Get All Access for $5/mo

Steal These Billion-Dollar Strategies From Google, Whole Foods and More to Boost Retention at Your Small Business Keeping employees is a top concern for small business owners who want to avoid costly turnover.

By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas

Key Takeaways

  • More than half of employees who quit said their manager or organization could have done something to prevent it.
  • Billion-dollar firms have more resources at their disposal, but small businesses can still learn a lot from their retention approach.

These days, keeping good employees can be difficult. Two of the biggest concerns for small business owners are hiring the right talent (60.7%) and retaining and motivating employees (33%), according to survey data from the nonprofit organization SCORE.

A study from The Society for Human Resource Management found that, on average, it costs a company six to nine months of an employee's salary to find a replacement — and a Gallup poll revealed that more than half of employees who quit said their manager or organization could have done something to prevent it.

Related: 4 Ways to Boost Your Employee Retention in an Uncertain Economy

But what does preventing a mass exodus of talent actually look like?

It can literally pay to draw on examples from some of the world's most successful billion-dollar firms. Although they have many more resources at their disposal than the average small business, many of their strategies do translate — and could mean the difference between keeping and losing your next great hire.

Online small business lending company OnDeck compiled a list of the best retention approaches from companies like Google, Netflix, Walmart, Whole Foods and more. From coaching and mentoring employees on the path to senior roles to allowing them to work in a remote or hybrid setup, there are plenty of ways to show employees their value.

Related: This Is How to Boost Employee Retention With Lifelong Learning

Check out OnDeck's infographic below to learn what it takes to ensure your employees stick around:

Image Credit: Courtesy of OnDeck
Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a senior features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

She Had Less Than $800 When She Started a Side Hustle — Then This Personal Advice From Tony Robbins Helped Her Make $45 Million

Cathryn Lavery built planner and conversation card deck company BestSelf Co. without any formal business education.

Business News

How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Transformed a Graphics Card Company Into an AI Giant: 'One of the Most Remarkable Business Pivots in History'

Here's how Nvidia pivoted its business to explore an emerging technology a decade in advance.

Business News

Want to Start a Business? Skip the MBA, Says Bestselling Author

Entrepreneur Josh Kaufman says that the average person with an idea can go from working a job to earning $10,000 a month running their own business — no MBA required.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.