What is the most used phrase on LinkedIn? I don't actually know, but I'm going to guess that "We're hiring" is right up there near the top. If you are an employer, this means that your employees are the target. So what do you do? From speaking with colleagues over the years, the standard operating procedure seems to be the counter offer - a last gasp effort to change an employee's mind.

You’ve invested a lot of time and money recruiting and hiring the right talent for your small to mid-sized businesses (SMB). The last thing you want to do is let all that hard work go down the drain when an employee leaves for another opportunity.

Turnover costs: Some studies calculate that every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs 6 to 9 months’ salary on average. For a manager making €60,000 a year, that’s €30,000 to €45,000 in recruiting and training expenses.

Finding good people is getting harder and especially for SMBs. According to LinkedIn’s 2016 Global Recruiting Trends Report, 41% of respondents say they will remain at their company for less than 2 years while 37% say they will stay for 3+ years and 22% don’t know how much longer they’ll stay at the company.

Employee retention is ranked as the second most important business priority, right after recruiting highly skilled talent.

In LinkedIn’s Why & How People Change Jobs study, 42% said they might have stayed if their employer had done something.

Instead of letting talent walk out the door, do “something” by implementing a retention program that becomes part of your company culture. This guide will help inspire an effective retention program at your SMB.