corporate loyalty. Employee loyalty: how to teach employees to trust the company. What is loyalty

Today in the business environment, we often come across such not-so-new phrases as loyalty consumers employee loyalty, loyalty of companies, how to achieve loyalty, how to evaluate loyalty.

The fact is that each of these concepts has its own special meaning ...

What is loyalty?

Loyalty translated from English (“loyal” - true):

IN broad sense of this word: observance of the legislation and decisions of authorities;
In the narrow sense of the word: a positive, benevolent attitude towards anything.

On the basis of intuition, each person can determine whether others are loyal or disloyal towards him. However, in the matter of the attitude of the staff to their superiors, one should play it safe and double-check their assumptions.

Loyalty or adherence to corporate standards?

To begin with, I would like you to understand: the concept of “loyalty” and “following corporate standards“These are completely different things.
Compliance with the standards set by the company means following the norms, rules and laws of the organization. Accordingly, all subordinates are implicitly obliged to comply with these rules.

Loyalty is a more complex concept. It is the loyalty and dedication of each individual employee to the strategic goals and values established in the organization. This is the desire of an employee to develop the performance of the company, as well as to implement new promising ideas.

Thus, strict adherence to the norms and rules established in the organization characterizes how disciplined and conscientious the employee is.

And the extent to which an employee accepts and shares the worldview of the company, his tolerance for it - is loyalty.
Loyalty is the sincere desire of an employee to work better and more productively. This is the desire to match the image and reputation of the company, to be worthy. Be part of the whole. This is the desire to contribute to the achievement of the set strategic goals and objectives. This is agreement with the requirements and foundations in the organization, the ability to psychologically recognize and share them.

To better understand the importance of the concept of loyalty in an organization, draw a parallel. Imagine how devoted you are to your family and friends. This devotion implies reliability, trust in each other, support when needed. All this is the confidence that no matter what, you will not leave each other in difficult times ...

Now you understand that loyalty is...

The main characteristics of the concept in the organization:

Sharing company values;
Loyalty and honesty in work;
The presence of a sense of pride in the company, an open demonstration of their emotions;
Reliability, the ability to sacrifice anything for the sake of the company.

To have exceptionally loyal employees in the company is a great merit and value. Such employees use all their strength, capabilities and knowledge in their work in order to help the company achieve maximum results. They are proactive, able to give the company effective innovative solutions.

Loyal employees will never leak information to a competitor, they will show tolerance for various organizational complexities, such as delay wages, respond positively to the need for education and business training, etc. Most importantly, such devotion is not caused by the fear of losing your workplace or a reduction in wages. This behavior is caused by true attachment and the feeling of being part of a whole.

Setting up an employee for a loyal attitude to the company, through personal motivation, and reaping the benefits of his ability to work, is much more effective than trying to plan the activities of a disloyal employee.

Manifestation of disloyalty. How to calculate such an employee?

So, all of you must have heard the stories about workers' strikes. However, they are completely different. For example rebellion- open, public disobedience. Basically, such cases end in the same way - with the dismissal of the instigator or even the entire group of allies.

But why can't all issues be resolved peacefully? Why does everything lead to scandal? The answer is that rebellion is the logical conclusion of a chain of employee dissatisfaction, for which the authorities did not find solutions that satisfy the employee.

There is also a hidden form of disobedience - this sabotage. This kind of disloyalty can bring many times more damage than a riot. The first type of dissatisfaction is one-time, it is quickly repaid. The second one can last for a long time and lead to the destruction of the company's functional system from the inside.

There is, for example, the “Italian strike”, when all employees are disciplined and perform their duties, following job description exactly the Bible. Additional functions that are not included in the scope of their duties are simply simply ignored. This type of strike is the most unprofitable.

This behavior is similar to the third type of disloyal co- indifference. An indifferent employee is distinguished by unwillingness to work, poor performance, and lack of discipline. The most frequent habits are endless tea drinking, smoking breaks, visiting social networks, talking with colleagues.

According to statistics, such employees as saboteurs And indifferent take advantage of any opportunity to quit their job, quit. Such employees are the easiest to poach competitors. They will be where they see material benefits in relation to the minimum amount of responsibilities.

In this way. You have seen that such an indicator as employee loyalty helps to circumvent such dangers as:

protest
staff turnover

And, at the same time, loyalty contributes to the growth of efficiency in the work of staff.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to mathematically measure loyalty score. Therefore, there is sociological method, which allows you to identify the employee's attitude to work through questionnaires, surveys, conversations with a psychologist. From here we can single out the only measurable parameter of employee disloyalty - his degree of disagreement. frequency of “no” answers to questions regarding corporate standards.

If the company does not have an extra budget to conduct this kind of research, then you can analyze the “staff turnover”. If in some period the number of layoffs has increased significantly, this indicates a decrease in loyalty. Therefore, you need to take some action to motivate employees. If the situation is the opposite, turnover decreases, therefore you are working on motivation in the right direction, loyalty increases.

Staff loyalty. Stages:

The higher the degree of loyalty, the more loyal your employee. There are several stages of loyalty (steps), where each subsequent stage is characterized by a higher level of reliability and loyalty of your employee.

Stage 1

This is the visual correspondence of the employee to the image of your company, the presence of certain paraphernalia, compliance with the charter in clothes. This formal stage can be called otherwise - a clear evidence of the company's ownership. However, it is too early to talk about fidelity and devotion here, one can only expect, assume further manifestation of higher loyalty.

Of course, for the fundamental stage of formation of loyalty, the presence of external factors is completely unconditional. Clothing, paraphernalia, branded stationery and souvenirs (notebooks, pens, key chains, diaries, pens) - all these are elements that determine the employee's belonging to a particular organization at the external level.

Stage 2

This is the observance of the standards established in the company: norms, rules, laws, regulations. This also includes events such as general congratulations to the boss on his birthday, or participation in weekly discussions - planning meetings.

