Today’s workforce is very different from the 20th century workforce when it was once common for an employee to work 10+ years with the same company. They would do this with their best interest to the company because of the long-term employment benefits such as pension, job security, career progression and medical insurance.
I believe employers are still offering these rewards, but something has changed. It is increasingly difficult to find an employee with five years experience in one company. My thought is employees are just not as loyal today, they tend to move to the proverbial greener pastures the moment something opens up.
Employee loyalty can be defined as an employee being devoted to the success of the company and is not seeking any alternative employment.
Why is employee loyalty important?
- Increased productivity – productive loyal employees lead to rapid business growth.
- Low turnover costs – it is expensive to keep recruiting and training new employees to replace the ones who leave. A low turnover decreases this cost significantly.
- Customer satisfaction – an experienced employee creates value for the customer leading to higher satisfaction.
- Profitability – when customers are satisfied, they bring in more business.
- Healthy work environment – employees spend a lot of time together, and they can either build or destroy each other which affects the business.
With this in mind, build loyalty among your employees despite its intangible nature. These five tips on how you can easily build employee loyalty will give you a head start:
1. Increase Employee Confidence in Leadership
Employees look up to the leadership team for direction in everything. If a manager is not loyal to the company, employees will pick it up and follow suit. Nevertheless, when employees are confident with your leadership, it builds their loyalty. You can increase confidence by continually communicating and implementing the company objectives. In doing this, employees will understand you know where you want the company to go and how to get there.
Loyalty towards the company starts with you as a leader and trickles down to the employees in equal measures. Lead by example.
2. Create a Pleasant Working Environment
Employees spend approximately 90% of their day in the office working. They need to feel comfortable being there every day. A healthy work environment fosters open communication, work-life balance and active team spirit. When you add regular training and development programs to a great working environment, you win your employees’ loyalty.
Creating a pleasant working environment shows your employees you care about their wellbeing and are willing to do all it takes to ensure that.
3. Empower Your Employees
One way to kill employee loyalty is micromanaging them. Doing this communicates mistrust in their ability and work output. What you need to do is empower them and give them room to practice what they have learned.
Empowered employees take initiative, make decisions, and accomplish more with less guidance from you. You can empower them by training them well and supporting them as they embrace their responsibilities. A mentorship program can also be a great addition, especially for mid-level managers.
4. Reward, Reward, Reward
Rewarding employees is always a great motivator and can build loyalty. Who doesn’t like a reward after accomplishing something? A point of caution though, you need to reward appropriately. Plainly lay out the reward system and explain how it works to all employees. Otherwise some may feel you favor others even when they are clearly not performing which can result in contempt among employees, which destroys loyalty.
Although money is important, rewards do not necessarily mean money. Acknowledging an employee in front of others, or giving them a gift publicly, works well too.
5. Hire the Right People
Start on the right foot by hiring the right people for the job. An employee who fits well with the job will naturally be loyal as compared to one who struggles in that position. Check for job compatibility during the on boarding process. This can help you pick only those with a good match.
Increasing employee confidence, creating a pleasant working environment, empowering employees, appropriately rewarding them, and hiring the right people will steadily build loyalty in your employees. All you need to do is start, and within no time you will see the results.
What tips and tricks have worked for you?
This blog was written by Dilip Barot, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Etech Global Services, and founder of Creative Choice Group, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Etech employs 2,700 team members across the US, India and Jamaica. If you would like to learn more about Etech, please contact us at info@etechgs.com for more information.
