Creating Loyal Employees, by Joyce Weiss

Creating Loyal Employees Versus The Revolving Door Syndrome

By Joyce Weiss, M.A. CSP

"My good employees are leaving the company as quickly as we train them.  We are stressed out from being understaffed.  Our exemplary employees don`t give us a chance to show them what this company is about before they make a quick exit.  We are losing too many people."

 Does this sound familiar?   I`m known as The Corporate Energizer® and am fortunate to speak to thousands of people each year.  I work with employees who want to re-energize their passion-to create miracles for their customers.  I have asked over 1,000 people in my audiences what their company could do to keep them from leaving. The comments were the same from people in corporate America, the private and the public sector, all over the United States.  

Cicero said, "Where there is life, there is hope."  This article is comprised of comments from interviews that I took from companies that understand how to keep good employees.  These are actual conversations.  Some are very positive, and others are real situations that caused good people to leave. Money is rarely the reason why employees leave.  Today`s employee expects meaningful work.  They expect to be challenged.  They demand feedback.  "I wasn`t listened to" or "I found a company that believes in its people" were comments that I heard most often. One man told his employer, "Please don`t assume its part of my job when you ask the department to drop everything for a priority change.  

How about thanking us after we do the project for you?"  He went on to say that he left a company because the management kept adding more responsibilities in his job description.  The management never thanked conscientious employees for going above and beyond their usual job.  Once an entire department left and went to work for the competition.   I like comparing what is happening in today`s workforce to a good relationship.  After a while people start taking each other for granted.   This leads to one party feeling used or unnoticed.  This goes on in companies and organizations too.  Start looking at the good people you have and figure out how to keep them.

Here are five ideas to start with:

1. Make employees feel included
2. Use positive words along with constructive feed back to give positive reinforcement.
3. Make the environment as productive as possible by using motivational techniques.
4. Food works!
5. Awards make employees feel great

Make Employees Feel Included

Do you hear your employees saying, "Our managers are always in meetings and they are not accessible.  They don`t include us with decisions that affect us and the customers that we deal with." Do what you can to schedule weekly or semi-weekly meetings of 15-30 minutes with 5 people chosen randomly from various departments.  Discuss their ideas for improving the work environment, inter-departmental relations, procedures, and  obstacles they encounter daily.

Would your employees respond to these statements in a positive way?

• · My department receives the cooperation it needs from other departments.
• · I know my department`s role in relationship to other departments.
• · There is open communication among employees in my department.
• · I have confidence in the ability of my co-workers.
• · I am well informed about job openings.
• · The most qualified individuals are selected when job openings occur.

If you think their responses would not be positive, discuss the issues.  Get answers that will help management become more accessible to staff.  Make employees feel their ideas are important. Look for ways to make repetitive jobs more interesting.   Do employees need to rotate responsibilities in order to reduce boredom?   Suggest that they talk with other employees about how to reduce the monotony from certain tasks.  Employees will feel that they can and do make a difference in the company when they learn why their job is important and how it fits into the big picture. Use Both Constructive Feedback and Positive Reinforcement

Listen and act on the ideas brought by employees.  "At one time I only complained to my manager.  He said to give solutions.  My ideas got shot down when I gave a solution.  I took this for a couple of years and then left because I knew my ideas were valuable." "My manager does not like my opinions.  He/she takes them personally or as an attack on the company.  Listen to me and please tell me in a constructive way why the ideas were not helpful."  Creativity is squelched by not listening to the employees. "I left the last job because there was far too much focus on negative issues and not enough recognition for the positive achievements." I`ve learned from research that good people are being ridiculed just because they have constructive ideas on how their department or company can be improved. Employees are asking that their management greet them when they come to work. They are not invisible and need to feel important and needed, or else they will look to have their needs fulfilled somewhere else.

 One person told me she had major surgery and management never asked her how she was feeling. Management needs to give both positive recognition and constructive feedback to get good results.  "Tell us regularly when we`re doing a good job - not just at review time."  This helps build morale. "Define our career path and the opportunity that exists for advancement within our department." "Stand by us with our customers.  Customers don`t respect us when management complains about us to them.  Help us learn so we don`t repeat the same mistake."

How about writing a note to two or three employees each week especially when they took risks, calmed an irate customer, or attended a workshop on their own time. Make The Environment As Productive As Possible By Using Motivational Techniques Keep a money pot available for any negative comments after a certain hour in the day.  For example, the person who makes a negative comment after 10 am must put 25 cents in the money pot.  The money can be used for a local charity or to purchase snacks for the staff. Allow people to change jobs and move to other departments without retribution from their managers.  This way your good employees can grow within the company without looking elsewhere for professional advancement.  