All this is part of the corporate culture, which is important to maintain. An employee will accept its principles and will share the company's traditions, informal rules only if the psychological climate within the organization is completely favorable to him. In order to consolidate the loyalty of the staff at this stage, the main thing is not to forget to encourage your employees in every possible way for displaying such behavior.

Stage 3

Unlike the previous stages, now the involvement of the company is becoming more pronounced. Loyalty at this stage is entirely up to you, because already at the time of hiring a new employee, it is you who evaluates his degree of compliance with your requirements. And if you make a mistake at this stage, act not competently enough, then, both on your part and on the part of the employee, there will be only dissatisfaction in the work.

When hiring a new employee to the company, remember that the degree to which his abilities correspond to the requirements of your organization should be maximum. Loyalty at this stage directly depends only on you. The employee must have an appropriate set of skills and abilities, knowledge and skills. His life goals, principles should not contradict your ideas. Behavior must be decent and appropriate.

To provide this stage loyalty of the staff, firstly, it is necessary to evaluate the professionalism, as well as the personal qualities of the candidate during the interview. Next, match them to your needs and expectations. It is very important to have an employee in the company who is loyal at the level of ability. It is such an employee who will show initiative in his work, adapt to changes in the external and internal environment, and help achieve the strategic goals of the organization. Such an employee is incredibly promising, he has a fresh look, and is ready to offer options for various solutions. Do you really need such an employee?

Stage 4

This is the correspondence of the views of the employee to the beliefs accepted in the company.
Loyalty at this stage implies full acceptance of the principles established in the organization.

The employee perceives the values of the company as his own, fully shares them. Compliance with norms and formal obedience becomes intuitive, unconscious. Basically, management and key positions in the company have this level of loyalty, however, here, less often, but it is possible to include employees who are satisfied with working conditions, salary, the atmosphere in the team, as well as having sufficient work experience in the company.

If there are cardinal changes in the company, reforms are carried out, previous ideals are replaced by new ones, there is a high probability of a complete loss of loyalty and the departure of valuable employees. The process of reorientation of employees of this level of loyalty is long and complicated. Its success directly depends on the tolerance of the management, on its attitude towards its employees. But this is already a question of the loyalty of the management itself in relation to subordinates.

Stage 5

The implementation of this stage depends solely on the management. Here the leader must demonstrate his predisposition to the staff, show concern, etc. He must invest the maximum amount of time and effort to ensure harmony within the company.

In its turn, business coaches companies LiCO ready to help your company formation of loyalty of subordinates. In our piggy bank there are effective business trainings, allowing you to win the trust of your employees in a short time, significantly reducing time and financial costs. Corporate Motivation Training personnel is compiled for each company individually, taking into account its corporate standards and wishes. If you are a promising leader who keeps up with the times, send us your application.

corporate loyalty. When are we betrayed?

In the conversations of HR managers, one can often hear the professional term "corporate loyalty". The attitude of employees towards their organization is discussed in different situations: at specialized trainings and seminars on management, during planning meetings and meetings dedicated to summing up the results of the company's activities.

Interest in the problem of staff loyalty is not a tribute to fashion, it is caused by economic necessity. Organizations in which there is a negative attitude of employees to the policy of the company's management can face serious difficulties. So, if the departure of disloyal employees from the organization is massive, then it causes significant damage to the image of an "attractive employer". And the departure of a key employee (or group of employees) can so affect the smooth running of business processes that the very existence of the company is at risk.

In those organizations where there is a shortage of committed employees, there is a threat information security. This is because employees who feel bad feelings about their firm, even with competitive wages and bonuses, sometimes try to "annoy" their employers and sell inside information to competitors.

In addition, organizational leaders repeatedly experience a range of negative emotions, ranging from rage to feelings of frustration and even powerlessness when their most interesting ideas and progressive proposals run into the apathy and indifference of their disloyal subordinates. Therefore, many directors of companies at the stage of introducing innovations are afraid not so much of the rejection of their position on the part of employees as the visible consent of employees, and after that the quiet sabotage of innovations. Low corporate loyalty thus has a negative impact on business development.

What is a loyal staff and what are the criteria for "loyalty" of employees to their organization? Experts in the field of human resource management call the following signs:

Employees recognize the values of their company, embody them in their daily professional activities and even outside the office;

Employees show initiative, draw management's attention to certain aspects of the company's life that require improvement. They are ready to take responsibility and jointly participate in solving urgent problems;

Individual employees, in the interests of the organization, sacrifice their personal time and make every effort to ensure that the quality of their activities improves constantly. In such cases, they say that subordinates are working "on the afterburner."

Many managers are aware of the main criteria for high corporate loyalty However, not everyone succeeds in building a perfectly coordinated and dedicated team.

Factors reducing corporate loyalty

To illustrate the actions of the company's management, leading to a decrease in employee loyalty, let's consider a few examples.

Example 1

In a private multidisciplinary university, strict standards of behavior for teachers were introduced. These requirements included instructions for interacting with students, colleagues and superiors, a description appearance teacher (including nail length and preferred make-up colors). The so-called dress code contained a requirement to wear only corporate colors.

The management even developed a system for monitoring compliance with these standards, in which all employees were involved. At the end of the month, teachers and other employees of the university filled out special control sheets, in which they first recorded the behavior of their colleagues. These sheets were sent to the administration, and then to the accounting department. Based on the points received, employees were paid salaries.

The existing system of control by colleagues (and in fact - the technology of denunciations against each other) soon led to the fact that the prestigious university was left without talented teachers, so the leadership of the educational institution hastily decided to invite less competent, but more disciplined and executive specialists, which are more inherent in such qualities as, say, "moderation and accuracy."

