Employees form the building blocks to the staircase that leads an organisation to success. Though mind you, this is not a night long construction. No. Making sure that your employees are with you, your organisation’s objective and its operations can be quite a herculean task.
However, not investing in your employees can be detrimental to an organisation’s existence. If an organisation is breeding disloyal, unsatisfied and grousing employees, it will collapse. But the question that rattles management and supervisors is that how can they achieve employee loyalty.
According to me, an organisation does not achieve employee loyalty but rather the organisation builds employee loyalty. It is a long and arduous process that demands consistency. The first and foremost thing you need to take time to understand your employees. Their talents, skills, shortcomings, needs and motives for working. After all, understanding is crucial for any relationship. Isn’t it? Following is a very rudimentary guide that details few ways which can be employed in order to build employee loyalty.
1.Take the hiring process very seriously
Ensure that you invest a considerable amount of time in the hiring process. If you chose the candidates carefully, it becomes easier and less expensive to build their loyalty for the organisation. Introduce them around; ask them to show their previous work and so on. If their values match the organisation’s value, it will become easier for them to blend naturally with the overall culture.
2.Improve Company culture
Here, company culture refers to the personal interaction between employees and the management and interactions between the employees. If an employee gets along well with his/her superior and most of the colleagues, he/she will be satisfied. Management can ensure healthy relationships by addressing inter-personal problems, not broiling in personal matters. The management should manifest good behaviour too; avoid disrespecting employees and giving importance to feedback.
3.Enhance Knowledge and skill set
The company needs to constantly provide opportunities to its employees which would help them enhance their knowledge. Trainings, workshops, and such programmes can be useful in case of adoption of new softwares and technology. This will fulfil their growth needs and make it possible for the organisation to retain them for longer period.
4.Resolution of disputes
Poorly resolved or unresolved conflicts can cause displeasure and frustration among the employees. It can foster an inhospitable environment which is not employee friendly. This affects their loyalty towards the organisation. However, methodical ways of solving problems and conflicts helps in reducing employee dissatisfaction.
5.Show confidence in their abilities
Be confident of your employee’s skills and put your faith in their abilities. If an employee feels that his/her superior trusts his/her capabilities, he/she gets positively motivated. Everyone will be loyal to the boss who trusts their skills and gives them autonomy in performing those functions.
6.Rewards and constructive feedback
A very important task that an organisation should do is providing constructive feedback and criticism to their employees. This makes the employees feel valued and they feel that their work and contribution s important to the organisation and want to associated with that company.
These are some very basic tips that can help you build employee loyalty. This, by no means, is an exhaustive list. You learn as you go. Employee loyalty might be a rigorous and expensive process. But, a loyal employee is priceless to an organisation. You simply cannot afford to consider this process as optional. You need talented human resource more than they need you.
