Management and Leadership – The Power of Loyalty

A trait that is often overlooked by managers and executives is the loyalty (or the lack of loyalty) among their employees. While it is difficult to measure, it can have a great impact on your department and your company. As such, you should take steps to ensure the loyalty of your employees to you, the company and each other.

Impacts

The lack of loyalty can have devastating effects on any organization. The development of each employee is a considerable investment in time and money. In addition to salary and benefits, a company will invest in classroom and on-the-job training, networking opportunities, equipment and tools for each employee. Each employee also gains valuable experience while performing his/her duties. If an employee is lost, say to another company, so is the sum of the investments your company has made in that employee. In most cases, any replacement will need time to match the former employee’s level of production. Additionally, if the employee is lost to a competitor, the competitor may benefit form his/her extensive knowledge of your company.

By fostering loyalty in your employees you not only avoid the downfalls listed above, you gain a team member who is often willing to work a little harder and a little longer for you or for the company. Loyal employees don’t just work for a paycheck. They consider themselves a part of a team. They have an emotional interest in seeing their team, their company and their coworkers succeed. These employees are always the best performers, simply because they care about more than themselves.

Earning Loyalty

As mentioned, loyal employees don’t just work for a paycheck. Put another way, loyalty is earned, not bought. So how do you keep your best employees from jumping ship at the first sign of a larger paycheck? The best way is to provide an environment in which your employees will enjoy working. Work sponsored events and periodic employee appreciation activities will build moral and strengthen the bond between employee and company.

Recognition for good performance is critical in creating loyal employees. No one likes to feel as if his/her hard work is being overlooked. Acknowledging a job well done will encourage even more good work. Additionally, employees are more likely to stay in a position when they know their work is appreciated.

Being an ethical manager and company also fosters loyalty. Most people take pride in being part of a group with integrity and good will. It reinforces confidence that they will be treated fairly and strengthens the trust between employees, their coworkers and management.

Much more goes into building a corporate culture and identity that employees will be proud of, than can be said here. However, you should frequently ask yourself “why am I proud of my company?” or “what would make me proud?” Answering these questions will bring you a step closer to creating loyalty among your workforce.

Final Thoughts…

Because of the impact employee loyalty has on any business, it must always be on the mind of company leadership. By making an effort to build and maintain loyalty, you may very well save your most valuable resource – your employees.

Lucas D. Ives is a training consultant at Verizon Wireless and a StrategyDriven contributor. A dynamic facilitator, he excels at creating and delivering captivating training focused on the business professional. To read Lucas’s complete biography, click here.

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