After you hire to fit company culture, the next step is to cultivate employee loyalty among your workforce. Doing so will lead to higher employee productivity and engagement, which Gallup found led to 21% greater profitability. As such, loyal employees can help your business grow and develop. But employee loyalty is not a given; it has to be earned and nurtured over time.

How to Start Building Employee Loyalty

Real loyalty develops when an employee trusts and respects the company. Employees must trust that the company has their best interests at heart and is invested in them. Simply put, it’s a two-way street. If they sense that they are not valued, employees will leave the first chance they get. That’s why the company must take actionable steps towards cultivating employee loyalty.

The first step in fostering employee loyalty is to must make sure the employee’s and organization’s interests are aligned. As the key that connects an employee’s interests to the company’s, this duty falls upon the managers. Regularly communicating the organization’s goals during meetings show how employee contributions affect team and organization success, which, in turn, engages employees.

Another crucial step in building loyalty is to create an engaging work environment. A team effort between managers and higher-ups, establishing the right company culture, one that nurtures employees and creates compelling experiences, will go a long way in keeping employees loyal. Here are a couple ways to help you get started:

• Provide continuing education workshops.
  Creating a space where employees can learn and improve their skills sends a message that the company and the team is invested in them, in helping them become the best they can be.

• Offer quality employee benefits.
  Providing relevant benefits, like remote work or flexible work schedules, shows that the company supports their employees to the fullest, ultimately making them feel valued.

How to Nurture Employee Loyalty

Now that you’ve taken the first steps towards earning loyalty, how do you nurture it? The first step is to see which employee loyalty efforts have been effective by collecting data through an anonymous feedback system. An anonymous feedback system is essential at this point as it provides employees the chance to provide honest feedback while protecting their privacy. Ultimately, this will help you win their trust and long-term commitment because it shows that you value their opinion and respect their privacy.

With the data you’ve collected through the surveys, you’ll have an overview of what drives your employees and, essentially, what keeps them loyal. You’ll know which areas you need to act on.  So, the next step is to open the floor to your employees for constructive suggestions on how to address some of these issues.

1. Set up a meeting to discuss relevant feedback.
2. List out the main issues to discuss.
3. Open the floor to employees on how the overall work environment is looking and for any constructive suggestions.
4. Based on suggestions, create 3-5 actionable steps for the next 3 months.
5. Establish a timeline of bi-weekly or monthly follow-up meetings until the deadline to ensure everything is on track.
6. Periodically encourage employees to share new ideas and constructive feedback.

Bottom Line

Like any trust-building effort, building employee loyalty takes time, but it will be worth it. Any efforts, big or small, sends a powerful message that you are interested in their well-being, spurring them to be more productive and engaged in the company. After a year, you will be able to see these efforts shine through lower turnover rates, higher engagement, employee advocacy and, most importantly, employee loyalty.

Looking for a way you can enhance existing employee loyalty? Contact CorpStrat to learn how we help companies attract, reward, and retain their most important assets – their people.

Did you know that retaining your employees is more cost effective than hiring? The time and money it takes to train a new employee costs your company far more than retaining your employees. Overall, having a high employee turnover can disrupt productivity and morale, as well as your company’s bottom line.

For those looking for ways to re-engage and retain their top employees, here’s a list of 5 strategies your HR department can incorporate in 2020.

1.    Find out why people are leaving and fix it.

If your company has seen an increase in the number of employees leaving, it is important that you find the underlying cause. Finding the root cause—whether it’s about the treatment of employees or the lack of a competitive salary—and fixing the issue can make the difference in employee retention.

Information obtained from exit interviews and honest conversations with current employees can be helpful in pinpointing what the problem is and how you can solve it. In addition, being proactive and conducting engagement surveys can reveal early warning signs to help you get ahead of the problem.

2.    Give positive feedback.

The simple act of positive feedback boosts employee confidence. Encouraging the efforts of your top employees and positively reinforcing their work improves morale and builds trust. Solidifying this trust is especially important when negative and constructive feedback becomes necessary.

Establishing a program where hard work is recognized and rewarded—or even using an employee recognition software—can foster a positive feedback culture where employees feel valued for their wins and ultimately stay.

3.    Communicate your organization’s shared vision.

Communicating the company’s short- and long-term goals can make your top employees feel engaged and valued. Knowing the bigger picture helps them align their goals with the company’s, cultivating their sense of purpose and sense of loyalty to the company.

In order to start this process, you must set aside a time for a company meeting where you lay out the organization’s goals, such as where the company is going and how the company aims to get there.

4.    Conduct a compensation analysis.

Although pay isn’t as big of a priority anymore,  it is still important to offer competitive salaries. Since salaries are a reflection of how valued an employee is, a fair compensation package, with a competitive salary and benefits package, is crucial in lowering employee turnover and increasing retention rates.

The first step is to conduct an annual compensation analysis, in comparison to your competitors, to see how much you should be compensating your employees. By offering a competitive package, your top employees won’t be enticed to leave your company for another.

5.    Offer opportunities for learning and continuous education.

According to LinkedIn, 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if it invested in helping them learn. As such, providing opportunities through which your top employees can grow and learn new skills can help with retaining them.

Access to workshops and certifications on relevant and useful topics are two ways your current employees can improve on and learn new skills. These will naturally engage current employees, making them feel like they can continuously grow with your company.

With these 5 strategies, you and your company will be able to retain your top employees for 2020. But for a smarter, long-term retention strategy, reach out to CorpStrat and learn how we help companies likes yours attract, reward, and retain your most important asset – your people.