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Loyalty towards the employer. What it is? How to recognize a loyal employee at the interview stage How to determine employee loyalty to the company

Loyalty is: in simple words about complex

So what is human loyalty? Loyalty in psychology is a character trait inherent in a particular individual. She is identified with devotion. From a loyal person, one should not expect a dirty trick or an inadequate act.

Loyalty is tolerance for circumstances.

In a general sense, loyalty to the employer also implies loyalty. In this regard, the desire of the employee to achieve the goals of the company is taken into account. A loyal employee is ready to put up with the demands of the employer even in situations where the company is in crisis.

Employee loyalty is very important for a company.

After all, what does loyalty mean? Such employees:

  • do not quit when the company is experiencing temporary difficulties;
  • accept organizational change;
  • afraid to lose workplace in company;
  • responsibly approach the performance of duties;
  • make efforts to improve the work of the company, approaching problem solving creatively.

A loyal employee is ready to work and develop for the benefit of the employer company. He always acts according to job description and does not run counter to the goals of the firm.

Types of staff loyalty

There are three types of loyalty:

  1. behavioral- is formed as a result of long-term work in the company. The employee identifies with the company.
  2. affective- an emotional connection resulting from positive feelings that are experienced at work. People stay with the company because they support its goals and principles.
  3. Regulatory- associated with a sense of obligation to remain in the position as a result of pressure. The employee in this case does not want to disappoint the employer and is afraid that his colleagues will have a bad opinion about him.

The most valuable is affective loyalty. This type implies a direct interest in the performance of their duties.

Methods for assessing staff loyalty

Actions aimed at managing the loyalty of personnel in an organization involve the use of methods for assessing this indicator. To assess how loyal employees are to the company, several methods are used:

  1. Analysis of staff turnover statistics.
  2. Interviewing workers.
  3. Monitoring the behavior of employees.
  4. Regular surveys.

The most effective questionnaire is a questionnaire on the Thurstone scale, as well as a survey on understanding the goals of the company, staff satisfaction current position affairs, etc.

How to increase the loyalty of company employees?

To increase the level of loyalty of employees, a loyalty manager can be hired - this is a person who develops and implements a loyalty program within a particular company.

The following methods are used for this:

    1. Satisfying the basic needs of employees (increasing wages, introducing benefits, etc.).
    2. Informing about the goals and objectives of the company through informal corporate events or the conclusion of non-disclosure agreements.
    3. Involvement in collective activities (introduction of rewards for activity, conducting trainings, reducing the hierarchy, etc.).

Example. Increasing loyalty in the hotel business

Loyalty in the hospitality industry can be increased through the introduction of benefits and flexible working hours and involvement in collective activities. For example, you can arrange general dinners or holidays, outdoor events.

Although, the main method of increasing loyalty, of course, will be an individual approach to employees - it is more convenient for someone to work on a second shift, someone cannot work on Sundays, etc. If this is taken into account, employee loyalty will be higher. This does not mean that absolutely no one will ever quit, but the likelihood of this will be much less.

At the very beginning, it should be said that, in general, staff loyalty is loyalty and devotion between the employer and the employee during their employment relationship.

What is actually the loyalty of the staff of the organization?

The term "loyal" comes from the Old French word loyal (its source is the Latin word lex), as well as from the Latin legalis - meaning "law-abiding, honest and fair in relations with people and organizations." Loyalty is evidence of employees' trust in the leaders, mission and goals of the company. This is the state when there is a feeling of having common interests, a common destiny and relations between employees and company management. When loyalty is widespread, we are dealing with the self-motivation of employees, a sense of responsibility for the results and the fate of the company.

Along with the growth of a sense of responsibility, involvement grows, which makes it possible to weaken control over the employee. A loyal employee is willing to work for the company and her success is seen as a personal success. Loyalty is formed mainly due to the personality of the manager, his characteristics or knowledge.