Subsequently, the flow of applicants (and hence the influx financial resources) has dried up, and the image of the university has faded significantly.

IN this example the position of the leadership of the organization is obvious. Here, the authorities were carried away by the creation of a "showcase", the external entourage of the educational institution. At the same time, a favorable psychological climate in the team was sacrificed to the "new policy". For companies that are constantly concerned about the image, this problem is quite typical, because when introducing new criteria for the activities of employees, one should not forget about themselves.

Among HR managers, there is sometimes an opinion that "there are no irreplaceable people" and you can always find a new specialist in the labor market if you search well. However, this view is more evidence of managerial short-sightedness rather than wise management policy. In firms with a high organizational culture, management tends to protect and develop their own staff.

By themselves, actions to strengthen the image of the company are rather positive for the organization, but they must be accompanied by appropriate changes in relation to personnel management.

One of the most common management mistakes can also be attributed to some remoteness from the staff and condescension towards ordinary employees coming from the top officials of the company (see Example 2).

Low staff loyalty is also due to many other reasons: an inadequate motivation system, lack of career prospects, poor working conditions, as well as an undeveloped technology for staff adaptation (see Example 3).

Example 2

The attitude of management towards a large group of employees of a large grocery retail network has always been slightly neglected. Store managers did not notice their subordinates or treated them exclusively from above. The life of the company proceeded in two independent spheres. In one - high politics, development plans, growth prospects. In the other - trading floors, tired customers, dissatisfied customers and other routine.

Feeling their isolation and the humiliated position of the "working class", the sellers showed remarkable ingenuity, developing and implementing schemes for personal enrichment. They even created their own training system, which included, in addition to the compulsory vocational training, and also an internship for newcomers in the field of "entrepreneurship".

By the time the theft technologies were discovered, the company had suffered huge losses.

Example 3

The life of new employees of the company wholesale stationery was always full of obscurities and mysteries. With the light hand of the director of the company, an interesting approach to the adaptation of newcomers was adopted in the organization. So, a new person was given very little information and even limited access to it in every possible way. For example, it was not customary to talk about the day of receipt of wages or the peculiarities of the internal labor schedule. The "old men" stubbornly remained silent or avoided answering if they were asked where they could get a computer or fax paper. This method, according to the director, was designed to assess the fighting qualities of a beginner, his ability to act in conditions of lack of information.

Information spread throughout the city about "innovative" technologies for "processing" personnel, and the director, fortunately, was fired by a decision of the general

How much does corporate loyalty cost?

HR managers are sometimes reluctant to engage in employee loyalty programs. Because, in their opinion, measures to form and maintain a team of employees - adherents of the company are costly. This conclusion is made, as a rule, on the basis of acquaintance with various examples from the life of Western companies.

Various corporate field trips, incentive tours and other high-cost corporate benefits are not always required. The loyalty of employees is really "worth" very expensive. And it's not about the money here. It takes a lot of personal effort to change the attitudes of your employees. Management must find the strength and ability to be sensitive to the needs of other employees. This does not at all mean a readiness to fulfill any whims of their subordinates, "if only they would work." However, it is necessary to understand how the employees of the company live and breathe.

The price of staff loyalty directly depends on how ready the management is to abandon stereotypes and be flexible. It is important to be able to learn with and from the company's staff.

Where to start?

An HR manager who is interested in starting a set of work to increase employee loyalty must first set goals - what results need to be achieved, in what timeframe, what resources are needed for this (first of all, the personal or emotional resources of the leader himself) . The second stage should be an audit of the systems * (1) of motivation, adaptation and selection of personnel. This stage also includes checking the conditions in which the staff works.

An invaluable role in obtaining information about a company can be played by the analysis of rumors, gossip, and various myths. They are always present in the organization and make up for the lack of information among employees. It is necessary to start such diagnostics with conversations with your direct subordinates, then you can interview other employees.

After the diagnosis is made, it is necessary to determine a plan of action. It is important to pay attention to the following components:

Motivation system. We are talking here both about material incentives, that is, about the value of the constant and variable parts of wages, bonuses, etc., and about the non-material side of incentives - the system career development, training and development of personnel.

Relationships in the team. Here it is important to pay attention to what kind of informal groupings exist in subdivisions, how relations between subordinates and management develop.

The attitude of company management towards employees.

After building a plan, the HR manager needs to act, but doing something new alone, without support, is impossible. So the next steps are:

An HR manager needs to create an atmosphere in which the value of each employee is felt. This contributes to the fact that more employees will be involved in the creation of the loyalty program. At the same time, it is necessary to prevent the emergence of closed elite groups.

All actions to create a loyalty program must be consistent. There is no need to do "something": constantly make changes to the motivation system, organize endless corporate parties, receptions and field trips, it is important to act according to the plan, calmly and step by step.

There are three main resources in business: information, finance, and people. Note that people use, multiply, distribute and preserve the first two components, i.e. staff. So the role human factor hard to overestimate. Especially in an increasingly competitive environment. Especially in the labor market. Therefore, work within companies aimed at developing employee loyalty is the most promising integrated direction in the field of personnel management.

E.A. Mamonov,

HR Development Manager, Head of Educational

Center of the Human Resources Department of the Voronezh Fuel Company

Right now or inquire hotline in system.

The advantages of a company whose employees are loyal to it are indisputable. They can provide the company with a leading position in the market. But for the emergence and strengthening of staff loyalty, management needs to make a lot of effort. This is a difficult job that requires specific knowledge, but its results cannot be overestimated.

