Retain Employees Without Extra Costs

Look to the future: Some want to know that they are acquiring new skills and building their resume. So ask them what they want to learn next year. Let them shadow someone on staff with that skill. Set them up with mentors. Members of the younger generation are especially all about building their own portfolio of skills, says Jordan-Evans, who also co-authored "Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay and Love It" (Berrett-Koehler Publishers).

Work as a team: One of the easiest, and least expensive, retention tools is to increase staff involvement in solving company issues, says Thomas, co-author of the upcoming "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons for Leaders" (HCI). In addition, clarify how each worker contributes to the bigger picture. "You may see the necessity of their job, but they may not understand how important their performance actually is."

Let them run with it: Trust them to do their jobs. That means giving them the responsibility and leeway to handle problems when they crop up.

Train, train, train: Training shouldn't stop after the first day on the job. Speaker and executive trainer Lipp found that the most successful of the KFC franchisers he advised were ones who continued to train their staff at every meeting. They were also ones "who ran a fun place."

Increase volunteerism: During bad times, it's easy to get caught up in fear about your situation. Build a sense of community by encouraging workers to pitch in at charities like Habitat for Humanity, says Bill Catlette, a workplace expert and co-author of "Contented Cows MOOve Faster: How Good Leaders Get People to Put More OOMPH! Into Their Work" (R. Brent & Company).