Loyalty is a kind of ethical value. The following factors are important for the faithful worker:

  • high self-esteem is associated with the positive impact of the work process;
  • positive experience associated with the functions performed;
  • satisfaction with wages;
  • availability of bonuses not related to functional duties (payment for lunches, free travel).

The Labor Code as the main source regulating the rights and obligations of both parties in labor relations, does not attribute loyalty to the obligations of the employer or employee. However, “loss of trust in an employee” may be one of the reasons for dismissal.

The role of the degree of employee loyalty in the work of the organization

Employee loyalty is a variable and changes over time as the relationship between employees and the organization develops. An assessment of staff loyalty can help determine its degree, because commitment can be a valuable resource for an organization's strategy, because:

  • affects the stability of employment, and thus economic sustainability;
  • promotes customer satisfaction and loyalty;
  • the ability to work and the return on training are growing;
  • the costs associated with the search, hiring and training of new employees are reduced;
  • a large proportion of loyal employees allows for more efficient planning in the organization, and hence ensuring the achievement of economic goals.

Driving motives

Managing the loyalty of the organization's personnel is possible, but first it is necessary to identify motives. What guides a loyal employee? This is a very important question.

Motives may depend on external causes, as well as on the nature and characteristics of a person's personality.

They can be divided into rational-functional and emotional-symbolic.

The formation of rational-functional motives is a direct consequence of being in an organization (the availability of wages as a result of long years of service, easier access to leadership positions, possession of organizational knowledge).

Emotional-symbolic - affective motives arising from feelings and emotions (relationships with other employees of the organization, satisfaction with cooperation with them).

The motives of a loyal employee may differ from those listed. For example, the inner desire for obedience, submission and impeccable execution of orders. Employee loyalty is a complex concept, and the main influence on its intensity and nature is exerted by internal mechanisms. Consider their types:

  • trust - a relationship between two parties, which is based on the confidence that the tasks will be carried out with full responsibility;
  • habit - means a habit, a kind of automatism;
  • commitment to the organization - is understood as the identification of one's goals with the goals and values ​​of the company, the perception of the goals of the organization as one's own.

Based on the above internal mechanisms, it is possible to create a typology for such a complex phenomenon as loyalty. We can distinguish the following types:

  • conscious - the employee consciously chose the organization and work in it, got used to it, but his commitment to the organization is low;
  • rational - the employee is used to working in the organization and trusting the employer, but his commitment to the organization is not high;
  • involved - great trust and participation in the affairs of the organization, taking into account the level of wages and the system of remuneration;
  • partnership - this is a very high level of commitment to the organization, trust and habit;
  • routine - lack of commitment and trust, there is just a habit;
  • forced - there is no possibility to change the employer, lack of trust and commitment;
  • permissive - limited participation with existing trust and habit.

Formation and increase of loyalty

With monetary motivation, a certain level of loyalty is developed, but it cannot be called true. Therefore, non-financial methods are used to increase staff loyalty, which, depending on the industry, can take various forms. Consider their options:

  • dedicated parking space;
  • thirteenth salary, payment for meals;
  • sick leave without sick leave;
  • massage therapist in the office;
  • no dress code;
  • training at the expense of the company;
  • motivating hours;
  • personal psychologist or coach;
  • interesting original projects;
  • overseas business trips.

Using the above can increase employee commitment.

Each individual organization should form its own motivation program, which will be adapted both to the specifics of the company and to the personality of each employee individually, which will ensure the reliability and loyalty of the staff, increase involvement.

Earning the full trust and support of employees is sometimes harder than introducing a new system of work or reorganizing the staff. Loyalty of the personnel, as unconditional support of the management, principles and policies of the company, is achieved through the joint work of top management and the personnel department of the company.

