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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.

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