This is an awesome time for small businesses, especially in Colorado where population keeps growing each month at a hectic pace. But this also means that, with such a big growth in the state’s economy and such a big growth in the number of companies, the unemployment rates are so low that it is hard to find candidates for job positions. This is when employee retention becomes so important, as losing an employee can become an absolute nightmare for many business owners as it is getting harder to find candidates.

So how can small business owners retain their employees? Luckily, nowadays, small businesses can have access to lots of HR solutions and services that before they were only accessible to larger employers. Besides, new communication technologies allows them access to thousands of tools that makes their business management easier.

But in terms of employee retention, one of the best tools is offering a competitive benefits package. Benefits packages do not devaluate, employees keep valuing a lot the benefits the companies offer them apart from the salary. Benefits help employees get something else that can make their life easier or better someway: they can have paid vacation that allows them enjoy time with their families and friends, they (and their families) can have an awesome healthcare plan through their employer, they can save money for retirement and their employer will match their contributions (up to a certain yearly amount), they can get free gym memberships, they have child-care benefits or they can telecommute in case they need it what helps them with work-life balance, they can get a bonus by the end of the year if they reach their objectives, they can receive training that can help them develop and grow professionally, they can have career plans so they can avoid the so terrifying and discouraging stagnation,…

So, there are plenty of ways of offering a competitive benefits package to keep employees happy and committed. And nowadays, these are not limited to large companies, as small companies can also have access to all these benefits at reasonable prices. Of course it is not possible offering benefits for free, but the point here is: Isn’t it worth the money? Isn’t turnover more expensive at the end, as every time an employee leaves you have to start a new hiring process, training the new employee, checking if he/she is performing the way you expect…? All this process consumes so much time and resources that it is often way more expensive than offering a competitive benefits package and actual the point is reducing turnover rates, having motivated, committed and happy employees. Having motivated, committed and happy employees makes companies more productive, successful and competitive.