In this article you will read:

  • What is employee loyalty and what does it give companies
  • What are the factors and parameters of staff loyalty
  • How is the formation and development of staff loyalty
  • How to assess staff loyalty

What is staff loyalty

Staff loyalty- the level of employee motivation, at which he shows devotion to the company, interest in its success and readiness to efficiently and effectively fulfill his official duties. An important component of employee loyalty is confidentiality, which guarantees the economic security of the company and a healthy psychological atmosphere in the team. Loyal professionals are satisfied with their work, interested in achieving common goals, and not just their personal results. A team of loyal employees works as a single mechanism, achieves its goals, follows the rules and laws established within the company.

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If you do everything yourself, employees will not learn how to work. Subordinates will not immediately cope with the tasks that you delegate, but without delegation, you are doomed to time pressure.

We published in the article a delegation algorithm that will help you get rid of the routine and stop working around the clock. You will learn who can and cannot be entrusted with work, how to give the task correctly so that it is completed, and how to control staff.

The loyalty of the company's personnel means the unity of the organization and the employee, where the second is a unit of the overall system. Loyalty is trust, a positive attitude of a person to any person or object.

Loyal staff is distinguished by a creative approach to performing tasks, high efficiency, involvement in the work process and sympathy for colleagues and superiors. These employees try to contribute to the common cause and avoid mistakes and failures that can harm the success of the company. Loyal attitude to superiors includes respect, a statement of high professionalism and the authority of the leader, there may also be a human disposition, participation.

Key parameters of staff loyalty

The main characteristics of the loyalty of an employee of the organization: unconditional, voluntary adherence to informal laws aimed at achieving results.

The secondary features are:

  • demonstration of loyalty;
  • friendly atmosphere in the team;
  • similar principles and goals of the employee and the company;
  • determination to sacrifice personal interests in favor of the interests of the organization;
  • the desire to give all the best, to work out their part qualitatively;
  • conscientiousness, sincerity in relation to the object of loyalty;
  • genuine joy from the opportunity to work in this company;
  • interest in the outcome.

What affects the loyalty of company employees:

  • organization of working conditions;
  • attitude of superiors towards subordinates;
  • personal characteristics of employees.

What are the components of employee loyalty in an organization?

Work in any organization interests people in connection with its popularity, big name, good pay, social security guarantee, good relationship within the team. The attitude of management towards employees is also important. Loyalty is also influenced by the personality of the employee, his character, life principles and goals, personal experience. Working time in an organization directly affects employee loyalty: the longer a person is a part of the company, the more loyal he is to it.

The loyalty of the company's personnel consists of three factors:

1) Emotional - positive emotions associated with the company, its team, relationships with colleagues, internal atmosphere. It manifests itself depending on the desire of a person to communicate, interact with the team, participate in the life of the organization.

2) Pragmatic - based on the awareness of the advantages of working in this company, the desire to keep their job. Loyalty is dictated by personal interests.

3) Regulatory - associated with the fulfillment of these obligations or compliance with the clauses of the labor agreement.

What is the essence of disloyal staff

The manifestation of disloyal staff can be considered:

  • dishonest attitude, fraud ;
  • disregard for the basic principles of the company, disrespect for them;
  • priority of their benefits over common goals;
  • rudeness in communication;
  • non-compliance, etc.

Approximately 30% of employees admit that they embezzled the money or property of the employer. Nearly 60% confess to other wrongdoings against the company. The figures are given by the American Institute of Justice, 9 thousand employees of various organizations took part in the study. The survey organizers claim that the amount of employee theft in small businesses alone exceeds thirty billion dollars annually.

In our country, such studies have not been carried out, but, most likely, the scale of theft would have been amazing, and they would never have been made public.

