce.
Sure, most leaders know the value of having great people on the team. But without a strategy for hiring, developing, and retaining those great workers your business will fall flat.
The challenge is that a strong people strategy doesn’t mean hiring a team of HR professionals. You just need to learn how to do it right.
Let’s learn:
- How Your Workforce Strategy Impacts your Business
- Why Ignoring Your Workforce Strategy is Costing You
- Steps to Creating a Winning Workforce Strategy
- How HR Knowledge Gives You a Competitive Advantage
- Workforce Strategy Checklist
How Your Workforce Strategy Impacts your Business
Did you know that small businesses in America employ 62.3 million people? Yep. That’s nearly half of the private workforce!
Now you’re probably thinking… That can’t be my small business. We have employees but we don’t come close to 62k.
Fair enough. But small businesses of all sizes have a responsibility to their employees. That means everything from recruiting, onboarding, developing, and retaining top performers.
When you’re running a business your responsibilities multiply. Suddenly you’re the owner. The marketer. The CFO. AND HR!
You might not have the resources of large corporations. But that doesn’t mean you can’t compete with an unbeatable workforce strategy.
And if you’re serious about upping your HR game there’s no better way to do it than by understanding the benefits of MBA in HR. Accredited online HR MBA programs can teach everything needed about business administration with a specialized focus on HR management. More on that below.
For now, just know that your people strategy is everything. If you want your business to grow you need to invest in growing your business by investing in your people.
Simple enough, right?
Why Ignoring Your Workforce Strategy is Costing You
Employing people is expensive.
But did you know that failing to have a workforce strategy is costing your business even more?
Take employee turnover for example. When a talented worker decides to pack it in and leave your business, you aren’t just losing that person. You’re losing:
- Money spent on recruiting and hiring that person
- Time spent training that person
- Lost productivity while that person got up to speed
- Team morale after that person leaves
Employee turnover is bad enough. But according to Gallup’s research it can cost you anywhere from HALF to DOUBLE an employee’s annual salary.
RUNNING A BUSINESS IS EXPENSIVE ENOUGH!
You don’t need costly employee turnover eating away at your bottom line. But when you don’t have a workforce strategy that’s exactly what you’re signing up for.
But wait, there’s more!
According to the NFIB, 21% of small business owners reported that quality of labor is their number one business problem.
If you’re struggling to find qualified talent to fill open positions, not having a strategy to retain that talent will be a major roadblock to your growth.
Employee retention starts with a strong workforce strategy. Don’t become a statistic. Make sure you have yours locked down.
Steps to Creating a Winning Workforce Strategy
So, you know that you need a workforce strategy. But where do you start?
It’s simple. If you want your small business to compete with the biggest dog in the yard you need to start thinking and acting LIKE a big business when it comes to your workforce. How? Let’s dive in.
Smart Hiring Starts Before the Job Opening
Stop hiring on a whim. Successful small businesses know what roles need to be filled AND what skill sets are required to fill them… before the job opening even posts.
That means:
- Write detailed job descriptions for each role
- Know EXACTLY what skills and personality traits you need
- Have candidates lined up before you even need to hire
Invest Time and Money in your Employees
Top talent wants to grow. And if your business isn’t providing a clear path for that growth, your best employees will be looking elsewhere.
Training programs, mentorship, and defined career paths aren’t “extras” your business can’t afford. If you want to retain top talent, investing in your employees is a MUST.
And it doesn’t have to cost you much (if anything) extra.
Hold regular feedback sessions, allow your staff to cross-train in other roles, and provide access to online training and courses.
Culture Matters
When you’re a small business you have a huge advantage over the big guys. You can create a culture that fits your brand and builds true teams.
Sure, every now and then you’ll have an employee who just doesn’t mesh with the team. But building a strong culture makes those instances few and far between.
Building your culture requires you to:
- Define clear values that are communicated and embodied by leadership
- Maintain open lines of communication between management and staff
- Reward and recognize employees who do great work
Leverage Data to Make Smarter Decisions
If you’ve made it this far, you shouldn’t be making HR decisions based on feelings.
Use basic data points to improve your workforce strategy. Measure employee turnover rates, time-to-hire new employees, and employee satisfaction.
Once you start collecting data you’ll quickly see patterns and areas that need improvement.
How HR Knowledge Gives You a Competitive Advantage
Here’s a little secret that nobody tells small business owners.
By far… the small business owners that invest in their HR knowledge will always out compete their competition.
That includes HR best practices, workforce planning, employment law, compensation strategy, and employee engagement.
These concepts aren’t just for big corporations with full staffing departments. An online MBA in HR can teach every one of these topics.
Running your own business is tough. Don’t leave your most valuable asset to chance.
Workforce Strategy Checklist
You know your people are your business’ most valuable asset. So take the time to build a winning workforce strategy.
If you want your small business to compete with the big leagues when it comes to hiring and retaining top talent, follow this simple checklist:
- Plan Your Hiring – Know what positions you need to fill NOW and in the future. Know what skill sets those positions require. And always have a pool of candidates ready when new positions open.
- Invest in Employees – Provide training, growth opportunities, and happiness checks to ensure your top talent is happy and growing with your business.
- Build Your Company Culture – Let your employees know what your company stands for. Enforce those standards with a leadership team. And reward employees that exemplify those standards.
- Use Data – Track any data you can to identify what’s working and where you can improve.
- Learn HR – Increase your chances of HR success by becoming an HR expert. Check out an accredited online MBA in HR program and learn how to manage employees from top to bottom.
The battle for top talent is real. But with a strong workforce strategy your small business will always have the upper hand.
