Increasing staff loyalty: what is it? Loyalty factors. Methods of assessment. What is customer and staff loyalty? Hidden employee loyalty
Some managers think that the attitude of employees towards the company is not decisive. The main thing is that the staff effectively perform their assigned duties. Others, on the contrary, believe that employee loyalty increases work efficiency and saves the employer significant funds, at least on the selection of new personnel.
Loyalty and statistics
Research conducted by MASMI Research Group and Gallup showed that even in those companies where there are various programs to form and maintain loyalty, it still continues to decline.
If in 2009 in Russia 15% of workers declared their disloyalty towards the company, then in 2010 this figure increased by 2%.
The study also showed that only 13% of employees are highly motivated and interested in work. As a rule, these are older employees (40 years and above), whose loyalty is explained by the fact that they were brought up at a time when general values were placed above personal ones.
At the same time, 67% of respondents work only when necessary, and 20% are ready to change jobs at any opportunity.
Thus, we can say that there is an overwhelming majority of workers who are indifferent to the company and their own responsibilities.
Reasons contributing to the formation of loyalty
The level of loyalty is greatly influenced by the personal qualities of a particular person or an entire generation formed in the same conditions. If the significance of the concept of “loyalty to the employer” is initially lowered in the subject, then no programs will force him to stay with the employer for a long time.
Currently, generation Y is the most active in the personnel market. These are people who have personal goals in the first place and who care primarily about their own well-being. They will be loyal to the company as long as the conditions and payment of the work suit them, and without hesitation they will change their place of work if they receive a more advantageous offer.
But despite this, companies should invest in motivating and increasing the loyalty of their employees, and learn to work with them competently.
Stimulating employee loyalty
In the first place, based on the values of the overwhelming majority of today's employees, are not only salary, but also the opportunity to make a career.
If an employee sees prospects for relatively rapid growth with a given employer, he will not leave the company in search of immediate benefits.
In addition, in addition to standard insurance programs, benefits and bonuses, which many companies have but do not work well, there are some non-material incentive methods that are highly valued by modern young employees. This may include, for example, flexible work hours and the ability to work from home.
The absence of a strict dress code and overly formalized communication within the company can also increase the level of employee loyalty and even outweigh some salary increases offered by competitors.
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Loyalty as a personality quality is the tendency to stay within the limits of legality, to treat with understanding, correctly and neutrally benevolently towards someone or something.
A parable about the measure of loyalty. A certain Sufi teacher was surrounded by disciples day and night and his reputation was so high that odes were composed in his honor from Samarkand to Alexandria, and the nobility of the seven kingdoms considered him the Star of the Age and the teacher of teachers on Earth. Once, talking with the ruler of Bukhara, he remarked: “People do not remain faithful, even when they think that they do.” Although one has to accept worship to maintain good social relations, in reality there is none. The ruler, however, thought that the Sufi wanted to flatter him by convincing him that these people were not really his followers, and he said: “Oh, Dervish!” Vanity, duplicity and hypocrisy are an indispensable attribute of confidants and courtiers, those who surround temporary kings like me. But the Majestic Kings of the Cosmos, such as you, are surrounded by sincere followers, for they have no material benefits from following you. The dervish said: “In this whole city, and among all the people who have declared their adherence to me and through me to higher matters, according to my data, there are one and a half people who will not be afraid if it comes down to it.”
To test this unusual theory, the king ordered the Sufi to be arrested for blasphemy and led through the streets of the city for public execution as an example for the city residents. When Sufi was arrested, no one from his entourage uttered a word. Crowds gathered in the streets along which he was escorted, but people stood in silent anticipation. An hour after they started leading him through the streets, the man ran up to the guards and shouted: “He’s innocent!” Then, in the next block, a man blocked the path of the procession and said: “Arrest me.” It was I who was guilty of blasphemy, this man only quoted my words to refute them! When at the end of the day the Ruler and the Sufi met to discuss the events of the day, the Sufi said: “You see, everything is so.” The person who shouted that I was innocent was a half, and the one who exchanged his life for mine was the whole person I was talking about!