What are the levels of staff loyalty

Before describing the methods of increasing loyalty to the company, we list the levels of loyalty according to the classification of the Russian trainer-consultant Konstantin Kharsky :

1. Zero loyalty is not an established opinion about the company, associated with the arrival of a new workplace and the lack of knowledge about its features;

2. Hidden disloyalty formal compliance with the requirements and compliance with domestic laws out of fear or desire for a reward;

3. Open disloyalty - hostile, mocking attitude to the priorities and principles of the organization, fraud, regarding the company only as a source of personal gain;

4. Loyalty at the level of external attributes - following the corporate identity, emphasizing the belonging of the company, prevents the employee from showing his lack of loyalty;

5. Loyalty at the level of deeds - the employee takes part in all events, traditional meetings, informal meetings, follows the ceremonial established in the company. This level of loyalty is easily attained by most personnel. Even if the employee is a novice, it is enough to repeat the actions of other employees. Common rituals increase discipline in the team, but to supervise the work of colleagues, a level of loyalty above the general is needed;

6. Loyalty at the level of beliefs is typical for middle and top managers. These people are interested in the success of the common cause, are involved in the work process, unconditionally recognize the authority of the leadership;

7. Loyalty at the level of identity - the highest level of loyalty when an employee associates himself with the company. Such a specialist is the most employable, achieves the best results, gives himself to work with dedication, sees his future in working in this company.

It is possible to analyze and reveal the levels of loyalty of all employees, but the difficulty lies in the fact that this variable is changeable. Loyalty can rise or fall under the influence of various factors, change depending on the behavior of the authorities or the principles of loyalty assessment adopted in the organization.

Building employee loyalty: 11 ideas to make your employees happier

1. Corporate sports. A common practice is when a company rents a gym for its employees, where after hours they can do yoga, fitness or play team sports. Expenses depend on the cost of renting the hall.

  • Team building as a way of perfect personnel management

3. Themed dinners. With the help of the corporate kitchen, you can organize a themed lunch (dedicated to the cuisines of the peoples of the world, for example). Employees are notified in advance of the event. In the dining room, an atmosphere corresponding to the theme is created, background music is turned on, it is possible to decorate the hall. It would be appropriate to discuss the impressions from trips around the country, the cuisine of which became the topic of dinner. The conversation can be initiated by employees personnel department or department head.

4. New Year's video. A good New Year's gift for the whole team can be a video greeting from employees of various departments or branches. If there are foreign representative offices of the company, the video will turn out to be even more interesting, each country can present a congratulation, taking into account its national traditions. In order to save money, you can shoot and edit the video on your own, since there are plenty of programs that allow beginners to perform high-quality editing. The services of professionals will cost from seven thousand rubles.

5. Crowdsourcing is an event that has a beneficial effect on the development of company loyalty. Any employee of the company can submit his rationalization proposal by sending it by corporate mail. These can be ideas for organizing corporate events, as well as proposals for improving working conditions. On a weekly basis, the responsible employee collects these letters, analyzes them and sends them to the relevant departments. Those, in turn, are obliged to consider the initiative, evaluate its rationality and reality, and propose ways of implementation. Every offer must be answered, otherwise employees will get bored with this idea. Prizes can be awarded for the most original or useful ideas.

Organize a corporate theater

Vitalina Levashova, Deputy General Director of Invitro, Moscow

Once I was at a home theater performance and was amazed at how people transform and open up from unknown sides on the stage. I wanted to try to transfer this experience to my work. The head of the personnel department became the project manager. By a happy coincidence, by education, she turned out to be a director of concerts and show programs. We hired a theater director to work, and offered our employees to become actors.

Work on the performance took 3-6 months. Rehearsals were held every day after work and on weekends. Actors worked on theatrical skills, plasticity, speech. We have repeatedly held master classes from famous artists.

Representatives of the back office with their children took part in our debut performance-fairy tale. We donated half of the tickets to charitable foundations, and sold the rest in our team for only 100 rubles. We donated the proceeds from the sale to charity. The next performance was based on the work of A. Ostrovsky. Entrance to the auditorium was organized by invitation cards. Then we put on a musical about love, dedicated to the work of the ABBA group. The performance took place in the hall-thousander. We combined the performance with the presentation of the annual award to the best employees of the company for 2014.