Bring in motivational speakers and trainers to help the team succeed.  Ask employees which technical classes they need to attend.  Rent videos and audio tapes to enhance their learning process. "I need more training because I don`t see myself staying in the same position.  I want to stay here, but if they don`t take this seriously, I`m out of here.  Training would better prepare me for projects I am assigned."   This training does not need to be formal.  It can be as simple as tutorial mentoring by a peer. Partner new employees with veteran staff members so they can learn from each other.  This stops the we versus they syndrome on teams. Create a feeling of esprit de corps-to do what ever it takes to get the job done.  If someone is abrupt or insensitive to a customer`s needs when they are usually upbeat, find out why.  Make each team member feel supported by the others. Ask what the team is doing right.  Find out what the weakest link may be.  

Discover the team`s greatest asset.  Ask what the team members need from each other, and other departments, in order to be successful.  Then watch the morale increase and the team soar. Learn a technique called straight talk.  It encourages people to tell others what they need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear.  Straight talk is done in a positive manner to build rapport and relationships.  This helps us see our blind spots, and if used correctly, can be a gift in one`s professional growth.  

For example, say, "If I`m not carrying my weight and its affecting you, tell me in a positive way."  Make sure and focus on the behavior and not the personality.  Tell employees that you consider them a valuable team player and welcome their comments. Here are some examples of straight talk questions to ask:

• What are three things I do that you like and dislike?
• What can we do about this?
• How do you think we can improve department and staff meetings?
• Do you think some employees get better treatment?
• What would you do first if you became the leader of this business tomorrow morning?
• What should I know about your work that I don`t know?
• What do you need to know about the business that you don`t know?

Do you feel confident that your employees feel free to speak their mind without worrying about negative consequences? George Bernard Shaw said,  "Life doesn`t cease to be funny when people die anymore than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."  Our job needs to be fun and enjoyable or we are doomed to fail.  This is one of many survival skills used in business today. Create a fun committee.  Find out what departments need to increase morale.   Create theme days by having employees dress as Elvis, or wear clashing clothes.  Hold a talent contest.  Encourage employees to bring in their baby pictures and put them on a bulletin board to guess who is who.  

Of course this can back fire because some people don`t like social activities.  Companies spend a  significant amount of money on picnics without checking if their employees will attend.  It is important to find out what your people define as fun.  A compromise may have to take place and each department  plan something.  This way, the different personalities make for a very interesting activity.  This makes people feel more inclusive. Pipe in music.  The team can suggest different types of music every day.   This way people don`t feel they have to suffer through music they don`t appreciate.  Have employees bring in their favorite posters.

Food Works! Ask employees for food suggestions while planning a meeting.  The diversity of the workforce has changed. Including different cultures introduces us to a variety of customs and delicious food.  This will encourage employees to learn about each other.  Take employees out to lunch when they do something special.  Birthday and anniversary cakes are something that employees always appreciate.

Awards Make Employees Feel Great! Awards make employees feel great.  Ask each employee what kind of gift they would like to receive for special recognition.  This way you can reward them with something they want.  Give them different amounts of money, ranging from $5.00 up, depending on your budget. Give away movie theater tickets when an employee gives constructive feedback at a meeting.  This encourages everyone to take small risks. Employees like to be noticed when they have ideas to reduce costs or find a need to offer a new service.  If this saves or earns the company money make sure to give a token of appreciation.  A special parking place may encourage friendly competition.

Give awards for perfect attendance, the best attitude, the employee who grew professionally, the safest department, the most enthusiastic team, the most organized department/desk, or even the person who brings in the best snacks. Include names in the company newsletter to make employees feel special.  

Encourage the team to vote for the most helpful team member each month.   Suggest a positive award coming from management. Companies need to return to the basics and take care of their employees.  

When they do that, they care about their business.  People want to be listened to and appreciated at work.  They want a balance between their personal lives and business lives.   

These ideas can and will help.  Remember that they came from employees that left companies that did not know how to listen or appreciate them.

 Companies in every industry are waking up to the reality that they must make the motivation of their employees the number one priority or risk falling behind the competition.  My clients have shared many stories with me.  They have experienced success by seeing the revolving door syndrome stop.  Employees are thrilled because they really don`t want to leave.  They just want to stay in a place that takes care of them.  

It is that simple.  Not easy, but simple!  Have fun with these ideas.  Let me know what works for you.