About concepts

Having set out to understand what staff loyalty is, it is logical to start with a definition. To understand loyalty, it is enough to refer to the translation. "Loyalty" from English loyalty is commitment, fidelity. But already at the stage of definition, one often has to deal with substitutions, when the motivation of employees, their job satisfaction, and corporate culture are given out as loyalty. Let's try to separate these concepts with an example. Consider a situation that often arises when an employee is highly motivated to earn money, but, in fact, is not at all loyal to the company, or, for example, the employee remains in the team, even if most of the performance indicators do not suit him at all. If motives answer the question “Why do I work?”, then loyalty answers the question “Why do I work in this particular organization?”. Loyalty is an internal, highly emotional experience of attitude towards the company, the staff of the unit, the personality of the leader (I note that loyalty can manifest itself at several levels). Loyalty is a powerful internal motive for work, often much stronger than external motives.

And, like any emotion, loyalty is difficult to fully perceive at the level of logical systems, which first dissect the phenomenon, and then give step-by-step recommendations on how to move from state “A” to state “B”.

Is the game worth the candle?

Before answering the question of what needs to be done to build loyalty, let's dwell on whether it is needed, whether it is worth spending time and effort on its formation among employees.

The list of areas in which loyalty has a beneficial effect is quite wide: here and the risk of abuse, and the issues of attracting and retaining employees without participating in the race for higher salaries in the struggle for valuable specialists. The value of each of these applications of loyalty in each company is different. For some, the climate is a priority, for some it is the responsibility of loyal employees for the result, and for some it is the safety of commercial information.

Often managers think of loyalty as a way to save on wages. It is unlikely that these expectations will be justified. Of course, loyal employees do not monitor the situation on the labor market so meticulously, for them the level of wages is not a priority reason for working in the company, but even for super-loyal employees, the issue of salary is a matter of recognition by the company of their merits, fair assessment of their performance. And as we will see below, the fairness of rewards is one of the key elements in building loyalty.

Where does it come from

If we talk about the factors that determine the formation of employee loyalty, we can distinguish organizational, personal and emotional factors.

Organizational:

Organization of work in the company: regulation, distribution of functions, powers, planning and control system, system of work with clients, etc.;
-- Information flow system: informing about goals and objectives, availability, timeliness, completeness of working information, feedback, as well as information about significant facts of the company's work;
-- Organization of work with personnel: (system of material and non-material incentives, evaluation and development system, existing corporate culture).

Personal:

Interpersonal relationships: cohesion, conflict;
-- Personal characteristics of team members;
-- Personalities of department heads;
-- The personality of the company's management: charisma, observance of obligations, predictability, professionalism.

Emotional:

Honesty (truthfulness) and transparency in relation to the company's employee;
-- The ability of the company to give the employee a sense of their importance, the appreciation of the personal contribution of each to the common cause;
- Interaction between the company and the employee. The internal attitude of the company to its employees.

It is worth noting that many factors can provoke disloyalty of employees, including:

Lack of clear goals and development prospects for the company;
-- Lack of staff information about the life of the company, its achievements In the absence of awareness, there will be no basis for the formation of a sense of belonging to the company, pride in it;
-- Lack of career growth opportunities;
- Lack of management attention to initiatives from below, lack of involvement of employees in decision-making relating to the entire company;
- Weak interaction of employees of different departments with each other. Difficulties and errors in the transfer of information turn into conflicts between departments. Employees perceive only their department as a team, the rest of the structural units appear to them as a hostile or simply alien environment;
-- Dissatisfaction with working conditions;
-- Low salary. Salary discrepancy between the employee's qualifications, or wages significantly lower than the average salary for the industry with the same range of duties or required qualifications;
- Global changes in the company.

Perhaps the most difficult question is how to evaluate the loyalty of the staff, because this is, first of all, an emotional concept. Let's decide on the indicators - some markers that together allow us to assess the level of loyalty in the company. The main ones are:

The level of staff turnover is a fairly simple indicator that is considered by every personnel officer. Here the question is only in assessing its criticality. Ten years ago, the normal level of turnover was 10-12%. Today the market is very dynamic, and no one is surprised by the level of turnover - 20% per year, and for some industries, for example, trade, the lower level of turnover is around 35%, although on average it is much higher;
-- The level of potential turnover, determined by survey methods. Employees should be asked periodically, anonymously, for how long they plan to stay with the company. Due to anonymity, the resulting figure will be close to the real one;
- Motivation and job satisfaction. There are many questionnaires that evaluate these indicators in the company, but it is important not to mix these concepts in the evaluation process;
-- The level of conflict in the team;
-- The emotional involvement of employees is the perception of work by employees not through the prism of formal parameters, but through emotional indicators. This parameter is the main indicator that forms the loyalty of employees in relation to the company. When building questionnaires or a plan structured interview to evaluate this indicator, it is necessary to focus on the feelings that this or that parameter of the company's work causes among its employees;
-- Evaluation by employees of the personnel management system, the system of compensation and benefits, the information system, the existing corporate culture. interaction with the immediate supervisor;

As additional indicators by which one can judge the presence or absence of employee loyalty to the company, one can cite such as:

The ratio of employees to working time: arrival / departure, "squandering" of working time;
-- Attitude to observance of norms and rules;
-- Initiative, active position (including when conducting research);
-- Willingness to protect the interests of the company;
-- Reviews about the company;
- Interest in development. Perception of difficulties as challenges/obstacles.

What does it cost us to build a house

Having considered and studied all the parameters, it's time to proceed directly to the formation of employee loyalty. To begin with, it is necessary to determine the goal - what needs to be done first of all: retain existing employees, attract single expensive specialists, organize mass recruitment (in this case, the loyalty of working employees acts as one of the elements of the employer's company brand in the labor market), avoid a strike, or something something else.

Work on the formation of loyalty should be carried out at all stages: selection, adaptation, motivation, training, corporate culture. Each of the elements of the personnel management system affects the loyalty of employees. There can be no trifles here, it is impossible to refuse any of their elements. The main thing is to bring everything together and evaluate specific steps.

