How (and Why) to Build Employee Loyalty

For years companies have invested in customer loyalty through programs, incentives, customer service operations and more. Meanwhile, not nearly as much attention has been placed on a segment that has proven, direct correlations to customer retention: employee engagement and loyalty. In business you need people you can depend on to ‘have your back’, to commit to your business vision and make the journey to success with you. Your employees are your income protection. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a service or product/merchandise business, it’s important to have loyal employees that stand with you. Finding them may just turn out to be the easy part. Keeping them, on the other hand, is a totally different story and explains the importance of building employee loyalty. This article will refer to financial services businesses in particular due to the author’s affinity to this profession, however the key points are equally transferrable across other businesses within (and without of) the financial services profession.

Your ‘Front’- In any type of business, the boss is rarely the one to greet a customer at the door. It will, more than likely, be an employee.  A loyal employee will extend the same welcome to a client as you yourself would, because he/she understands the importance of keeping the client happy and the consequences if you don’t. How do you achieve this? The answer is quite simple: You lead by example. There are a number of great promoters of the service experience. Ron Kaufman is one who has a passion for service that is as strong as any the author has seen. Engaging your team in a process of identifying client contact points, and challenging them to contribute ideas for improving the service experience will reap benefits on several levels. It will increase their engagement, get their ‘buy-in’ to the concept and demonstrate that their ideas and input are valued. You have just created a win/win situation. The engaged and loyal employee will provide a far superior client experience both upfront and ongoing to that of a disengaged individual with lower loyalty.

Your ‘Engine Room’- No matter who the boss is, there will always be workers. In the case of the financial services business, the author often refers to these people as the ‘engine room’. While you are busy acquiring or reviewing clients, they are the ones taking care of production (it doesn’t matter if it’s chasing down outstanding information for an application or corresponding to set coming meetings) so you can have maximum time available for revenue producing work. Why is it important to have loyal employees for this? Because, you can rely on them to get the job done effectively and efficiently without major fallout. Furthermore, they love their job and they are well trained and know what they’re doing. If you have to keep training new people because you haven’t built loyalty with the veteran employees, you will only be hurting yourself. Not only is it time consuming, it’s expensive.  A study by Columbia University suggests that replacing a lost employee can cost up to 150% of that person’s annual salary. Not only do beginners work slower, because they’re unfamiliar with the business’ systems and processes, there is a higher likelihood they will make more mistakes, requiring more time  to be spent double checking work. This leads to inefficient operations, ergo less time to spend with clients on revenue producing activities. You can motivate your team by clearly articulating the business vision, getting their ‘buy-in’, setting goals and rewarding them for reaching them. It doesn’t have to be a huge thing, or even monetary; it’s about recognition and demonstrating that you are aware of the effort put forward by each of your employees. Regularly updating them as to how things are tracking is crucial. Have a function once a year to celebrate their accomplishments and the success of the business. This need not be an expensive exercise.

Your ‘Dependents’- You are responsible for your employees. Let them know that you understand this responsibility and that you have their best interest at heart. If you show your employees that you genuinely care about their welfare, there is nothing (within reason) they won’t do for you and your business. It’s your job to make sure there is plenty of work for them and it’s their job to make sure it gets done. Just as a well-oiled machine runs smoothly, an appreciated team works optimally. Above all, don’t forget to stop and say hello, ask how he/she is, pat a shoulder now and then.  Even when you get to the point where you have managers, don’t forget you are the boss, their team leader, and they want to know you still see them. The magic to loyalty is to be a true leader.

All in all, building loyalty is about being aware of what is going on in the business, and with your subordinates and subsequently acting upon it. Studies demonstrate that companies who make an effort to achieve committed and loyal employees will achieve significant increases in the earnings per employee (Bashaw & Grant, 1994; Konovsky & Cropanzano, 1991; Mayer & Schoorman, 1992; Moorman et al., 1993). A little creativity and a lot of common sense will get you to the point of optimizing your workforce and letting you build a solid foundation for a prospering business.

