How to encourage loyalty in the workplace

Aiming to encourage loyalty among employees makes good business sense. It reduces the cost of staff turnover, and allows your company to benefit from the skills and experience built up in your team. A variety of strategies can foster employee loyalty, often without creating any additional expense.

Encourage loyalty by rewarding effort

We all want to be acknowledged for a job well done, and an easy way to encourage loyalty is to give employees credit for an outstanding effort or excellent results. A simple email to team members sharing the good news and praising star employee can be sufficient to reward the person involved while also sending a broader message that individual efforts are recognised and appreciated.

Take time to talk with your team

In a busy working week it can be hard to find time to speak with individual employees. But instead of waiting for an annual review to hold a formal discussion with employees, aim to set aside a few minutes each month for some one on one time with individual team members. It’s a chance for them to let you know the challenges they are facing, and an opportunity for you to offer support and leadership.

You can choose to allocate time for scheduled check-ins, or just take advantage of a few quiet moments for a relaxed conversation. The simple act of demonstrating that you are interested in your people, and their professional progress, can do a lot to encourage loyalty.

Be flexible

Flexible work options can be just as attractive to employees as a higher salary, often allowing your team members to enjoy better work-life balance. If you have an employee who faces an especially long commute for example, consider offering the choice to work from home one or two days a week – if the role permits it. Allowing flexible working hours is another option that can be highly appreciated by employees, especially those who have young children.

These sorts of strategies can be particularly effective to encourage loyalty as employees may find the same level of workplace flexibility is hard to match with another employer.

Stay up to date with market salaries

We all like to be fairly rewarded for our efforts, and unless your company is paying market salaries it could be difficult to encourage loyalty in your team over the long term. By ensuring the salaries you offer are competitive, your people won’t be tempted to look elsewhere in the hope of earning higher pay.

An effective motivation and retention plan is always essential to retain top talent. But just showing employees that you are interested in their welfare, their progress and their achievements – and rewarding them appropriately, can form the foundation that helps your company encourage loyalty.