Jeremy Kaplan
When we speak of genuine organisational loyalty, we refer to behaviors that go beyond the legal and beyond what is required by the rules or codes. A loyal behaviour is one that we would like our employees to express but one that cannot be expected.
Genuine loyalty is only shown in adversities. It is when things are bad that those genuinely loyal employees show us their appreciation through their actions at a time when it’s needed the most. But how can you create a culture that would make such actions more likely?
Firstly, you need to reward and compensate your employees properly if you want them to remain with your organisation; we are talking about the treatment that you as an organisation give them as persons. Genuine loyalty must be earned. It is in this sense that you must review the treatment that you give to your employees as people.
To become a company of loyal workers, you need to understand what it is that employees need and meet those needs with flexibility and individual attention. Loyalty is not a mere matter of numbers and salary; it is of respect, consideration and recognition.
Below are 4 key ways to increase loyalty from your employees:
Motivate Employee Performance
Recognise the preferences, values, interests and needs of your employees for different types of rewards and benefits: vacations (maybe Disney for their kids); non-monetary rewards; retirement plans; life insurance (MetLife programs); flexible working hours, etc.
Consider using assessment tools to better understand their motivators, values and natural reflexes. Invest in events and benefits that your employees will boast about with their friends. This will create a sense of pride in the company and will likely result in more talent applications, without spending a penny on recruitment.
Identify their sources of motivation and reward them for capitalizing on their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses.
Invest in Language Learning
The expectations and needs of each employee evolve over time. One way to inspire loyalty in them is to offer them the opportunity to learn a second language. This ensures that their personal development and gratefulness is tied to your company. You can also use enterprise language solutions (e.g. Verbling) to track which employees are studying the hardest and worth considering for International career growth.
This type of incentive will help workers notice that there is a genuine interest by the company in improving and caring about their quality of life. While it is true that some companies worry about the excessive expense, the approach must be the opposite: the more a worker has to lose, the more difficult it is for them to leave.
Inspire Growth through Feedback
A company that establishes close, natural and equal treatment among staff generally prevails over company that are led by rigid leaders with overly structured rules. Prohibitions, standards or codes prevent employees from feeling comfortable and safe, or to exchange opinions about the operation of the organisation.
Therefore, directors are the most important source of inspiration and business growth. Providing adequate feedback is essential to keep your best employees and help them understand the support that is there for them to progress.
Utilise technology to help you understand the heart and mind of your employees; don’t try to figure it all out in a single annual survey or through a feedback email link you put on the company Intranet. You need to collect feedback often and in all possible collection points, both solicited and unsolicited. Then you need to really listen and respond to what is submitted. This creates a win-win relationship.
Another great option is to use Performance Appraisal Reviews: a systematic evaluation of an individual with respect to performance on the job and the individual’s potential for development. Sitting down face-to-face with the employee for an Annual appraisal will also help you see business opportunities that you would otherwise have missed.
Build Trust
Freedom in the development of work is another way of inspiring loyalty. Some examples could be to: allow work-from-home; adjust working hours for a better reconciliation of family life; or favour autonomous decision making. All of these are samples of trust in which there is transparent communication that will improve the workings of any company’s relationships.
Increasing your employees’ retention rate will result in a better performing organisation. In the long term, lower a turnover rate means less money spent on hiring, training and development. It will also mean keeping your high-quality employees who have already proven to be great performers and worthy of your loyalty too.
You want your company stand to out from your competition, so you really need to help your employees to excel. Your team is really your most valuable asset and you will see them add even more value to your goals if they feel your loyalty is as strong as theirs.
