A loyal employee of an organization is just like a healthy fruit to the body. The more you have, the more you will benefit!
Just like consuming healthy fruits keeps the internal structure of the body fine and promotes its development, employee loyalty is helpful in maintaining a positive work culture and always working towards the betterment of the company.
If you are thinking that a loyal employee is one who is working for a longer tenure in the company, then probably you are assuming it in the wrong sense. Long employee tenure does not provide enough sense of being loyal.
An employee working for longer years in a company is not a certificate for their unquestionable loyalty. Even if an employee has worked for a short tenure, but has always worked harder for the growth of the organization, and that is measurable in their daily actions, then definitely he is a loyal employee.
To comprehend better, you may read on to the precise definition of employee loyalty and understand what is employee loyalty.
Loyal Employees Definition:
Employee loyalty to a company refers to employees who are dedicated to the growth of their company and consider being an employee of the organization as in their best interest. Such employees are faithful to the company; and possess strong feelings of care, responsibility, and bonding.
They have a powerful willingness to make an investment or even go for personal sacrifice for the well-being of the company.
Why Employee Loyalty Is Important?
Loyal employees not only always show their best potential in the organization, but always plan to stay long in the company, and even do not actively search for new employment opportunities. Showing loyalty is one of the best qualities of a good employee,
Employee Loyalty in the Workplace:
Employee loyalty is a two-way process. If an organization expects an employee to be loyal then even the organization needs to serve the employee with equally trustworthy means. It is because today, the employee’s loyalty differs from what it was during the traditional period.
There were times when loyal employees used to be praised by managers and the employees were happy enough even if the manager remembered them.
Today, however, things have changed. Everyone expects to receive immediate employee benefits from the company as a return gift for their loyalty towards the organization. So for a company lucky to have loyal employees, it is vital to pay them back at regular intervals for their unquestionable loyalty.
Loyal Employees can be truly loyal with their qualities:
The following are a few qualities of a truly loyal employee.
By doing their job in the best possible manner:
Doing the job in the most efficient manner is also being loyal to yourself. No matter what, an employee should always have the feeling to do their work in the best way possible as this is the most customary way to win over the organization’s trust.
1. Taking pride in what you do:
If you are proud of what you are doing then definitely you will deliver the best outputs. If you are satisfied with your job then your delivery results will obviously be outstanding.
2. Always keen to learn:
With new things entering the world again and again, and novel technological innovations, it is essential for an employee to remain updated and be open to learning the advancements. If you are a loyal employee of the organization then you should always be ready to advance in your niche.
3. Avoid taking unnecessary risks:
Being loyal does not imply that you have to prove anything to anyone. You have to be wise and make sure to avoid meeting unrequired risks that might come back to bite you.
4. Never believe anyone blindly:
It is a corporate world and everyone here is to perform better and earn better. So if someone states to accompany you for long years of your professional tenure then do not have blind faith in it. Making good connections is great, but also do remember that everyone outside there is to make their own career.
How an Organization can be Loyal to an Employee:
Don’t be Stifling and Selfish:
Placing certain obligations on the employees is essential, but that does not imply that you constantly poke them. Let your employees be free as they are mature enough to handle things on their own. Encourage them to explore new opportunities and let them grow.
Keeping employee development and growth under control:
If a loyal employee grows then the company will also grow and vice versa. Organizations should not put a thumb over their employees as this can hamper their progress. Let them think, plan, and execute. Be always there to support their beneficiary remarks.
Importance of Employee Loyalty:
Just like customer satisfaction, even fostering or improving employee satisfaction is equally important. If you have satisfied loyal employees, then they will give it all to keep your customers satisfied, and this is how your business can grow remarkably well.
Loyal employees hence can bring you more happy customers and promote your company’s growth. In more detail, an employee’s loyalty is vital to a business or company because:
1. Loyal employees contribute greatly to boosting the productivity of the organization:
Loyal employees are positive personalities who are always coming up with innovative techniques and potential to bring maximum growth to their organization. They are always willing to work hard and offer a company with high levels of output. Here along with organization growth, employee productivity is also seen.
2. Customer satisfaction becomes their primary goal:
Employees who are loyal are not self-centered individuals. They always work for the company and comprehend very well that happy customers are the way to achieve success. To build new customers and retain the old ones, it is vital for the company to have loyal employees in its team.
3. Helps developing a progressive image of the company:
A large portion of your company’s image is structured by your employees. It is your employees who produce a product and market it under your brand. This implies that they are solely carrying the burden of advancing your company’s image on their shoulders.
