Employees are an asset to a company. However, your assets need to be in good shape to be able to generate returns.
Therefore, disengaged and disgruntled employees are more likely to become liabilities instead of assets.
As a result, every business should try to foster employee loyalty to boost productivity. The approach can lead to a bounty of benefits, including a surge in revenues and reputation.
Let’s explore how employee loyalty affects productivity and the ways to improve loyalty for better outcomes.
What is Employee Loyalty?
Every business aims to acquire loyal customers who spend more and return with repeat orders. Additionally, they never think of leaving you for your competitors.
In the same way, loyal employees give their 100% to achieve your business objectives. They feel valued and appreciated in your company and are not willing to leave for other employers.
In addition, loyal employees bring a lot of advantages that we will discuss in a short while.
All business leaders understand the value of employee loyalty. As a result, they take steps to boost employee engagement for more loyalty. They also train employees to grow in their careers and advance to prominent roles.
Let’s find out why employee loyalty is such a big deal for all managers.
Why Is Employee Loyalty Important
Employee loyalty goes a long way to fulfilling your organizational goals. It also leads to several perks like:
More Productive Employees
The primary advantage of employee loyalty is a productive workforce. They take on challenging responsibilities and aren’t afraid to work hard to help you attain business success.
On the other hand, poor employee loyalty takes a toll on productivity. It costs businesses in the United States $483 to $605 billion annually in lost productivity.
So, all businesses try to improve employee loyalty.
Low Employee Turnover
Dissatisfied employees don’t stay for long. They are more likely to quit and find better employment opportunities.
That usually costs US businesses up to $1 trillion per year, as per Gallup.
Therefore, managers always try to make employees happy and improve loyalty. The approach not only improves productivity but encourages employees to stay longer.
As a result, you can enjoy low turnover rates and stop losing money by hiring new professionals.
Higher Outputs and Revenues
Research shows happy employees are 12% more productive than their unhappy counterparts, says author and speaker Brigette Hyacinth.
Therefore, loyal employees get more work done and always meet deadlines. They don’t feel lazy or drag on a task beyond its general timeline.
As a result, you can hope to boost your outputs, whether it’s producing more or serving more customers.
In addition, higher outputs naturally lead to a growth in revenues. Most importantly, loyal employees are of the same value as loyal customers, says Brigette, who spend and order more.
A Better Corporate Image
Loyal employees are one of the strongest advocates of your company. They vouch for your work ethic and recommend you as one of the top employers.
Therefore, you can attract leading talents who look forward to working in your organization. You gain more reputation that makes you a leader in your industry and market.
How to Boost Employee Loyalty
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking paying on time creates loyal employees. That is partially true; however, you need to do more than pay your workforce on time.
The following approaches can help you improve loyalty and enhance productivity:
Understand Your Employees
Brigette reminds us that employees are not machines. They have needs, like attaining a proper work-life balance to stay productive and stress-free.
Additionally, they want employers to respect their time.
Therefore, make an effort to understand and learn about your employees. It will help you connect to them and show your appreciation.
Moreover, you can align their responsibilities better with their life for optimum outcomes.
Invest in Learning and Growth
One of the best ways to improve productivity and loyalty is to encourage more learning and development opportunities. It makes your workforce feel you are investing in their career and not just paying them to get work done.
Ottawa University suggests investing in cross-training to help your employees develop varied skills. You can also provide on-the-job training to make them feel a part of the company and gain essential skills.
Moreover, you can leverage employee training solutions like Bites to impart learning. The platform also lets you create training videos and track your training logistics.
Additionally, Bites is excellent for remote training and implementing learning on the go.
Recognize Good Work
The best way to create loyal employees is to appreciate a good performance. It goes a long way to foster a culture of loyalty and improve employee productivity.
Your workforce also knows you value their contributions and are always keen to recognize deserving talents.
Additionally, focus on team performance and reward the individuals that perform best. You don’t always have to pay cash as an incentive; movie tickets, Netflix subscriptions, and sponsoring lunch also work great to boost loyalty.
Stop Micromanaging
You need to learn to trust your employees to encourage loyalty. However, many managers micromanage their teams as they think it is the only way to succeed.
So, allow freedom to your staff to come up with solutions. Give them a little freedom and see how they perform.
If they execute the project well, you may give them more freedom on the next one. Your employees can choose the direction of the project, which gives them more autonomy.
It is the need of the hour, as 69% of micro-managed employees want to quit their jobs. In addition, research shows 36% actually leave to find another employer.
Final Thoughts
Harboring employee loyalty is the best way to boost productivity and employee morale. It also improves your reputation and helps you generate more revenues. You should first understand your employees and learn to connect with them. Then, invest in learning to counter any lack of training and help your workforce grow. In addition, give them autonomy and allow them to work without micro-management.