Employee Loyalty

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Employee Loyalty

Let us start by saying that we never have been and don't proclaim to be Human Resource specialists or experts. This is not our background. However, what we do know and have learned from numerous discussions is that our Promises Architecture and Promise-Driven Concepts are completely transferable to helping increase Employee Loyalty.

What we have found in many of the organizations we talk with is that the majority of employees are not happy. They may be "satisfied" but they aren't "loyal." And from our discussion about Customer Loyalty, Employee Loyalty parallels the same issues - "satisfied" employees are also simply existing and are usually looking for "the next best deal" to come along and then they will defect. There are numerous statistics that illustrate how unproductive a "satisfied" employee is and that the organization generally gets anywhere from 40% - 70% of their total productive capacity when they are merely satisfied. However, when an employee is considered loyal, the numbers generally are in the 80% - upper 90% range. When we look at the economics of this and understand how much more revenue per employee an organization could achieve, the numbers are staggering.

Here is what we believe - Employees are not much different that Customers! While your Customers write you the checks, its your Employees that provide the horsepower that causes these checks to be written. The two are very closely linked. Because of this, there are two key issues an organization needs to consider. First, if their employees aren't happy and are constantly looking for other opportunities, how can the organization expect their customers to be happy. Second, if an organization is going to be Promise-Driven and deliver on the Promises their customers want them to keep, why would they also not want to understand the Promises their employees want and figure out, using the same methods, how to deliver on these Promises as well - both of which drive Loyalty to their Customers and their Employees. We don't see any difference.
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We feel there is an opportunity for an organization to use the exact same Promise principles they use with their Customers with their Employees. By understanding the Promises your employees want, both when they are hired and while they are employed, and communicating to them which of these Promises you can keep, both the employee and the organization are closer to understanding the needs of each other and thus working towards the same goals. It is when an employee feels like they are truly valued, appreciated and contributing to the success of the organization when they feel the most loyalty to an organization. Remember when we talked about how Customers want a "consistent and repeatable" experience - guess what, so do your employees. They want to know exactly what they are expected to do and exactly how they contribute to the success of the organization and how this is going to help them personally - both financially and intellectually. Outside of that, the rest is just noise. These are the true motivators of employees and if they feel these Promises are being kept by the organization, the will build loyalty, as described in the Promises Architecture Pyramid.

We want to add one more thing for you to consider when talking about your employees - Human Nature. By in large, people are "wired" to "want" to do the right thing and to be of "high character." These principles are usually ingrained from an early age and are supported throughout their lives. That said, most people want to do the right thing and want to exhibit their character qualities in everything they do - whether it be at work, home, or socially. We live in a world of kept and broken Promises. And the relationships we develop that are of a loyal nature are the ones where people have made and kept their promises, as we described in our Promises Architecture. If someone is "wired" to want to build a loyal relationship with their friends and family by making and keeping their Promises, why should it be any different when they go to work? People want to make and keep Promises - that is their Human Nature. However, when they go to work and see that the organization isn't making and keeping their promises to either their customers or fellow employees, how can the organization expect that employee to be loyal to the organization. If, on the other hand, they see their employer conscientiously making and keeping their Promises to their customers AND their employees, the employee will have the opportunity to develop Loyalty with the organization and become a much happier and Loyal Employee. This is where the organization truly becomes a Promise-Driven Organization.

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