Loyalty, if you do not confuse it with servility, servility and fawning, presupposes thinking in the mode “Your victory is my victory,” “You win, which means I win.” Loyalty is the desire to first understand and only then be understood. This is a craving for synergy. The enemy of loyalty is thinking in the spirit: “I don’t know and don’t want to know what other people think and feel, how they perceive the world. I am not interested. If someone bends over to someone else, demonstrates loyalty, calling it loyalty, I call it stupidity and mediocrity, because loyalty is the willingness to bend lower, to arrive a little earlier, to be stupider than the gray, mediocre leadership. No wonder Bernard Shaw said: “Loyalty is freedom from the need to think.”
In a word, the black-and-white thinking of disloyalty is based on disunity, rivalry, confrontation, while the train of thought and logic of loyalty calls for cooperation, unity, readiness to provide support, warn about something, assist, sacrifice something for the sake of the object of loyalty . Loyalty presupposes honesty and fidelity towards the object of loyalty, a similar attitude to values, a sense of pride in the object of loyalty and an open demonstration of such an attitude.
In general, a decent person should be strict with himself and loyal to others. In true loyalty there is no desire to impose your values, principles, or worldview on someone. Loyalty recognizes others' right to be different. She looks for in a person not what separates, but what unites. True loyalty abhors prying into other people's lives, interfering and controlling every step of other people. This is also true for loyalty at the level of state thinking. Many countries loudly declare their loyalty, tolerance, democracy, and, at the same time, for the sake of their interests and worldview, they unceremoniously interfere in the lives of other peoples, causing them untold disasters and suffering.
True loyalty lives and thrives in an environment of selflessness and unconditionality. Where the dirty traces of self-interest are visible, loyalty takes on distorted, ugly forms. Therefore, it is easy to confuse loyalty with its surrogates: opportunism, servility and conformism.
The nature of loyalty, its social coloring depends entirely on who and who represents it. You can be loyal to fascism, nationalism, terrorism and religious fanaticism. A sadist shows loyalty to his own kind, thieves and bandits are loyal to criminals, pimps are loyal to prostitution.
Let's plunge into history and see what role the loyalty of other people to some quality of his personality can play in a person's life. The talented serf boy Taras Shevchenko was noticed by his fellow countryman, Ivan Soshenko. He liked the work Shevchenko did in the Summer Garden, and he brought Taras to the workshop of Karl Bryullov. The great artist immediately saw the talent of the serf boy and said that the young artist should be sent to study at the Academy of Arts. But here's the problem! Serfs were not accepted into the Academy. The landowner Pavel Engelhardt, who owned Shevchenko, categorically did not agree to let go of the young talent, declaring that it was his property, and he did not intend to part with it. No matter how Karl Bryullov and the great artist Alexei Venetsianov asked for Shevchenko, the serf owner was not inclined to this, as he put it, “philanthropy.”
But loyalty to the talent of the young artist had already firmly taken possession of Bryullov’s mind. Loyalty is friendly with compassion, it is always ready to provide support, assistance, sacrifice something for the sake of the object of loyalty, and Bryullov hurries for help to his friend - the great poet, educator of the heir to the throne, the empress's favorite, with whom she sobbed over Schiller's poems - Vasily Zhukovsky. Zhukovsky also became imbued with loyalty to the talent and fate of the young artist. He immediately told Empress Alexandra Feodorovna about everything, and she, in turn, informed her husband about the serf artist.
By order of the tsar, the minister of the imperial court, Pyotr Volkonsky, and the president of the Academy of Arts, Alexei Olenin, intervened in the “carousel” of the artist’s release. But Engelhardt was stubborn and unyielding. In the end, for the freedom of Taras, he asked for 2,500 rubles - a very significant amount for that time, many times higher than the price for ordinary serfs.
Bryullov and Zhukovsky, having assessed their financial capabilities, realized that they could not do without the assistance of the Empress. Alexandra Fedorovna agreed to pay, but on the condition that Bryullov would draw for her the long-promised portrait of Zhukovsky. Karl Pavlovich got to work.
Meanwhile, Shevchenko, like many young artists, earned money as a portrait painter. Once a general ordered a portrait from him and promised him a decent sum for it. But when the portrait was ready, he began to find fault and, ultimately, refused to take and pay for his own image.