To begin with, using the example of your company, evaluate how the existing elements of work with personnel (organization of reception, adaptation, motivation, training) contribute to increasing employee loyalty. For example, when selecting in our company, we evaluate the potential readiness of an employee to be committed to the organization (based on previous experience of interaction with the employer, job search motives), at the same time we “sell” the company to the candidate, forming its positive image. Adaptation itself is designed to convey not only formal requirements, but also convey the atmosphere of work in the company.

A key component of the loyalty program is the information system in the company. It positions the principles of openness of the company for employees. An organized presentation of information allows you to correctly place emotional accents in the flow of information about the company. It is necessary to report on all the victories of the company and its employees. Pride and respect are among the strongest emotional components of loyalty.

Many, thinking about loyalty, focus on team-building events. Of course, this is an important and necessary element. Loyalty to the staff of the unit is the path to loyalty to the company, but a favorable psychological climate in the team is only one of the components of loyalty, which cannot be an end in itself, especially since the best team-building event is the joint achievement of goals that are significant for each.

It is very important to pay attention to the development of a system of material and non-material incentives. At the same time, it is important, first of all, that the employees perceive this system as objective and transparent. Only in this case, the funds spent on motivational activities will be perceived as recognition of the merits of everyone, and not as a matter of course the obligation of the company. It is impossible to form loyalty effectively in conditions of minimum wages.

In addition, staff satisfaction assessments should be conducted regularly and extensively. These events will allow you to identify potential problems at the stage of their inception, it is also an excellent tool for communication between employees and the administration, for which there is always not enough time in the constant “churn”. For most working employees, it is important that their opinion is heard. One of the diagnostic elements is the “exit interview”, which gives a detailed picture of the loyalty of the remaining employees.

When building loyalty, it is important not to forget that the company must have the image of a successful one. The degree of loyalty is directly proportional to the success of the enterprise. The employee must understand the prospects for the development of the company. Loyalty is impossible without compliance with agreements.

Having formed a certain level of loyalty (I note that one hundred percent high loyalty of each working employee is an unattainable goal), unfortunately, you can’t stop and do more important things. People change, the team changes, and, consequently, something is constantly changing in the relationship between the employee and the company. It is important to monitor this dynamics and, if necessary, make adjustments to the system of work with personnel.

As a result, I would like to emphasize that loyalty, like any emotions, cannot be bought, but it can be grown gradually based on partnerships between the employee and the employer.

Corporate culture and staff loyalty

IN modern conditions tools of material motivation to retain employees are not enough. The creation of a favorable social and psychological atmosphere in the company is of exceptional importance for increasing labor productivity and staff loyalty. This is a common truth that no longer needs proof. At the same time, each HR manager is left alone with a very specific task: what tools to choose to create and strengthen a favorable corporate culture in his company.

1. Loyalty from the very beginning

It is very important that new employees feel like part of the team as soon as possible, join the team, understand that new job prestigious and interesting. For beginners, the appearance in a new place, among strangers is a lot of stress, so it is important to help them get comfortable right away. The immediate supervisor must meet the new employee, walk him around the office, and introduce him to colleagues. An ideal way to convey the necessary information about the company is an introductory lecture, in which the HR or internal communications manager will talk about the company's mission, history, management, structure, market position, achievements and plans for the future. In many organizations, the "recruit" is simply given a brochure about the company and hopes that he will read everything himself. It is not right. Firstly, people do not really like to read, sometimes there is not enough time for this. Secondly, the emotional component is important: if the lecturer is full of enthusiasm, he is proud of his work and shares the values of the company, then this feeling is transferred to the listeners.

2. Staff awareness

It is very important for employees of any company to feel a sense of belonging, to have information, to take part in the discussion of important issues. If people do not have enough information about what is happening in the company, if the future of the organization and its position in the market are unclear to them, they begin to get nervous and spread rumors about the imminent end of the world.

A sufficient amount of information is the key to employee loyalty. There is different ways informing. This can be news on the corporate website (there are more than enough informational occasions in any, even a very small, company: successful project, someone has climbed the career ladder, they write about us in the press, etc.; the main thing is that news should be updated every day or even several times a day so that employees get used to using the site as a source of information), letters from company management about strategic plans(ideally - once a quarter), a forum on office issues (it can be maintained on the corporate website by an office manager).

3. Feedback from employees

To get feedback from employees, an effective channel can be anonymous survey. Thanks to him, the staff can really influence the situation, declare problems, offer ways to solve them (for example, the questionnaire includes the question: “What would you do if you were the head of the company?”). The results of the survey are necessarily published on the corporate website, then an action plan is drawn up to eliminate the problems stated in the questionnaires, the most interesting ideas expressed by employees are used.

4. Competent corporate party

Each person has a need to belong to one or another social group, the desire to become a recognized member of the community, say "we" and be proud to be part of a team of like-minded people. To rally and unite the work team helps a variety corporate events. The main thing is to approach their organization creatively, to avoid bureaucracy. Firstly, a corporate party should be held in the form of a buffet table, not a banquet. At a banquet, people often sit down at tables in groups according to the principle “who is friends with whom” and continue to “cook in their own juice”. Newcomers are terribly shy and do not know whose table it is better to sit down. The bosses importantly sit at a separate table, and even in a separate office. The tables are large, the music is blaring, you can only talk with a neighbor. What kind of team building is there? Such holidays are perceived by employees only as an opportunity to eat and drink for free. It is much easier and more efficient to organize communication between employees at receptions. People constantly change places, mix, actively contact, get acquainted. Top managers, along with everyone else, actively participate in communication.

Secondly, if you are faced with the task of rallying the team, never invite relatives of employees to the holiday. If a person comes to an event with a spouse or, even worse, with children, he is guaranteed to communicate only with them. Contact with colleagues will be kept to a minimum. The result is that the team is rather disunited than united.

