4 Steps to Building Loyalty Among Employees
Posted September 29th, 2015
Building loyalty hasn’t traditionally been a centerpiece of an engineering staffing strategy, but it needs to be. Just think of how consequential turnover can be. You have to work with a compromised workforce, try to bridge a skills gap, and put extra responsibilities on everyone’s shoulders. At the same time you have to rush to recruit someone, forcing you to make uncertain hiring decisions. The better policy is to work actively to build loyalty and hopefully encourage more of your engineers to stick around for longer. Follow these four steps:
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Develop Relationships
Why would your employees be loyal to you if they don’t know you? And how can you be more responsive to their needs/wants if you don’t know them? Managers who operate from a removed position rarely inspire loyalty, and they end up paying the price. Take the time to get to know your team as people, beyond the context of work. Organizing informal events outside of the office can be a great way to break down the barriers between boss and staff.
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Be Honest and Fair
No one wants to work for a manager that they feel is hypocritical or biased. That kind of behavior produces resentments that can easily boil over into blow ups. If you want to build loyalty, you need to treat everyone on your team as equals, offer benefits and compensation that compete with the market rate, and hold yourself to the exact same standards as your staff.
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Acknowledge Excellence
All employees want to feel validated by the work they do. But too often, managers overlook accomplishments and downplay performance that goes above and beyond. This represents a major missed opportunity to build loyalty. When your engineers feel like they are being recognized and rewarded for being great at what they do, they will be a lot more eager to put in extra effort and stay committed to your company.
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Staff Smart
Any time staff is let go, it creates uncertainty within a company. And when an employee feels like they could lose their job next week, they will inevitably start to look elsewhere. That’s why you should avoid layoffs as much as possible, and carefully consider circumstances before you fire someone. Letting a few employees go can cause many more to follow.
Keep in mind that following these four steps requires little to no capital. You simply need to invest your time and effort, and suddenly a major staffing hurdle is resolved. Learn more about effective retention strategies by consulting with Bayside Solutions.