Employee Happiness and Motivation Matters

It’s no secret that happy, motivated employees are a key ingredient to a successful company. Academic research also suggests there are clear links between workers’ happiness and motivation, and their productivity.

There are many examples of great companies that have highly motivated employees: Apple, Disney, Starbucks, Coca Cola, and Zappos are a few obvious names that come to mind. Companies on the “Employer of Choice” list have one thing in common: happy, motivated employees. These employees will readily tell anyone that they love what they do and where they work; it’s evident on their faces and in their words.

They often won’t stop talking about their job and company; while their opposites, unhappy and unmotivated employees will often be found complaining to everyone they meet.

Motivated employees will commonly do everything to make what they’re doing great; making them obvious role models for other employees, and they’ll be the best advertising for a company’s brand and products. The key is getting employees to love where they work.

But what really motivates people? Traditional thinking follows that the more you pay someone the more loyal and satisfied they are in their job. Thus, many companies and small business owners use bonuses or raises, and while everyone loves a little extra money, motivating your team with money may not be as effective as you think. When used poorly, monetary rewards can be shorter lasting, and feel like coercion, an effect seen in the classic “carrot-and-stick” approach to motivation.

The truth behind employee motivation is a more complicated mix which also includes praise, autonomy, contribution and leadership opportunities. The following are a number of elements research, and the author’s personal experience have found to be useful pieces when it comes to employee motivation and happiness:

• Clearly define your vision. Your vision is a roadmap for employees, and it should be very clear. While it’s probably clear to you, how well do you think your colleagues and subordinates know it?
• Give employees what they want and need. Put yourself in their shoes. The reality show undercover boss demonstrates how shocked some bosses often are at how hard their employees really work, and how little their employees are provided to get that work done efficiently and effectively. Tools, training, support and a sensitive understanding from supervisors — these are the things that employees expect. Don’t presume they have any of these — check personally. If and when you find they don’t, take steps to correct this.
• Communicate clearly, consistently, and often. Communication is integral to any relationship, including those at work. In this age there are many communication mediums available, and all of these should be used to convey the vision of the organisation. Ideally, your employees will be crystal clear about what you expect from them and receive frequent feedback regarding how they’re doing in meeting goals, not to mention understand and buy into the company’s vision.
• Get everyone engaged. Employees who don’t feel connected will likely contribute little beyond their documented role requirements. Everybody talks about empowerment, but really successful companies today have many of ways to get employees at all levels engaged in planning and decision making — that way, they own the things they do.
• Stay the course. Don’t keep changing things all the time. Yes, you have to adjust to changing times, but many organisations change things because they’re uncertain about what they’re doing. This can scare employees — they want to have confidence in the people they work for, and change just for change’s sake is confusing and unsettling.
• Practice random acts of kindness. Remember to say thank you in all kinds of ways. These don’t have to be overly formal — sometimes a simple pat on the back goes a long way.
• Coach for success. Everyone wants to do well, and most want and need guidance to do that. Paying attention to the work that others do, giving them clear feedback and showing them how to be better when needed is very motivating. Don’t wait for annual reviews to do this.
• Give respect and create trust. This seems like such a simple thing, and yet employees in many organisations will tell you that they don’t feel like their bosses respect them. When that’s the case, it’s awfully hard to trust the people you’re working for. So respect and trust your team, and see whether they’ll trust you in return.
• Make work fun. We all have to go to work each day, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t be enjoyable. When’s the last time you laughed at work, or encouraged your team to enjoy themselves? Employees who are enjoying themselves, and what they do, can and will be motivated to move mountains.

Although improved performance and productivity is at the heart of engagement, it can’t be achieved by a mechanistic approach which tries to extract discretionary effort by manipulating employees’ commitment and emotions. Happy, engaged employees freely and willingly give discretionary effort, not as an ‘add on’, but as an integral part of their daily activity at work.

