Investing in your people is the secret sauce to a successful business. Here's why.

The opinions expressed by entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

"What's the best advice you've ever given?" My answer is always the same. Your crew members are the sauce of your organization's success. Invest in them, top to bottom, to scale, innovate and thrive.

After more than 25 years in the industry, I've observed that the combination of care and thought creates the best experience for your crew members and is key to retaining them. Our OTG Crewmembers are the secret sauce to our organization's success, which is why we're committed to listening and investing to keep improving the Crewmember experience.

What is the secret recipe for a successful business? Its inhabitants. Here are some ways to find and invest in top talent:

Related: Investing in Your People Is the Smartest Business Decision You Can Make

Develop the internal recruitment team to find the best talents

Many companies use outside agencies for their recruitment needs. However, what we have found most helpful is really developing and investing in our internal recruiting team. They are dedicated and hardworking people whose goal is to find the best crew members for the company.

The hardest part of owning an organization is choosing the best crew members for the job. Because we focus on hiring the most qualified and dedicated recruiting team, we have strong retention and an overall success streak.

If you're an entrepreneur and can handle it, my advice would be to invest in an in-house recruiter. Your business will thank you.

Related: Why Employees Are Your Smartest Long-Term Investment

Invest and retain your talent

In 2022, we were fortunate to have a low attrition rate compared to many of our competitors, and one of the main reasons for this is our continued commitment to investing in our current crew members .

A high turnover rate has a direct impact on a company's profitability and revenue. With the constant need to hire and train new crew members, it is easy to deviate from the true mission and vision of the organization. By retaining crew members, companies can provide a higher caliber workforce that has a positive effect on bottom line.

Below are five ways we can invest in our crew members to help increase retention. These tips can be used in many industries:

is very important to us, which is why we offer monthly 2-day courses that cover emotional intelligence, unconscious bias, etc.

In 2021, we launched a high-potential program that offers one-on-one executive coaching to a group of managers (80) this year so far. We also continue to enhance our manager training program, where certified manager trainers structure on-the-job learning.

The Crew Member Engagement Survey is sent to all 4,000 crew members, so we can identify strengths, gaps and actions against these career paths, while continuing to clarify pathways for hourly and salaried crew members in operations.

We have implemented a year of service program to recognize and thank crew members who have worked for OTG for 5 to 25+ years.

This summer, we look forward to launching LinkedIn Learning for our salaried managers, which will fill existing training gaps (6,000 courses).

Related: Investing in Your Workforce: Strategies to Help Your Team Achieve Their Development Goals

Improve the efficiency of onboarding new talent

We are fortunate to have a team fully dedicated to onboarding new crew members, and they are constantly improving their onboarding efficiency practices. We prepare our new crew members for success early on by training them effectively and efficiently.

There are a number of things we do to create a special onboarding experience. Being...