Thirdly, it is better to refuse invitations to popular singers so that employees communicate more with each other, and do not look at other people's artists. It is much more interesting to organize the event yourself, actively involving everyone in this process. Employees themselves can organize competitions, concert numbers to act as leaders. Moreover, the management should take an active part in the program. For example, on our new year party(the theme is India), the company's president Mark Shashua and CEO Konstantin Bridgman met employees at the entrance, stuck bindi (national Indian jewelry) on everyone's forehead, showed a video from the Indian office of Expomedia and personally awarded distinguished employees.

5. Sports and charity

Regular sporting events are another good way rally the team. Everyone's favorite team games (football, volleyball, basketball) can be played at a sports ground or gym rented near the office. It is even more interesting to play a game against a team of partners or clients. Before everyone sporting event it is necessary to arrange a powerful PR campaign to encourage players to form teams, and those who had a deuce in physical education to gather fans and prepare chants, pipes, flags.

On the corporate website, you need to regularly post news about preparations for the event, and it is also useful to constantly raise this topic “on the sidelines”: in the kitchen or in the smoking room. If you can’t find a gym (in Moscow, after 18:00, all sports facilities are usually busy), you can arrange competitions right on the street. For example, we once organized a charity marathon in the park next to the office. During the preparation, they took bets on runners, based on the amount of money collected, they published a rating of athletes on the website, among which, by the way, one could observe how CEO and a new sales manager. All the funds raised went to the needs of the orphanage, with which our company cooperates. This race lasted only 20 minutes, but the charge of vivacity and optimism from it was enough for a long time.

6. Public recognition of the merits of employees

Feeling himself a part of a wonderful team, the employee, nevertheless, strives to be an individual, wants to be appreciated. It is very important here that the distinguished employee must hear praise and words of gratitude from the manager, and also receive signs of approval and respect from colleagues. It's great if the internal communications manager keeps his finger on the pulse, and every time he posts news about the achievements of an employee on the internal site. This can be done in the form of a mini-interview with the hero of the day. A person who receives a positive assessment of his efforts strives to work even better. And, on the contrary, a person whose efforts no one noticed is disappointed up to the desire to leave the company.

The culmination of the assessment of achievements is the awards ceremony at the New Year's party, during which the best employees in various categories are named. Before awarding a prize, it is necessary to explain on the basis of what criteria the winner deserved his title. Criteria should be extremely clear and specific. This gives all employees the opportunity to set the bar for themselves, to understand what needs to be done to become the best. Portraits of all winners for all years are posted on the honor board, which is located in a prominent place, for example, immediately at the entrance to the office.

We have a special board of honor on the corporate website. The information on it is updated weekly according to the results of competitions between sales managers. Besides, the best seller of the week receives a personal commendation from the CEO, a challenge pennant and an award.

7. Self-realization of employees

So that the employee does not have the desire to leave the company, he needs to clearly explain what his prospects are, how he can build his career. It is important that the company has no obstacles to the promotion of employees, and a system of informing about open vacancies has been established. Even at the interview stage, it is useful to explain to candidates what kind of people are valued in the organization (for example, those who believe that every person is the blacksmith of his own happiness, is actively developing, knows what he wants). Now many companies are purposefully engaged in employee training - they organize trainings, seminars, lectures. In addition to organizing such corporate training, it is necessary to develop in employees a craving for self-learning and self-development. Especially for this purpose, we have organized a library of business literature, where everyone can take home books and magazines on management, marketing, sales, and event organization. Our employees also have the opportunity to attend business conferences, seminars, forums organized by our company for free. Lessons are very popular. in English which take place right in the office at the end of the working day.

A person is multifaceted, and he wants to realize himself in several areas at once, and it is interesting for others to see not only professional quality colleagues, but also other interesting aspects of his personality. In our company, the corporate newspaper serves as a tool for this. We make it ourselves. The authors of articles, correspondents and photographers are the employees themselves. This helps to avoid bureaucracy and makes the newspaper a bestseller. The freedom for creativity is practically unlimited. Can you talk about your life path, hobbies, travels (headings "Who was I in past life”, “My hobby”, “On the paths of my life”), as well as about your work, project, your department or a colleague with whom it is pleasant to work together (headings “What crafts smell like”, “These eyes are opposite”, “Secrets of a professional "). Thanks to the newspaper, colleagues get to know each other better, they begin to understand that everyone in the company makes an important contribution to the common cause.

Any company is a living organism that constantly requires care. Therefore, it is important to regularly and purposefully support a favorable socio-psychological climate, constantly generate new ideas. We hope that this article will give you some ideas, give you some new ones, and help you solve the key task for every company - to retain employees and achieve well-coordinated work of the team.

Introduction

The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that the advantages of a company whose employees are loyal to it are indisputable. They can provide the company with a leading position in the market. But for the emergence and strengthening of staff loyalty, management needs to make a lot of effort. This is a difficult job that requires specific knowledge, but its results cannot be overestimated.

The concept of loyalty

An employee can be loyal to his company, a client can be loyal to a product, a citizen can be loyal to his country, government, President, foreign policy.

There are many examples when an unreliable person is loyal, for example, a member of a criminal community. In relation to the society's dominant understanding of what is legal and what is not, he is unreliable. He is ready to commit and probably commits misdeeds and crimes. But, without a doubt, he is loyal to his community, the group. And can he be disloyal to her if he wants to save her life? The opposite examples are also not uncommon. The person as a whole is very law-abiding and trustworthy, tired of waiting for a salary for six months, gradually or suddenly loses all his loyalty to the factory where he worked for thirty years and, overpowering himself, goes to work as an agent on the street.

Employee loyalty is the ability and willingness to put up with some requirements and deeply accept others. Employee loyalty is the desire to keep their job. Employee loyalty is the desire to do their job in the best possible way. Employee loyalty - conscious compliance accepted rules and corresponding demands on others. Loyalty is behavior certain type.