Our expenses consisted of paying for the director's work, renting the halls, the cost of the services of a sound engineer, buying costumes, scenery, and the necessary equipment. We turned to professional recording studios, rented costumes from film studios. Materials about the preparation for the performance and announcements of performances were published in the corporate press and on the company's website; third-party media and Internet resources were also involved in the information campaign. The participants of the project were awarded memorable gifts.

Theatrical performances contribute to the disclosure of the internal potential of employees and have a beneficial effect on team building. In total, about two hundred people from among the staff of the Moscow and Moscow Region offices were involved in our productions. The first productions gathered more than two thousand spectators. The initiative was picked up by representatives of other regions. Employees from Novosibirsk put on a puppet show for children, they themselves invented and made puppets. An interactive performance was held in Krasnoyarsk in honor of Children's Day.

6. Expedition. A measure to increase the company's loyalty through the communication of the team in an informal atmosphere. The expedition increases the level of team cohesion. Expedition members can be selected on a competitive basis by arranging an open vote for all employees.

7. Informal Fridays. The right to choose the topic or format of meetings is given to the team. There are many options for holding such informal meetings: watching new movies, board games, literary or musical meetings. The result is a friendly team of like-minded people.

8. E-library. The whole team is given the opportunity to read and download e-books from the corporate library. It can be professional literature or works of classics and contemporary authors. It is possible to introduce a special resource where employees can discuss the material they read or give their assessment of the books.

9. Recreation area. The presence of a place to relax favorably affects the development of company loyalty. Very popular among office workers table tennis. Representatives of both sexes play it with passion, competitions and championships are organized.

10. Contests. Throughout the year, the company can hold a variety of competitions for its employees. Bring the results to New Year's corporate party, where give participants and winners prizes and memorable gifts. You can also hold awards in various categories, in order to encourage success in work and company loyalty. Ideally, there should be as many more nominees and awardees.

How is employee loyalty assessed?

Assessment of staff loyalty is necessary if employees openly express their dissatisfaction and negativity towards the organization. Mass layoffs, conflicts, low KPI and negligent attitude to work should become a signal for action for the manager. A variety of innovations and reorganizations can also be a reason to assess the level of employee loyalty. Some companies try to periodically hold this event. An analysis of the internal climate of the team makes it possible to take measures to eliminate possible problems at their early stage. Sometimes it is possible to identify non-standard and completely unforeseen causes of conflict situations.

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To understand how loyal an employee is to the company, it is most logical to find out from him. In order for the results to be as objective as possible, the answers must be sincere, and for this it is necessary to ensure the anonymity of the survey. At the personal request of the employee, the survey can be open. The management can trust the results of such a study, and the employees can only hope that the authorities will take into account their comments.

To assess the loyalty of staff, the method of constructing a scale is used, introduced in the late nineties by psychologists Pochebut and Koroleva. This technique was developed on the basis of the scale of "equidistant intervals" of the American sociologist Thurstone.

The methodology for constructing the scale is quite simple and effectively determines the moods that are currently dominant in the team. An employee undergoing testing receives a list of statements with a scale of answers. If difficulties arise along the way, the person supervising the interview process should provide clarifications in a way that does not provoke the thought of a particular answer.

A cover note with the following content may be attached to the personnel loyalty questionnaire:

Dear employee of (name of organization)! Before you are a few statements related to your company and the scale of compliance. Rate your agreement with each of the phrases based on ratings from 1 to 11. Rating 1 means your complete disagreement with this judgment, 11 - its complete approval, 6 - neutral rating. Please match each of the statements to one of the cells on the rating scale. The number of answers for each cell is unlimited.

response sheet

Occupation ______________ Gender ____ Age ____________

Examples of statements:

1) The goals of the authorities and the staff do not coincide at all.

2) Usually, management does not encourage the initiative of employees.

3) A leader who tells employees about their problems loses credibility in their eyes.

4) The rapprochement of the leader with subordinates leads to the fact that employees begin to neglect their duties.

5) Effective leader should know how the team lives.

6) The manager must constantly monitor the performance of employees of their duties.