Taras was offended and decided to take revenge. He painted over the uniform and epaulettes, painted a white shirt, a towel and shaving accessories in return and sold the painting as a sign to the barber shop where his abuser used to go to shave...
When the general saw himself in the role of a barber's barker, he almost gave his soul to God, immediately bought a sign, then went to Engelhardt and asked the landowner to sell him the daring serf. At the same time, he agreed to pay much more than 2,500 rubles. Greedy Engelhardt rubbed his hands with joy. One can imagine what would have happened to Shevchenko if he had found himself in the cruel clutches of the general. But, as we know, loyalty, if it decides to help, it will not give up its intention.
Taras, having learned about his proposed sale, realized the horror of his situation and rushed to Bryullov for help, he immediately told the news to Zhukovsky, and the latter to Alexandra Fedorovna. The highest displeasure was conveyed from the palace to Engelhardt, and the deal fell through.
Bryullov soon painted the promised portrait of Zhukovsky, it was played in a lottery among members of the royal family. The money received from the lottery tickets was transferred to Engelhardt, and Shevchenko received his long-awaited freedom.
Thus, the loyalty of a whole group of influential people to the talent of the young artist played a fateful role in his life. Documentary evidence has been preserved of how the artist himself recalled his deliverance from serfdom.
Questions from the investigator and answers from T.G. Shevchenko during interrogation in the III department. April 21, 1847, St. Petersburg
1. Describe your origin, the case by which you were freed from serfdom, your upbringing at the Academy of Arts, your activities upon graduation from the Academy, trips around Little Russia and the reasons that inclined you to pursue poetry rather than painting.
2. There is evidence against you that you participated in the plans of the Slavic Society of St. Cyril and Methodius. Explain in detail: when and by whom this society was founded, and if the assumption of its establishment has not yet been carried out, then by whom and when these assumptions were made.
1. I am the son of a serf peasant; lost his father and mother in childhood; in 1828 he was taken into the yard by the landowner; in 1838 he was freed from serfdom by the august imperial family, through the mediation of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, Count Mikhail Yuryevich Vielgorsky and Karl Pavlovich Bryullov. Bryullov painted a portrait of Zhukovsky for the imperial family, and with this money I was bought from the landowner. I studied drawing and painting at the Academy of Arts until 1844. Upon graduation from the Academy, he was appointed to the Kyiv Archaeographic Commission as an employee in the field of drawing and collecting folk legends, fairy tales and songs in the southern Russian provinces. I loved poetry since childhood and began writing in 1837. My first poem, entitled “Katerina,” is dedicated to Zhukovsky, which aroused enthusiasm among Little Russians, and I began to continue writing poetry, without giving up painting.
2. Testimony that I am participating in the plans of the Slavic Society is not fair.
The litmus test of loyalty is the attitude towards absent people. If a person does not speak badly about him behind another’s back, he thereby shows loyalty to him and expresses his decency. Stephen Covey writes: “Suppose you and I are having a one-on-one conversation—we’re giving our boss a bone to pick, something we would never allow ourselves to do if he were in the same room. What happens if we quarrel? You will be sure that I will discuss your shortcomings with others. After all, we did this in relation to the boss! You know my nature. I say nice things to your face and slander you behind your back. This is the essence of duplicity. Can we say that it increases confidence? Now imagine that you began to criticize the absent boss, and I say that I agree with you on some points, and I propose that we go together to his office and try to explain what, in our opinion, he is doing wrong. How do you think I will behave in a situation where someone begins to slander him?”
An employee's reliability is measured by his level of loyalty to the organization. There are several levels of loyalty and each subsequent one provides a higher degree of devotion to the company. Loyalty can be at the level of attributes, at the level of behavior, at the level of abilities and at the level of beliefs.
It is clear that loyalty is more valuable at the level when the mission and operating principles of the organization coincide with the beliefs of the employee. The level of loyalty can also be expressed in the following anecdotal way: - Can I count on your bank’s loyalty to me when receiving a loan? - Are you a VIP client of our bank? - No, but I did not repay the loans to several banks - your competitors.