M. I. Magura (1998) says that only patriots, only people devoted to their organization, committed to its goals, are ready to give their abilities, all their strength without a trace to achieve victory over competitors. The commitment of employees to their organization is a psychological state that determines the expectations, attitudes of employees, the characteristics of their work behavior and how they perceive the organization.

Scientists may care about the definition. But any person is able, even on an intuitive level, to distinguish loyal behavior from disloyal. What is the secret? It's simple: loyalty, or at the level of everyday consciousness - fidelity, accompanies a person all his life. A person knows what is loyalty to the family and family values, what is loyalty to the yard team, loyalty to a friend or girlfriend. The basis of loyalty is the same: the desire to be useful, the avoidance of that which can harm, the demonstration of commitment.

People know that loyalty has mandatory attributes such as:

1. honesty in relation to the object of loyalty;
loyalty;

2. separation from the object of loyalty of basic beliefs, values;

3. joy for the success of the object of loyalty;

4. open demonstration of loyalty to someone or something;

5. willingness to warn of danger;

6. willingness to make sacrifices if necessary for the object of loyalty;

7. a sense of pride in one's company, pride in being one of its employees;

8. the desire to best fulfill the mission entrusted to the person by the object of loyalty.

Levels of corporate loyalty

Determining the presence of loyalty in general is not difficult, but it is more difficult to make a forecast: what will happen to the current level of loyalty if an employee receives an offer to move to a competitor with a doubling of income. As sad as it is to admit, employee loyalty, like customer loyalty, often comes with a price.
In general, there are several levels of loyalty. Each subsequent one provides a higher degree of involvement and devotion.

Loyalty at the level of external attributes. When a fan of the victorious Zenit leaves the stadium, he is ready to give his last shirt to those who have the symbols of his team in their hands. But now the flags are rolled up, caps are removed, and scarves are put away in the closet, and everything changes radically, as if by magic. An interesting circumstance: external attributes do not allow their owner to openly demonstrate disloyal behavior. Can you imagine a fan with a Zenit flag and a scarf, cheering for Spartak? What can be expected from loyalty at the level of external attributes? Not so much. As long as external attributes are visible, the person is likely to reproduce the expected behavior. If you want temporary hired staff to be dedicated to the interests of the company and tout the product, presenting it at a trade fair, put on branded T-shirts and caps.

Loyalty at the level of actions, behavior. At one business, it is customary to wear a business suit, communicate politely with customers, and meet at the bar on Fridays to discuss the past week. Some employees tend to refuse these meetings, grumble at the mandatory dress code and sneer about the rules of communication with customers. Such employees are most likely disloyal to the company. Others feel calm and comfortable in clothes that comply with the regulations, communicate evenly with customers, taking it for granted, without much enthusiasm, but regularly attend Friday beer evenings. They will do everything that is accepted in this company. Their motto is: if something is accepted by you, then of course I will do it. However, they usually do not go further themselves and do not allow the company to completely take over their lives. They don't change their beliefs, they keep their values. In fact, deep down, they may think it's absurd to walk around in the same clothes, short-sighted to curry favor with customers, it's vulgar to sit and drink this disgusting beer and discuss the same topics. Loyalty at the level of deeds has both positive and negative features. It requires almost no effort and resources to occur. Either a person is able to follow the rules and show external loyalty, or not. Here, as they say, little can be changed. If new employee sees that there are loyal employees around him, then he will begin to copy the behavior accepted in the company, and he himself becomes the same. If seasoned employees demonstrate an indifferent or negative attitude towards the company, then loyalty will not arise. Most people are uncomfortable with the role of the "white crow", even if their behavior is impeccable. A significant part of smokers joined the bad habit: they became financial donors to tobacco factories only under the influence of the motive "one must be like everyone else, one must do the same as the rest." Group norms strongly influence the behavior of the individual. If you are wondering why newcomers become disloyal, then first look in the mirror, and then at those around you. The mirror is necessary, not because we suspect you, but because you should start with yourself: it's more honest.

Loyalty to money also manifests itself at the level of behavior: I am loyal as long as I am satisfied with the financial situation. This is a very dangerous position, especially if you lose sight of the money. An employee can be bought out, and you will still rely on him. So, maybe behavioral loyalty should be avoided, since it is so unreliable? No, by no means: this level, although unreliable, is sufficient in most situations. For most employees, this level is enough. However, it may not be enough for middle and senior employees. If a lot depends on them, then the level of trust in them should be much higher. And to trust a disloyal employee is the same as buying a horse from a gypsy "in the dark" and on an advance payment. Employees who are loyal to the company at the level of behavior will try to comply with existing rules. But it is unlikely that they will stop the violation of the rules by others. Control tasks go beyond behavior. The person to whom you entrust the responsibility of controlling other people should be at a higher level of loyalty. An employee who is loyal at the level of behavior should not be expected to be ready for self-sacrifice and striving for development or change. But such employees will often develop their professional abilities with great pleasure.

Loyalty at the level of ability. Some people are unable to remember their past, some are unable to walk the tightrope, some are unable to learn Chinese. What does it mean to be "incapable"? Perhaps these people have a desire to achieve something, take some action, but the result is disappointing. And on the contrary, someone is able to quickly master the skills of extreme driving, someone is able to understand the operation of a complex mechanism without drawings and instructions. Someone is able to be loyal. The ability to do something combines behavior, skills, habits, and stereotypes. Accordingly, loyalty at the level of abilities implies that a person has certain skills, he can reproduce certain behavior, he has the necessary skills and stereotypes. A huge role is played by the objectivity of a person's self-esteem. If a child believes that he does not have musical abilities, then his motivation will not be enough to sit and spend hours learning pieces on the piano. Knowing your abilities allows you to be more fully realized in any areas of life. What if a person had such an experience in childhood that he came to the conclusion that he did not have the ability to be loyal and devoted to someone, would he ever become loyal at the level of ability? Obviously not. He won't even try. The maximum that he can achieve is loyalty at the level of behavior.

