A small business owner faces a variety of different challenges. One of the biggest challenges and one that will significantly impact future success is small business growth. There are many factors to consider when growing a business. Properly developing your workforce is one of the most important factors. A team of well-trained and dedicated employees can keep your business operating like a well-oiled machine and fuel future growth. In order to build your own dream team, you need to invest in employee development. With the stress of keeping up with everyday responsibilities, the task of developing employees often pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. There are many reasons why small business owners intent on growth should do their best to push employee development back to the top of the list.
Employee Acquisition and Retention
Hiring and keeping great employees is a struggle for any business owner. Having a comprehensive employee development program in place and utilizing it will practically eliminate the struggle and have you well on your way to building the best workforce possible.
Employee development is a joint initiative of the employee as well as the employer to upgrade the existing skills and knowledge of an individual. Typically seen in bigger companies on a much larger scale, it can help attract the appropriate candidates when implemented by smaller businesses. Perspective employees will view a development program as a benefit and view the offering employer as someone who cares about the growth of their employees as well as the growth of their business. The will elevate the employer’s reputation, build employee loyalty and provide a competitive edge over similar companies.
Develop Promotable Employees
Additional employees are needed to fuel small business growth. An expanded staff will typically require more supervisory positions. When looking to fill management or higher level positions, most business owners would prefer to hire from within. If there is ongoing employee development, the right candidate will probably be an existing employee. In turn, you will be able to attract quality candidates to fill the vacancy created by an in-house promotion.
Keep Employees Engaged
Employees who come to work every day and do the same thing can become bored and complacent. This can often lead to less-than-stellar work performance and even impact employee retention. An employee development program can prevent this type of boredom and make employees aware of new challenges and advancement opportunities. This will help inspire them to do their best every day, ensure quality customer service and a lower employee turnover rate.
Control Payroll Expenses
Employee turnover is expensive and can impede small business growth. Because an experienced employee will be tied up for the duration of training, a new employee will cost almost twice as much as retaining an existing employee. Even once they are fully trained, it can take a while before the new employee is producing at the same level as existing employees, bumping up turnover costs even higher. A small business owner can save both money and time (and in business, time is money) by using an employee development plan.
Funding Small Business Growth
Of course, creating a development program and having employees participate in it costs money too. Although many small business owners understand the value of employee development, they are already struggling to maintain a solid level of working capital. CFG Merchant Solutions can help you get the necessary capital to invest in employee development and fuel small business growth. Our experienced team will work with you to choose the perfect funding option for your needs. Contact us or apply online and kickstart your small business growth.