Dale Carnegie — How To Build Employee Loyalty

How To Build
Employee Loyalty

•  Word count for this issue: 684
• Approximate time to read: About 2.7 minutes @ 250 words per minute

In the good old days, it was commonplace for employees to dedicate their entire careers to one company.  You’d hear stories all the time about how an ambitious “lifer” started out in the mailroom, for example, and worked his or her way up the corporate ladder to VP, or even CEO. Unfortunately, those days are over.

Today’s employees, especially young 20- and 30-somethings, commonly job-hop in an effort to get ahead.  And even older workers aren’t hanging around for the gold watch anymore.  The mass layoffs and benefit cuts in some of the country’s biggest companies in the past few years have left many workers wondering if loyalty or length of service with one company really matters.  In fact, a Careerbuilder.com report found that 76% of full-time workers would leave their current workplace if the right opportunity came along.

So as an employer, how can you keep your best hires from jumping ship?  The following are a few tips to consider.

6 Tips For Building Employee Loyalty:

1. Know Who You’re Hiring –Retaining good employees starts with hiring the best workers for the job.   You can tell a lot about a potential hire from his or her job history.  How many years did they work in their previous positions?  Is there a pattern of moving from job to job?  Ask for personal and business references and actually call them.  The internet and social media can also be great sources for information about potential hires.  If you find inappropriate posts or complaints from a potential hire’s former employer, for example, that candidate is probably not the best choice for your company.

2. Have A Good Onboarding Process In Place –You only have one chance to make a good first impression.  Create a formal onboarding process where a designated employee greets new hires and shows them the ropes.  Consider including a new-hire page on your company’s intranet, where important benefits information and tax forms can be accessed easily.  Set up group meetings so employees can quickly learn their role within your company and meet other key players.  Ensuring new hires feel welcomed and part of the team is the first step to building loyalty.

3. Be Family Friendly –Employees are people with lives and families, just like yours.  Show that you care about their happiness both in and outside of the office by adopting a family friendly work environment.  Offer child-care benefits or flexible work schedules that allow employees to meet family obligations.  This will show that you value your employees and don’t think of them as merely “paper-pushers.”

4. Invest In Your Employees –If you invest in your employees’ futures, they will be more likely to invest in yours.  Show that you care about their long-term goals by offering benefits such as a matching 401k plan and other retirement packages.  Offering opportunities for relevant continuing education and job training also shows your commitment to employees’ career growth and success.

5. Recognize Achievements –Reward and recognize employee achievements often.  Employees want to know that you appreciate their hard work.  Positive feedback encourages employees to keep working hard toward a common goal.  Provide opportunities for employees to work on highly visible projects that showcase their talents.  This will encourage workers to take pride in the value they offer to your company.

6. Ask Employees For Their Input– Create a checks and balances system by allowing employees opportunities to evaluate their management team.  This can be done through questionnaires or impromptu discussions or staff meetings.  Immediately address situations where managers are not performing up to par or are bringing down the morale of the team.

Executive Summary:  In today’s competitive job market, highly competent employees are less likely to remain in a position where they feel dissatisfied or unappreciated.  Ensure your best performers don’t feel taken for granted.  Benefits such as pension plans, ongoing education and job training, child-care, and flextime, will go a long way in showing you value your employees.  And when employees feel valued, they are far more likely to become loyal, long-term contributors to your company’s overall success.

– Lee Iacocca