Peter Kovalev
When making a choice in favor of one or another candidate for the position of hired manager, the business owner counts, first of all, on his functional efficiency, i.e., on the fact that under his leadership he will receive the desired business result. Experience of interaction with domestic entrepreneurs (owners of enterprises) shows that, in addition to what has been said, they expect loyalty from a hired manager.
Loyalty is primarily a psychological category, not an economic one. There are different approaches to considering it. According to most psychologists, loyalty should be considered as a certain emotional attitude of a person (subject) to something or someone (object), manifested in his behavior and activities. In other words, this category is based on a relational component, which leads to further actions of the subject, his behavioral manifestations associated with the object of loyalty. It is common to talk about the loyalty of an employee, consumer, client, etc.
Many business owners make a serious mistake, believing that a hired manager must be loyal to him, the owner of the enterprise. An ambitious, confident, self-aware hired manager shows loyalty to two things: the business he is involved in and the company where he is currently working. The idea of a manager’s personal loyalty to the person hiring him for a management position is nothing more than an illusion.
Humanly, one can understand the owner’s desire to see a person personally devoted to him in a hired manager (this, to a certain extent, reduces his anxiety and creates the illusion of business security). But he does not understand, or, understanding, he overlooks the fact that loyalty has a complex mechanism. It is based on dependence, which acts as a trap for both the subject and the object. The trapped subject tries to overcome this uncomfortable state by performing certain, sometimes completely unpredictable, actions. And they are not always constructive. At the same time, in external terms, the owner is presented with a beautiful picture, which, up to a certain point, creates a feeling of stability and reliability.
An adequate owner must understand that the more professional the manager is, the less the hiring party should count on his personal loyalty.
Loyalty is a heterogeneous category; it expresses a certain emotional attitude of the subject to the object (precisely definite, and not positive or positive, as is mistakenly believed). Based on this definition, we can say that any manager working at an enterprise for the owner is loyal, only the content or quality of his loyalty is different. Loyalty can be true, pragmatic and forced. Let's take a closer look at the features of these categories.
True loyalty is expressed in the fact that the hired manager sincerely perceives the enterprise he heads as his own, and looks at the business through the eyes of the owner. In relation to such a person’s attitude and behavior, the metaphorical expressions “sick at heart”, “takes to heart” are usually used. He is emotionally attached to the organization, to its workforce, and perceives them and himself as a single whole.
The essence of pragmatic loyalty is that the hired manager clearly knows what he is working for. This type of loyalty can be represented as a scale: on one scale the manager puts his knowledge, skills, experience, time, and on the other - those material (and not only) benefits that he receives from working for the owner. The ideal option for both sides is when the scale arrow is somewhere in the middle. A common mistake that owners make is the idea that a hired manager is only interested in money. Experience in communicating with this category of managers shows that the range of their work motives and interests is much wider. For some, it is important to gain experience in a certain management position; someone believes that “correct entry in the work book and resume” will increase his “value” in the labor market and, accordingly, guarantee demand in the future. Some hired managers accept job offers from businessmen who have unflattering, contradictory characteristics in the labor market (quarrelsome character, tyranny, etc.). Working for such an owner is a kind of “quality mark”. If a hired manager survives in such conditions, then in another environment (more constructive and partner-like) he will undoubtedly be at his best!
Forced loyalty is due to the fact that at the moment, for a number of reasons, the hired manager has no alternatives, does not see other options on the personnel market and is forced to accept this offer, although he is not entirely satisfied with it. These reasons can be either environmental in nature or related to the manager’s current life situation. But as soon as the situation changes and the market begins to slowly revive, the manager will actively consider other options. As for the manager’s personal realities, these may be issues related to relocation, the health status of a relative, the need for a child to graduate from school, etc. If the life situation changes, the manager will look for another, more suitable and attractive job.
An illustration of the above three-component concept of loyalty is the famous parable of the three masons.
The traveler met on his way three masons who were engaged in construction work. He turned to them with the question: “What are you doing?” The first one replied: “I make money.” The second one said: “I’m laying bricks.” Third: “I am building a Temple.”
