How to Foster Employee Loyalty
Compensation: Compensating employees can take many forms, and in order to foster employee loyalty compensation should extend beyond a paycheck. Standard payment is important, however finding innovative ways to compensate employees will help maintain loyalty among your workforce. Using spot rewards, like small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like
CVS/Pharmacy,
The Cheesecake Factory and
The Limited is a great way to show employees you noticed extra effort on a specific project, or appreciated them staying late one night.
Environment: Creating a comfortable environment where goals are clearly stated and communication is clear between peers and from managers to their team is key in creating a culture of loyalty. Working hard and having fun as a team will form relationships and camaraderie that foster loyalty, job satisfaction and improved productivity.
Combat Workplace Stress with Health and Wellness Programs
Workplace stress is an increasingly common issue, affecting both employee well-being and company performance. According to the American Institute of Stress, job-related stress is the primary source of stress for American adults, with 83% of U.S. workers reporting stress-related symptoms. This stress not only impacts individual health but also costs American businesses a staggering $300 billion annually due to absenteeism, turnover, and reduced productivity.
Employee Praise Raises Revenue
Employee praise can actually raise your organization's revenue, so make sure your managers are like good coaches, cheering on players at all times. When managers support their teams and recognize a job well done with public praise, productivity increases and employees get more motivated to contribute to organizational success. There is nothing better for company morale, and peer education, than managers teaching teams and providing positive reinforcement. So start at the top and empower your managers, the effect will trickle down to the rest of your organization. Check out this infographic below to see how much potential there is for improvement with managing employees, and to see how to educate your managers to cheer on their team.
Who Is Engaged at Your Office?
Following the release of the 2013 Gallup "State of the American Workforce" study revealed some astonishing things about how much work employers have to do to engage their employees, since a whopping 70% indicated they were either not engaged or actively disengaged at work. The study also revealed which employees were more likely to be engaged at work. Did you know millenials and traditionalists (people at the beginning and end of their careers) are most likely to feel engaged in their jobs? Only 28% of Generation Xer's and 26% of Baby Boomers indicated they felt engaged at work. These numbers are indicative of a lapse in engagement in the workforce. Whether you engage employees in a health and wellness program (see who can lose the most weight), or a safety program, or provide professional development training and executive access, make sure your employees are happy. Disengaged employees cost an estimated $450-$550 billion per year in lost productivity. Keep your employees happy by providing perks and creating a company culture where team comes first and exceptional accomplishments are recognized. When an employee reaches a goal provide a reward like a summer Friday afternoon off, or small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like AutoZone, CVS/pharmacy or Boston Market, allowing employees to choose their own reward. Engaging employees at work will keep them with your organization longer and help improve your bottom line.
For more information about engaging employees and the new Gallup "State of the American Workforce" Study check out this article from Loyalty360.
Gamification fits for Employee Motivation
Gamification is rapidly growing as a tool for employee motivation. According to a new report from research firm
Markets and Markets, the gamification industry will be worth $5.5 billion by 2018, up from $421 million this year. With this significant increase, if your company isn't already gamifying employee motivation it’s time to start. The incredible predicted growth of the industry over the next 5 years is an indication that gamification is working and that both employer and employee adoption rates are on the rise. Driving employees to desired behavior and self-motivation through a social outlet is a double reward. Humans are social beings, so whether it’s productive to our work or not we seek out social opportunities at work. By implementing gamification employees get motivated to desired behaviors by providing rewards, and satiate their need for a social experience through an organizationally sponsored channel. The social outlet and small rewards like gift cards to retailers like
Speedway and
Boston Market, combined with the increased productivity motivated employees bring, creates a win/win for the whole organization. This double positive for employers and employees builds harmonious relationships that will maintain employee motivation long after the game is over.