7) The leader can allow subordinates to not follow the rules with which they do not agree.

8) Conflicts between colleagues that do not affect the work side do not affect the efficiency of the company.

9) The favorable attitude of the authorities for the employee is more priority than professional implementation.

10) Job fanatics do more harm than good to the company.

11) The financial difficulties of the company should not reflect on employees.

12) When making a decision, management must enlist the support of the majority of the team.

13) The remuneration of each employee must be related to his marital status and family income.

14) The salary of one of the specialists should not be ten times higher than that of the rest of the employees.

15) Promotion on the career ladder is influenced by the favor of the authorities, and then the professional merits of the employee.

16) Responsible attitude to one's work is the main guarantee of career advancement.

17) An effective employee can be allowed to disregard the general rules.

18) It is more difficult to organize effective work in a friendly team.

19) An employee can point out errors in his instructions to management if they negatively affect the work of the company.

20) Salary for an employee is more important than the pleasure of work.

21) Career growth can ruin relationships with colleagues.

22) If the work gives moral satisfaction, money does not matter.

23) When employees contribute to the direction of the company, it operates more efficiently.

24) If the boss does not fulfill his duties, the employee may demand his dismissal.

25) Employees patronized by management cannot be trusted.

26) Management looks through the fingers at the misconduct of successful specialists.

27) Attitude towards work is influenced by the time spent on the road to the office.

28) I am always serious about how I look at work.

29) Being late for work is not a serious offense.

30) extra work needs to be rewarded.

31) Colleagues should not pay attention to the negligent attitude towards the work of one of the employees.

32) Income of company employees should be open to colleagues.

33) If at a corporate party the boss says that tomorrow he will not pay attention to being late, you can take your time to work.

34) If the work of a specialist suits the boss, then there is no point in trying even harder.

35) When issuing a salary, the company should thank the employee, not he.

36) In the company, the rules are the same for everyone: both for management and for staff.

Processing of results. The results of the staff loyalty questionnaire are affected by statements: 1, 3, 4, 5, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 32, 34. All other points are given for rejection eye. Each answer corresponds to a certain number of points in accordance with the table below.

gradation

If an employee scored more than 53 points, his level of loyalty to the company is high, from 54 to 18 points is a sign of average loyalty, the interval between +18 and -18 shows a low degree of loyalty, a result below -18 points is a complete lack of loyalty.

There is another example of a staff loyalty questionnaire. It's big, so I put it in a separate download file.

What else helps to convince employees to work for you with full dedication

Ivan Kuznetsov, CEO plant "Second breath", St. Petersburg

I really like the famous saying: “The most important thing in the job of a leader is to surround yourself with smart people and get them to work for you.” There are several secrets on how to make sure that the environment consists of smart people who are ready to work hard for you.

– Once a week, find time to communicate with employees. Every week I try to find time to visit the shops and departments for personal communication with employees. I usually choose the most free day. I discuss with people both the affairs of the company, working moments, and personal issues. My employees really enjoy it. Without human communication, it is impossible to earn staff loyalty. You can't buy it, it's the result of constant work with the team.

– When communicating with employees, be inquisitive. Managers usually do not touch the work of departments, the specifics of which are not clear to them. A prime example is accounting. My personal experience is as follows: I asked the chief accountant to explain to me the functionality and area of ​​responsibility of each employee of the department and help me determine the principle of evaluation successful work department. The manager must understand all the intricacies of the functioning of a single mechanism of the company.

– All employees should be equal, regardless of gender and age. At the beginning, I had a barrier in communicating with employees of the company much older than me, who had experience in managing large companies. As a result, the problem was solved, thanks to the fact that I respectfully communicate with all my subordinates without exception. Relationships with employees never go into the informal plane, even during joint business trips. In the case of meetings in an informal setting on business matters, the tone of communication remains businesslike and respectful.