The difference between loyalty at the level of ability and at the level of behavior can be compared to the difference between two skiers, one of whom is able to ski down the mountains, and the other skis down the slope. The result of the first is clear - it is capable, which means:

1) he has already successfully descended from the mountains;

2) he has necessary knowledge and skills;

3) he represents the whole process as a whole and knows the sequence of its individual steps.

The effectiveness of the second is a big question. Yes, he is driving at the moment, but who knows how it will end? Maybe he will be able to gain experience and knowledge. Or maybe not, if he treats his actions mechanistically, thoughtlessly. A person who is predisposed to loyalty at the level of ability is likely to begin to demonstrate it in a new job, as soon as he is convinced that this employer has the right to count on it.

Loyalty at the level of ability is so strong that it is able to withstand the pressure of the group. This loyalty seems to arise on its own, and the company does not have many ways to influence it. Loyalty at the ability level is self-sufficient. This is both positive and negative side. The positive is that you don't have to do anything if it is present. The negative is that you cannot directly control, decrease or increase it. Methods of influencing such loyalty are usually complex-mediated. And money in this case is not a universal solution. Money can buy more loyal behavior - anyone will tell you that. And the abilities are somehow born, then they grow stronger, then they begin to manifest themselves in reality. This is a slow and difficult process with an unknown result in advance. In the sense that the ability may not be born, and having been born, it may not get stronger. There is a certain mysticism in the process of generating loyalty, if you like, as in the emergence of sympathy. But back to the employee who is loyal at the ability level. He is much more valuable to the company. He can be a controller, he is able to find contradictions and offer solutions to the problems of the company. He cares about what will happen to the company tomorrow, he shows concern for the future. And if something threatens the company, he is ready to take proactive action.

Loyalty at the level of beliefs. This is the maximum level of loyalty that most people can achieve in their lifetime. Although this level of loyalty is highly desirable for an organization, it is most often found in large numbers in parties, religious organizations, etc. Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that parties are led by charismatic individuals who can inspire certain beliefs and values, and companies are well educated managers capable of leading the company to financial success? However, it is enough for a company that about 10-15% of employees, first of all, top management, are loyal at the level of beliefs.

Loyalty at the level of values and beliefs makes a person resistant to many temptations: it is difficult to lure them away with a higher salary, they refuse to conduct secret negotiations, they care about the good of their company in every possible way. However, each Achilles has his own heel. If a company, for one reason or another, changes its previous beliefs, abandons previously shared values and begins reorganization, then a significant part of people may not have time or not want to rebuild. And then an influential and close-knit group of "counter-revolutionaries" will appear in the bowels of the company. However, this does not mean that all employees who are loyal at the level of beliefs will resist change. This is not true. However, it is important to remember that in order to get their support, you must lead them to understand the need for change, give them the opportunity to participate in making plans for the future, and not make them just executors of your will. Why is it said that "a new broom sweeps in a new way"? Coming to power new leader seeks to change the immediate environment, because he does not know what values \u200b\u200band beliefs were shared by the previous team. Or he knows very well and that is why everything changes. Loyalty at the level of beliefs is a great value for the company. Such an employee shows zeal in work, he is intolerant of violations of the rules by other people. He can become the initiator of changes if he sees the need for them, he can argue and defend his point of view. He is obedient. If the company said: “It is necessary”, the employee loyal at the level of convictions will answer: “Yes”.

Loyalty at the level of identity. The highest level of loyalty is determined by identity. It occurs when a person ceases to separate himself and the object of loyalty. Not "I and the Party", but "I am the Party". It can be assumed that the famous Japanese system of lifetime employment contributes to the emergence of the highest level of loyalty. Lack of loyalty to a company that has committed to lifetime employment is contrary to common Japanese sense. The Japanese, at least it was so a few years ago, cannot imagine himself without his company. Without it, he is lonely and defenseless, anyone can offend him, he is an outcast, life has failed ... Loyalty at this level does not depend on income, does not depend on what others say. She is a matter of course. The surprise is not the presence of loyalty at the level of identity with something, but its absence. Thus, if you achieve this level of inclusion of staff in the life of the company, then loyalty will certainly arise on its own. The simplest example is the owner of a company. If he connects his life with the future of the company, if he says that he and the company are one, then you can be sure: he is an example of loyalty. And you will waste a lot of money and time in vain, trying to persuade him to a disloyal act. Loyalty at the level of identity does not allow us to talk about any restrictions. If a person cannot do something for the company, then he is loyal at a lower level than the level of identity. Nothing is impossible for identity. Most companies are quite satisfied with the loyalty of the first two levels. Others need more.

IN last years many experts note that employee loyalty is a quality that is becoming rarer and rarer. The changes taking place in social life have significantly transformed the views of our compatriots. A few years ago, the following beliefs were common: you can’t change jobs like gloves;
"flyer" - a shame on the whole family; A person cannot be fired - he must be educated. Now university graduates are sure that during their career they will change at least three to five jobs, and even then, if they are very lucky. When finding a job, young employees are the last thing they think about loyalty to their employer. Who knows whether they will pay salaries on time, whether they will be deceived with money, whether the enterprise will stay afloat until next year. No, now is not the time for loyalty! Fortunately, this is not the case. There are still areas of activity where loyalty is not an exception, but the rule: education, medicine, rescue services, the army and law enforcement agencies. Of course, there are examples when commercial enterprises care about creating a high level of loyalty among their employees. We will soon find out why they need it. In the future, unless special reservations are made, loyalty will be understood as its most common forms: loyalty at the level of behavior, loyalty at the level of abilities, loyalty at the level of beliefs and values.