Based on the builders' answers, it is easy to determine the loyalty characteristics of each of them. For the first, it is of a purely pragmatic nature: he understands that he will receive a certain monetary equivalent for his work. And that suits him quite well. The second one performs actions that he may not particularly like. But, most likely, he has no other job at the moment. Therefore, his answer is of a “stating” nature. The third has true loyalty: the answer shows pride in what this builder is doing.
Which of the three types of loyalty given is most preferable for an employer? When asking this question to business owners, in eighty percent of cases I get a clear answer: “Of course, it’s true!” Moreover, my interlocutors react almost instantly to the question posed. Next, citing a parable about three masons, I invite them to imagine a situation where, in a building built by masons (I remind you that this is a Temple!), the customer, for one reason known to him, decided to organize, for example, a warehouse (remember the recent Soviet past), i.e. e. radically repurpose the finished object. What would be the possible reaction of these builders to such a decision by the customer? The first two, most likely, will not even be surprised: they received their money for the work done. What will happen to the constructed building next is not their question.
The reaction of the third will be unpredictable. From the most ardent supporter, he can turn into the most implacable opponent in an instant. One can only guess what his actions will be. Violent verbal protest? Destruction of a built structure? Suicidal act in protest? You can be sure of only one thing: he will not be indifferent to such a decision of the owner.
The main criterion when the owner makes a decision about who to entrust the management of his enterprise should be the results of the candidate’s activities in previous managerial positions. Moreover, if the owner is “confused by something” about the hired manager, it is better not to make a positive decision. And the leader’s loyalty will be manifested in how effectively he will manage the enterprise entrusted to him.
In short, loyalty is the customer’s positive attitude towards the image of the brand, its activities, the product being promoted, the company’s personnel and many other factors. As a rule, customer loyalty is determined by the fact that a person uses the company’s services (or purchases its goods) for a long time without leaving for competitors.
A similar term defines the attitude of staff towards the employer. Moreover, employee loyalty should be the goal of any manager, because this factor can significantly increase labor productivity, improve the environment in the team and bring many other benefits.
Let's take a closer look at both of these phenomena in our article today.
Customer loyalty
Speaking about what customer loyalty is, it is immediately worth noting the key importance of a positive user experience. If a person, along with the product, has a positive impression of working with you, then he is more likely to contact the company again.
A number of studies confirm that a person who is satisfied with a purchase is more likely to have a positive attitude towards other offers from the same brand. Moreover, including your audience in “privileged” loyalty programs, membership in which allows you to cooperate with you on exclusive terms, significantly strengthens the “loyalty” of your already most valuable users.
But you should not perceive the commodity-money aspect as the only way to leave a good impression. Remember that there are many companies on the market that provide similar services to yours - often at better prices. But this is not the only important thing for clients. If the brand image, the company’s mission, its social activity or attitude towards its business coincide with the user’s worldview, if you managed to create an emotional attachment of the audience to the brand, then people will agree to pay a little more - just to support you, or to feel involved.
Remember the huge queues in front of stores on the day new Apple products went on sale. Do people who freeze for hours in these lines really crave profit? Not at all.
Further proof of how important it is to stimulate and build loyalty will be the following arguments:
- 20% of your customer base generates 80% of your revenue - the Pareto principle applies here too;
- a satisfied customer tells an average of three people about his experience, while a dissatisfied customer shares his negative experience with ten acquaintances;
- the funds spent on strengthening the loyalty of one client will pay off within a year of working with him.
- If you think that this is expensive, then what about the following figure? The costs of attracting a new customer are, as a rule, five times higher than retaining them;
- among other things, an increase in the number of satisfied customers by only 5% can increase your income by 50%.
From all of the above, it follows that audience loyalty is one of the most important factors in the development of your business. Now, having analyzed what customer loyalty is, let's talk about another aspect - no less important. Next we will talk about staff loyalty.
Employee loyalty
According to a number of studies, the basis for the rapid and stable development of an organization is precisely the loyalty of its staff. After all, the people, the team, are your everything. But many mistakenly consider ordinary trustworthiness to be loyalty - that is, formal adherence to internal regulations (public and private), as well as basic politeness. These concepts should not be confused. So, let’s look at what employee loyalty is and how to achieve it.
