Retention of top employees is always an important issue for all businesses and can be especially important to small business owners.  Once you have brought an employee on board, taught them everything there is to know about your business, and begun to rely on them in many different ways the thought of losing them is painful. 

Keeping employees happy is the key to keeping employees at your company.  However, “Golden Handcuffs” is a slightly different strategy.  Instead of just encouraging someone t stay, it really discourages them from leaving.  Here is a link to a past newsletter that discusses the topic.

This is a dangerous strategy because it can encourage people to stay even if you may not really want them on board any longer.  It is very likely that an employee that is no longer happy in a job, but is financially committed to it will have performance issues.

Is it better to have these individuals leave naturally when they feel there is something better out there?  Or is it worth the investment to keep them there?  Can a ‘C’ player with 10 years at your company get more done than an ‘A’ player who is a newbie?