Businesses at the top of their game seem unstoppable when it comes to attracting 
and keeping the best talent. They have figured out the magical combination of pay, benefits, and culture and as a result, are a magnet for top performers. This coveted status is not just reserved for the big dogs; small businesses can achieve this as well.
The Big Opportunity
When your company has a Big Opportunity, the company is going somewhere exciting and employees are motivated to make it happen. After all, Big Opportunity for the company means Big Opportunity for employees, too.
Ask yourself: Does our company have a clear vision and mission? Do employees vividly see their role within the company and are they motivated to help us get there? If yes, recruiting and retention is a lot less expensive.
If not, this article will help you find and communicate your company’s Big Opportunity. Let’s start with three areas of business administration: compensation, career pathing, and organization.
Compensation
What you offer employees in terms of pay and benefits says a lot about your small business. And remember, it is not always about the highest paycheck. Rather, it is all about creating the right combination of pay, benefits, and culture to recruit and retain key employees.
What is the right combination? Learn from employees what they value most in benefits, perks, and culture. Small businesses cannot afford to provide limitless benefits and perks. The key is to only offer those that best fit your employees’ needs and preferences.
Tip: Create a simple, focused survey to ask.
Career Pathing
Another way to connect employees to your business’s Big Opportunity is with career pathing - and this starts with job descriptions.
“There are a lot of leaders out there who take the employees, blindfold them, spin them around ten times, and then want them to go hit the tail on the donkey - and they can’t do it.” Inc.
Ask yourself, does our business have clear job descriptions? Clear job descriptions outline who does what, expectations, and how each role contributes to the Big Opportunity.
Additionally, provide a clear career path for employees to see internal growth opportunities. Why? Employees will always perform at their best when the environment is conducive to growth.
Tip: Go one step farther and ask employees to participate in defining their job and defining their path for growth.
Organization
Lastly, organizational structure defines what departments do and how each team contributes to the Big Opportunity. There’s a simple way to do this - tie all department activities back to the company’s goal and vision.
For example, if the company’s Q2 goal is to increase sales revenue by 20 percent, the outbound sales team needs to close 150 sales. To do this, each sales rep needs to nurture 300 leads in Q2 which translates to about 5 leads per workday. This is an overly simplistic example, but you get the idea. The power here is that employees’ daily, weekly, and monthly tasks are all tied to the company’s overarching goals. Employees know, “If I set appointments with five leads today, I am helping the company reach our goals.”
Tip: Report on the company’s goals and vision regularly to remind employees where you’ve been and where you're going. This is especially important for fast growing companies, as employees may not understand just how far the company has come.
Conclusion
“President Kennedy was visiting NASA headquarters for the first time in 1961. While touring the facility, he introduced himself to a janitor who was mopping the floor and asked him what he did at NASA. The janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon!”
The janitor intimately knew how his work tied into NASA’s vision and goals and he believed in NASA’s Big Opportunity.
Finding and communicating your company’s Big Opportunity is a powerful tool for recruiting and retention. Small business administration is a key part of creating a successful organization and is the key contributor to every company's Big Opportunity.
What’s your company’s Big Opportunity, and do your employees believe in it? Leave a comment below.
