5 Employee Issues Your Small Business Should Be Worried About

It may not seem like it, but in some cities and some industries the job market is actually heating up. Last weekend I was talking to my cousin Barry Cohen, one of the managing directors of Rockwood Search Associates, an executive search firm in New York City. His company specializes in financial services, human resources, and marketing/sales positions, and right now he says the demand is climbing for positions in the financial services field.

And though you're likely in another industry, soon enough you will be facing the challenge of attracting and retaining talented employees. The recently released PwC's 14th Annual Global CEO Survey contains some interesting insights about the future of talent management. While this survey focused on leaders in big multinational corporations, the trends it highlights can -- make that will -- affect your small business soon enough.

Here are the surveyed CEOs' key concerns:

1. Talent shortage. As I said, it may not yet be evident in your community, but companies worldwide are struggling to find the right people. In fact, 66 percent of CEOs are worried that a lack of suitable talent is going to hinder their companies' chances of growth.

2. Aging workforce. In developed nations like the United States, the aging of the workforce is leading to a brain drain of some of the most skilled and experienced workers. To combat this, many corporations are seeking to retain their workers longer, while at the same time the economy is forcing many of those employees to stay on the job longer as well. But aging workers come with their own issues, like higher health-care costs.

3. New Millennials. The influx of Generation Y workers, or "Millennials," is changing the way companies operate. Millennial employees have less experience and tend to have less company loyalty. They also have different criteria for what they want out of a job than prior generations did. As the Survey states: "Employers will have to offer greater autonomy, more flexible career options, and more opportunities for peer recognition, basically a mix of face time and Facebook time, to get the best talent from the next generations."

4. Global mind-set. The CEOs surveyed are expanding their businesses into emerging markets. While your small business is probably not yet operating an office in Mumbai yet, you might already be outsourcing work to contractors there. But whether or not you're working with businesses overseas, you are definitely competing with them, as increasing numbers of customers look for cheaper sources of whatever your company provides.

5. Collaboration. Today's employees need to be able to collaborate. For global CEOs, these teams are often dispersed across the world; for your small business, they're probably not that far-flung. But whether you're operating in a physical location or running a virtual company, collaboration is more crucial than ever. It's how you do more with less.

How are the global CEOs planning to tackle these concerns? Most (83 percent) plan to make at least "some" or "major" changes in how they manage employees. Specifically, 65 percent plan to use more non-financial rewards to attract, retain, and motivate workers. Creating a sense of employee ownership is one important strategy; this could be accomplished by employee stock ownership (ESOP) or profit-sharing plans.

Training and mentoring is a key area of focus for the corporations PwC surveyed. And today's newest employees, Millennials, particularly value training and career development opportunities. When asked which benefit was most important to them, three times as many Millennials said training and development as cited cash bonuses. And a whopping 98 percent said that working with strong coaches and mentors was important to their careers.

If these challenges are throwing huge corporations for a loop, how do you think they'll affect your business? Don't worry -- there's some good news for small businesses in this survey. One of the key changes the CEOs mentioned is that their businesses are becoming flatter and less hierarchical. And while that's a huge change for big corporations, for small companies, it's business as usual.

Take advantage of your flatter structure to empower your employees. Let them know more about your business's profits (and at least think about sharing them), provide coaching and mentoring (easy to do when you work closely together), and ensure they get the proper training to help them -- and your company -- grow.

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Follow Rieva on Twitter @Rieva and read more of her insights on SmallBizDaily.com.