To enhance this image, without meeting too much expense, it is wise for an organization to respect loyal employees and give the same respect and loyalty to them in return.
4. They help achieve the company’s goals in a short time span:
Employees loyal to an organization work only to achieve their organizational goals. They are genuine professionals who do not have any personal goal and even the company can rely on them to meet their succession plan.
Loyal employees are always there with the ups and downs of the company and can hence support organizations to achieve their goals in a short time span.
5. Loyal employees can be included in a company’s growth plan:
Every company is constantly planning for its growth, but only a few of them are able to achieve it. One main cause for this is the never-ending process of hiring and firing.
But, if you have a certain pool of employees who are not only loyal to you, but are even planning to work long with your firm, then definitely you can plan more productive projects based on the strengths and availability of your manpower.
It is one thing that most companies lack these days, and if you have it then don’t let it go at any cost!
Factors Affecting Employee Loyalty:
Abilities at work
Age of employees
Incentives to the best-performing employees
Job characteristics and job satisfaction
Management leadership style
Length of service
Organization’s treatment of employees
Pay package
Promotion opportunities at work
Training and development at work
Work design
Ways to Boost Confidence in Loyal Employees:
Employee loyalty program is vital for the long-term success of a business. This is because loyal employees tend to prioritize their company’s success over their personal goals. If your company’s work culture is healthy then try to maintain it, but if not then you can follow these ways to enhance loyalty among your employees:
1. Boost Confidence in Management:
Every employee, whether senior or junior, wishes to correlate with an organization that is booming and has further plans for advancement.
Your employees should feel positive energy flowing in the environment. To do this, you need to ensure that you are working towards the betterment of the employees.
Once the employees get convinced that every managerial action is performed for their growth and success, then they are going to take actions that are in favor of the company’s growth.
2. Have an Interactive Work Culture:
The culture of a company is very much vital for its success. An interactive culture, where the manager is ready to meet and talk to the employees is always fruitful.
As a manager, it is your responsibility to look out for issues with the employees and try to solve them as early as possible. This holds true despite of size of your organization.
If an employee is constantly facing problems in your firm, then no matter how big your company is, you will end up losing a loyal, productive employee.
3. Measuring Employee Engagement:
The importance of employee engagement is high and also balancing employee engagement is the most vital component of employee loyalty. The manager must try to get engaged with the employee at least at the individual level if not at a personal level.
The manager must keep an eye on the water cooler gossip, the participation of every employee in the company’s events or employee programs, and more. It is because such engagement helps an employer to have an unbiased opinion of its employees.
4. Employee Training Helps Enhance Learning:
An employee gets frustrated in a short time span if he is not offered a learning environment. Every employee is new in their field, but still, he is always in the hunt for novel things that can help him or become superior to their previous performance.
If you wish to retain your loyal employees and boost their productivity then always offer them a platform where they can learn more new things, either within their department or from other departments.
5. Structure System for Dispute Resolution:
Problems occur in every firm. It is management’s responsibility to introduce a well-structured system for resolving disputes in a balanced and fair style. Make sure that your dispute system is not arbitrary, as otherwise, you may face issues like exclusion, favoritism, and possibly discrimination.
6. Maintain Neutrality:
Employees love and are loyal to manager who is neutral to all. When an employee visits a manager with their problem then the manager must try to solve it rather than create a mess out of it.
A manager must be sensitive to their employee’s emotions and must try to solve their employee problem in as easy a manner as possible. An employee bringing their problem to a manager is a great sign of employee loyalty.
7. Respect is a two-way process:
Like a manager, if you expect your employee to shed your respect then even you are expected to offer him with the same respect. Relate to your employees as much as possible. Rather than being a stubborn boss, you need to be a friendly and interactive boss, especially with employees in today’s arena.
8. Opt Feedback over Micromanagement:
Employees may lose managers' trust in the workplace who are constantly poking them in their job. If as a manager, you are constantly looking over their shoulder, then this is definitely a step towards developing distrust and animosity in your employees.
A better idea is to set reachable goals and provide your subordinates with required resources to get the job finish on time. Then you may sit for feedback to mold their performance positively.
Conclusion:
Loyal employees are hard to find these days. If you have few then try to retain them, but if not then you should try to maintain a healthy work culture in your organization by following the ways to boost employee loyalty.
The loyalty of an employee is directly or indirectly related to the success of the organization, depending on the company’s size. If as a manager, you really wish to earn employee loyalty then try developing it bit by it, as every bit counts and you will reap what you will sow.
REFERENCE: https://content.wisestep.com/loyal-employees/