The Performance Pro

Monday, August 11, 2008

You Cannot Force Loyalty

I heard a quote once that said “You can tell the success of a country by whether people are trying to get out of it or if people are trying to get into it.” Russia take heed. True strength comes with an army of dedicated hearts, minds and souls. Not just guns. Force just doesn't do it. The Georgia ground may now be Russia’s, but it’s safe to say the people’s loyalty is not.

To inspire loyalty and the desire to succeed, progressive employers today are
recognizing the same lesson. “The whippings will continue until morale improves” just isn’t the management strategy that works. If you want to move people to action, you need to provide them with the value of why a mindset or action is important – what’s in it for them? Getting ‘buy-in’ means making a connection on an emotional level. A few
Insights that will generate a “I love my job” mindset.

--Emphasize the positives. These may be things as simple as paid vacations; flexibility on work schedules, progressive and fun workplace, or answering the question, how does your end product help others?
-- Overcome complaints by identifying them. Ask for employee feedback and act on it.
-- Recognize individuals for their efforts.
-- Provide educational experiences and developmental training.
-- Have a strong internal customer service philosophy, how can you best serve your employees?
-- Invest in maintaining a motivated workforce. Remember: logic moves people to think / emotions move people to act.
-- Create a company motto: Examples: (medical equipment) We help babies live;
(tires) We bring families together; (fuel) We keep you warm. When people can see the impact of the result of their work, it will nurture their pride factor & boost their feeling of self-worth.

Loyalty builds loyalty. If you are loyal (fair, caring, and dedicated) to your people, like a boomerang their loyalty will come back to you.