They might cost a lot, talk a lot and raise their eyeballs to heaven on your approach, but your staff are your greatest asset. Unlike your PC or company car, their value appreciates with age. Unfortunately they can also go elsewhere if they get a better offer. That's not to say you should lock them in the office every night but there are steps you can take to ensure you don't lose those valuable employees whose contribution is vital to the success of your business. And remember key people are not only those in more senior positions.
Junior employees are also vital to the functioning of a business.
The first step towards keeping good employees is finding them in the first place. As any manager knows, recruiting is an expensive, protracted process. Sifting through CVs and interviewing applicants is a drain on resources. All too often, employers have little idea of what they want from a potential employee. A raft of vaguely worded job descriptions is testimony not only to the confusion amongst employers about what they want and are willing to pay, but also their expectations.