Loyalty is not a formal quality, but deep trust and respect, pride in one’s company. Ideally, if the global goals of the company and its mission coincide with the employee’s plans for the future, as well as with his worldview as a whole, then such loyalty is almost unbreakable. It is worth remembering that the basis of any relationship between people is trust. Not carrots and sticks, not a good social package and a coffee machine in the office, but simple human trust in one’s neighbor.
Therefore, for example, if you do not believe that your employees are able to work effectively with the ability to access social networks, and therefore block them, then you need to change something. Either thinking, or employees, or the procedure for selecting personnel. Although, of course, all cases are individual - much depends on the field of business and the specifics of the position.
But generally speaking, try to do the following. Your employees must perfectly understand the company's goals, share them and welcome them. Therefore, special attention should be paid to addressing the brand strategy and its mission. It's worth mentioning these things quite often. Next, give employees the opportunity to express their opinions, influence what is happening within the company, and actually grow in career and salary. An organization where employees have no voice and no prospects resembles a swamp - the natural solution is to either escape from there or adapt to the environment. That is, sit quietly in your place, creating only the appearance of work.
But what loyalty to a company really is - you will understand only after a long activity in this direction. Give people the opportunity to feel respect from managers and top managers, encourage employee initiatives, strengthen the corporate culture over time - and then, of course, you will form a real team of loyal professionals.
We often hear the word “loyalty”. For example, “loyalty to the ruler,” “loyalty to the firm,” or “loyalty to the company.” What is the meaning of this term in Russian?
What does this term mean?
The word “loyalty” came to us from the French language (loyal - “faithful”). To this day, this linguistic unit is present in English and French. This word denotes an individual's commitment and loyalty to some ideals or people/group of people.
In the Russian language, the word denoting this spiritual quality also has several meanings, and some of them are constantly heard, while others can be heard quite rarely.
Here, for example, are some meanings of the psychological term in question:
- Commitment, affiliation and good attitude towards the principles and ideas of a social institution (for example, “loyalty to the party”).
- Loyalty to the laws of the country and the actions of the authorities (“this organization is loyal to the current legislation”).
- In a company, an employee’s respectful attitude towards established rules and/or certain standards of behavior in the organization (“loyal employee”).
- Just a good or at least fairly tolerant attitude towards something (for example, “he is loyal to homosexuality”).
- The buyer’s habit of a particular brand or trademark (“consumer loyalty”).
The meaning of the word “loyal” can be revealed through its synonyms: “faithful”, “reliable”, “devoted”.
There is also “dual loyalty”. In this case, we are dealing with an ethical-political term that denotes simultaneous devotion to two warring parties, most often opposite in goals and principles.
Often this is a conflict between the interests of the state and universal human values. And if the so-called dissidents Bradley Manning, academician Sakharov and Edward Snowden decided for themselves this dilemma in favor of universal human values, then another outcome is possible, in which sincere loyalty to state interests will be put in the foreground.
In any case, the meaning of this word is associated with loyalty and devotion to certain ideals.
Advantages and disadvantages
On the one hand, sincere loyalty - adherence to principles and ideals - is a wonderful thing. You can trust a loyal person without fear that he will betray you. In this case, synonyms of this term will be:
- Devotion.
- Reliability.
- Confidence.
- Commitment.
- Unconditional loyalty.
A person who is loyal, not in words, but in deeds, acts according to his conscience, doing his job honestly.
On the other hand, the eminent Irish writer and playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote about blind loyalty: “Loyalty is freedom from the need to think.” It's hard to disagree with him. Indeed, as a rule, unconditionally trusting someone’s judgment or authority, following all orders, is much easier and calmer than thinking, comparing facts and drawing conclusions, which are sometimes not very comforting.
So, loyalty, especially sincere loyalty, is a rather ambiguous phenomenon. It can play a positive role in a person’s fate, or it can seriously harm him.
That is why it is necessary to think critically, constantly question your ideals, so as not to unnoticeably turn into a thoughtless fanatic who does terrible things because of his own blind loyalty; or into a dull performer who is so uninitiative and devoted that he is unable to offer anything new or original.
Any spiritual qualities, even the most positive ones, must be accompanied by a cold mind, otherwise there will be disaster: both for the individual himself and for all the people around him. Author: Irina Shumilova
