How to retain your best employees on a limited budget

By Darryl Stewart, Head of the Herd

We all yearn for a higher purpose in our lives. We have all either done it ourselves or heard stories of others turning down offers of higher pay to join or remain with organizations that they believe would provide more meaningful work, with a more meaningful team.

How to retain employees on a limited budget — Photo from SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent) via photopin cc

How many of us have heard stories of friends or co-workers leaving tight-knit focused teams for the higher pay or benefits of government, big business or utilities, only to wish they had stayed put? Or even more common, how many of us know people in good paying jobs like these who are literally counting the days until they retire?

The research is overwhelming that beyond a certain threshold of earnings, a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging are far more important to people than anything else. Whether you are the leader of a larger organization or a small team, bringing to life a purpose or mission that makes people feel their job is important is your ace in the hole against the draw of the soul crushing jobs that we all know are out there constantly tempting the best members of our teams with fancy benefits.

IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant.

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today.

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.