An engaged employee experiences a blend of job satisfaction, organisational commitment, job involvement and feelings of empowerment. It is a concept that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Despite there being some debate about the precise meaning of employee engagement there are three things we know about it: it is measurable; it can be correlated with performance; and it varies from poor to great. Most importantly employers can do a great deal to impact on people’s level of engagement. That is what makes it so important, as a tool for business success.

Constructing a 30-60-90 Day Plan

 

Several situations might explain the need to write a business/action plan that focuses on a particular 90-day period. Commonly this may be during the application process for a new role in sales or management, as part of an ongoing management accountability framework, or a company might require board of directors’ or executive approval to commit resources to a certain opportunity — some marketing initiative, for example, that is outside of its normal scope of activity.

A 30-60-90 plan typically outlines specific activities to undertake within the first 90 days of a role or project, but as outlined above may extend to a defined period within the yearly operating activities of the business.

The first 30 days usually includes articulation of goals and strategies, training (where related to new roles or projects), orientation and getting to know the basics of the project. The next 30 days is for the actual groundwork, and the last 30 days for implementing, reviewing, and control. Below is an outline as to how one may structure a 30-60-90 day plan:

30 Days

The first 30 days of a 30-60-90 day plan, concentrate on orientation or studying the matter in depth and completion of introductory tasks. Possible activities during this period include familiarisation with the internal workings of the company, orientation to the external marketplace and competitive environment, induction training (for new roles/projects), understanding company policy and procedures, reading relevant product literature, striking rapport with key strategic partners, existing and potential clients. For managers, it is important to begin to familiarise oneself with the team, and develop an understanding of the team dynamics, individual strengths and weaknesses.

60 Days

The first task in the 30 to 60 day plan is to review the 30 day plan and ensure tasks are completed and targets met. The core activity during the second 30 days is to prioritise goals, take learnings from first 30 days, and apply these toward accomplishing the appointed tasks/goals.  Make a definite plan of action, and start implementing the same. The overriding approach in the second phase is to fine tune conceptual models and make detailed plans that fit in with overall organisation and strategy. The range of activities depends on the nature of the job or project.

For a marketing job, talk to key stakeholders and make observations to gain practical knowledge and insights. Review customer satisfaction with current channel partners, identify current or potential issues and devise action plans to solve such issues. Gain valuable exposure by joining professional bodies and attending trade meetings. Plan a marketing campaign incorporating all relevant factors and leads. Regardless of the nature of the activity, gaining in-depth product and technical knowledge remains an ongoing activity during this phase.

90 Days

Execute the plans fully in the final 30 days, or the 60 to 90 day period. Fine tune the plans based on operational needs, and competitor reactions. This is also the time to put effective controls in place, and review results to develop overall long term plans. Remain visible, and allocate time efficiently to optimise work schedules.

Review the first two phases and implement the proposals already drawn up. Specific activities again depends on the nature of the role or project. Resolve bottlenecks and contingencies using creativity. Participate in review meetings to evaluate the viability of initial expectations and revise goals and targets as appropriate. Use the results to identify competitive threats and develop plans to counter the same. Create and implement a measurable results call plan considering all variables that manifest during implementation, to monitor and control the progress.

Application

The 30-60-90 plan is a structured approach, and one of the best ways to leverage available skills and execute plans into action. It finds common use in sales and marketing, to develop sales plans for new employees, in management to establish the goals for particular periods, define their strategies and outline the steps they plan to take to meet those goals, in medical professions to develop rehabilitation plans for patients, and more. Many job seekers also research the position and the company, and prepare similar proposals as part of their application process. To this extent, it demonstrates one’s understanding of the job (even if they have no experience) and what it takes to be successful, hence making one stand out as a promising employee. The plans show employers how the applicant can go from a promising prospect into a full contributor.