Employee Loyalty
Margaret
2 Posts
We are having some problems with Company loyalty with the Corporate Office support staff. I would like suggestions both on how to get Company loyalty and how to address the lack of it. I wonder if other companies address loyalty during the hiring or orientation process?
Comments
First of all, welcome to the forum.
This is a tricky area. Loyalty is something that needs to be earned. It is a bit like respect. Some EEs automatically start with a certain degree of loyalty and it's index rises or falls based on how they are treated and how they perceive the company treating others.
What makes you think their is a loyalty problem? Make sure you don't take one or two isolated examples and assume the whole staff is disaffected.
Perhaps you should try some EE surveys to determine how loyalty has gotten so low. Has the company gone through RIF's, or delayed raises and bonuses? Has a long-term well respected EE been terminated in a manner perceived as unfair?
Study your company culture. Be realistic about your assessment. Are you doing things that do not promote and uplift EEs? In other words, are you doing things to earn their loyalty.
Do you recognize and encourage the behavior you are wanting to promote? Do you celebrate success and acknowledge individual commitment, accomplishments, etc?
It's an old saw, but generally people treat others the way they are treated.
To your question. I think Company loyalty is earned. As it was discussed in another thread related to morale, a wise forumite said it is not the problem, but the fruit of a problem. If you want to address the lack of it you could talk to employees individual or take a good look at the Company culture. Are people treated fairly, with dignity and repect etc? I do think you have every right to expect professional conduct. If people are bad mouthing the company, I would address it with them.
I am reluctant to resurrect the discussions on temperment/personalities, but some temperments do tend to be very loyal, but I don't think I would hire based on solely on that. As to orientation, I just can't see saying You must be loyal to this company. I can see you saying, we hope our employees are loyal/we hope to earn your loyalty. If you have a problem or issue, blah, blah blah is the means by which you should bring it forward. It is our expectation that employees conduct themselves professionally at all times. Company business should not be discussed with outsiders. . . or something to that effect.
Good luck. Your job will not be easy.
One other thing to think about is the generational make-up of your employees. A recent seminar I attended addressed the different tendencies of loyalty of Baby Boomers, a significant fall of Gen X'ers and even more of a gap with the Gen Y'ers. No one came up with a solution of how to increase the sense of loyalty other than to EARN IT.
Is there a high turnover among that staff? If so, it may be retention issues - again communication.
As Marc offered, you need to discover the reason behind the discontent. Policies on loyalty won't do anything to make people loyal.
I appreciate your taking time for input.
Also, it sounds that the owner has decided that he is an absoutely terrific boss who gives absolutely terrific benefit and therefore the ees should be thanking their lucky stars and blessing their boss. Sorry, but life doesn't work that way. If they are doing their job, you cannot terminate for being ungrateful.
I posted earlier that the best way to create loyalty was to EARN it through employee relations. It sounds like you are attempting to do so. I'm sure the turnover in your business is extremely high so you may have to go that extra mile to insure you are in line with or above your competitors.
Consider reading the book "Stewardship" by Peter Block. Another book is "Accountability" by Rob Lebow & Randy Spitzer. I can take you a step further with the "Communication & Trust" survey which I do with companies.
If there is an interest, contact me at 630-653-1933.
Good luck.
I applaude everyone's advice to look at your own management and see if you are doing something to cause this behavior. If your other employees are as loyal and relatively happy as your follow-up post indicates, I think you have a basically unhappy person, who likes to share the misery with anyone that will sign on. These people are poison to your company and you should address it.
I also would not give her/him another jacket or article of clothing that has a logo on it. I would simple explain that these items are given to employees to wear and enjoy. While employees are wearing them, they announce to everyone who sees them that they are employees of the company and proud to represent the company. It is not your intention for these items to be sold or given to strangers to wear. Since the employee doesn't wish to wear them, the company is not going to give them another.
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
As for the stupidity of making the 7-11 comment, I might counsel them on how that makes them look like they have very poor judgement to make a comment like that.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
My original response had a caveat about not letting one or two individuals make you assume the whole staff is disaffected.
The additional information confirmed that suspicion. With that clarification, I would do as Margaret Moford suggested. Do not let these bad apples spoil the barrel. If the staff in question have some specific issues, address them. If they are just negative people, confront their negativity. Let them know it is not appreciated in the workplace. They can keep those opinions to themselves or find some place to work where they will be happier. If they give you a lot of lip about it, start the process of moving them out.
Some individuals just cannot get it together for various reasons. They can cause an immeasureable amount of damage to a workplace and to everyone around them. If you could determine these characteristics during the interview process, you would never hire them. Similarly, if you discover these characteristics after they are hired, and they appear intractable, then move them along.
Confronting the behavior will at least let them know you are onto them and will not tolerate this in your workplace. As my wife likes to say, "Shape up or ship out."
Good luck.