The First 90 Days: Motivate Your Team, Strengthen Your Business

A new wave of growth is coming in 2025, but is your business ready? Success isn’t just about strategy or timing—it’s about your people. For SMBs, where every employee plays a critical role, the first 90 days set the tone. Strong engagement and retention build momentum for long-term success, ensuring your team is motivated and ready to seize new opportunities.

Why It Matters

Top talent fuels innovation and productivity. Losing even one key employee can disrupt momentum and be costly to recover from. Today’s workforce expects more than just a paycheck—they want meaningful work, growth opportunities and to feel valued.

Retention isn’t just an HR concern—it’s a business imperative. High turnover slows progress, no matter how aggressively a company hires. Businesses that invest in engagement and support will be best positioned to seize growth opportunities in 2025.

How to Keep Employees Engaged & Retained

• Culture First: Employees need to feel connected to the company’s mission. Recognition—big or small—reinforces purpose and morale.
• Growth & Development: Clear career paths, training and upskilling show employees they have a future within the company, keeping them motivated.
• Open Communication: Transparency and regular check-ins foster trust and create a workplace where employees feel heard and valued.

Avoiding Burnout: Be Proactive, Not Reactive

Leaders must take a proactive approach to prevent burnout before it becomes a problem. That means:

• Validating workloads—Ensure what’s being asked is achievable. If expectations are consistently unrealistic, engagement will drop.
• Engaging employee insights—Ask questions and listen. Simple check-ins like “Does this workload feel sustainable?” or “What’s getting in your way?” can surface early warning signs before they escalate.
• Pacing growth initiatives—Pushing too hard too fast leads to fatigue. Sustainable success comes from balancing high performance with well-being.

The Bottom Line

The first 90 days of 2025 are crucial. Businesses that prioritize engagement, development, and retention as a strategic initiative will build the momentum needed to grow—not just for the quarter, but for the long haul. In the end, people—not just strategy—will be the real differentiator.

Donna Desrosiers - February 9, 2025