It’s a simple concept. Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your clients and customers.

Losing staff incurs massive costs for small business owners. Retaining top talent should be a priority as it cuts spending, creates a tight-knit company culture, and builds high performing teams. They say that replacing a staff member will cost 50% to 60% of that staff member’s salary. Across Australia annually, high staff turnover costs the country $3.8 billion.

The unfortunate reality is that employees quit their jobs every day. While you may think the majority of them leave for higher-paying jobs or better benefits, that’s not always the case. Many factors can lead to unhappiness in a current position. So we must understand the journey that a happy employee goes through to avoid the pitfalls of high levels of staff turnover.

Optimistic

Every employee starts with optimism about their new role. As workers look forward to the next few years of their careers, many are excited about what the future holds. They’re looking forward to making a big impact in their workplace and for the company. Set them up to settle in well with positive social interactions at work, and provide acknowledgement and reward as they develop competency in their job.

Frustrated

Unfortunately, the real world can be disappointing, and this is true at work. It can be a bit disappointing to realise that real workplaces are filled with real people that don’t always live up to your expectations. It can also be difficult for your new team member if they are not given the support or inspiration they need. Studies show that 40% of employees will leave their workplace in the first 12 months if they don’t feel like they’ve got the necessary training to continue. Avoid the frustration that can often come as your new staff are settling in by providing them with top-shelf training, support, acknowledgement and reward.

Determined

If your new team member makes it through this frustration they will be on the road to becoming a very happy, successful employee. But it takes a good amount of support from you as a leader to foster that determination they need to push through. Your successful employees will come ready to work in mind and body when they decide to invest fully in the company and make it work for you and them.

Proactive

From there they get proactive. This sense of determination creates wins for the staff member themselves, their peers, their customers and of course you as their boss. You will know that your new hire is operating proactively when they start looking for ways to impress and make a difference. It is inspiring to watch an employee dig deep to make the company better. This positive action will create momentum in your workplace and ultimately lead to more business success.

Motivated

Positive action leads to more positive action, which is exhilarating for the employee on the up and up in your company.  It is incredibly motivating for your team to develop strategies and tools which create success that snowballs. The effects of motivation like this will be seen across your entire company, especially if you have most, if not all of your team engaged and working well. This is the type of work that has them turning your business into a well-oiled machine that can run without you.

Fulfilled

And the most successful employees arrive at the ultimate destination in their employment when they can boast and experience a genuine sense of fulfilment. The ultimate goal for every employer is to foster this sense of fulfilment across the entire team. It comes by supporting your employees through every phase of their journey with you as their employer. The best way to support your team every step of the way is to develop tools for delegation to empower them to be great at work.

So, this is where you, as the business owner, need to step up to ensure you’ve got the right systems and processes in place, streamlining your business operations to hold your employees in good stead. Not every day at work is going to be a glowing successful day, but if you invest in taking your employees through this process, to the point where they can truly know a deep sense of fulfilment in their work, you will be a very successful business owner. Not only will you save money in hiring staff turnover costs, but you’ll also enjoy the productivity and output that comes from people who do great work because they’ve stuck around long enough to invest in the mission of the business.