How is the development of staff loyalty in other countries

Day off Friday the 13th. One of the German companies on this day gives its employees a day off. An analysis of claims from clients showed that on this “unlucky” day, employees made the greatest number of annoying mistakes, and negotiations most often ended in failure.

Theater hour. One of the Ukrainian consulting firms allows staff to leave the workplace earlier so as not to be late for a performance or concert. Mandatory conditions for early departure from work is the presence of a ticket for the performance and a report on the event attended in the form of a review, performance of a concert number or photo report.

Suite for honeymooners. A hotel chain in France gives its employees such a wedding gift. The room is decorated with bouquets of flowers, balloons, wine and fruits are left in it. Due to the influx of those wishing to get married, the company had to introduce a limit. Now each employee is entitled to a wedding suite no more than once a year.

Paid day off September 1st- a gift from a Ukrainian transport company to its employees. In addition, the employees' children receive school supplies and toys from the firm.

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Healthy Lifestyle Award. This is how Norwegian companies encourage non-smoking employees and those who prefer to move around the city by bike. Management believes that employees who have healthy habits are more efficient, bring more value to the company and, consequently, increase its income.

Sick leave without documents. Swedish companies care about the health of their employees. Employees are paid up to 80% of their salary during illness, and in order to go on sick leave, you can simply notify the authorities. No one requires any documentary evidence.

To work with a child. Companies in Sweden allow children to be taken to work if they are left at home unattended.

Leave without explanation. In Australia, you can relax for one day without any explanations and sick leave. Due to the fact that many people began to abuse this opportunity for outdoor recreation in good weather, some companies are forced to tighten measures and require documents explaining the absence from the workplace.

Information about the author and company

Vitalina Levashova, Deputy General Director of Invitro, Moscow. LLC "Invitro" Field of activity: provision of laboratory services (more than 1500). Territory: over 700 medical offices and eight laboratory complexes in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Number of employees: 5000. Achievements in the field of personnel management: one of the winners of the "HR Brand Award 2014" in the nomination "Federation", the second place winner in the nomination " Corporate culture»Crystal Pyramid Award (2014).

Ivan Kuznetsov, General Director of the plant "Second Breath", St. Petersburg. LLC "Second Breath" Field of activity: production of bakery, pasta, sausage products, dairy products. Number of personnel: 70. Volume of production: milk - 8 tons, sausages - 3 tons (per day).

To begin with, it is worth defining the term - what is staff loyalty. Loyalty usually means a high degree of devotion of an employee to the interests of the organization and decency in relation to it. In addition, loyalty can be considered the desire to defend the interests of the organization when interacting with customers and partners. Let's talk about loyalty, keeping in mind the first meaning of this term - loyalty to the company.

So what is employee loyalty? To answer this question, consider several important aspects.

1. Is it possible to measure potential loyalty when applying for a job?

One of the foundations of employee loyalty is the coincidence of his life and business values ​​with the values ​​of the organization. This can be assessed during the interview with the candidate using some projective questions(answering questions about other people, a person “gives out” himself):

  • What is a good team?
  • What should be a good leader?
  • What is success?
  • What is a good job?

The more the candidate's answers coincide with the reality and values ​​of the company, the greater the likelihood of his motivation and loyalty.

Another tool is a question that allows you to assess how much a person perceives the problems of the organization as their own:

  • Your colleague, not a leader or subordinate, made a left trade. You accidentally found out about it. Only you have the information. Your actions?

The answer: "It's not my problem, it's not my business - he has his own boss" - indicates that a person does not consider the problems of the organization his own. All other answers (“I'll talk to him”, “I'll think about what to do”, etc.) indicate that a person, to a certain extent, is rooting for the organization.

There are many ways, including those taking into account the specifics of the pharmaceutical business, that allow diagnosing the loyalty of a potential employee at the selection stage.

2. What is the difference between a person's integrity and his loyalty to an organization?

Very often these two concepts are confused. In fact, it often happens like this: a person is honest and will not steal or deceive the company under any circumstances. However, at the same time, he may not value his organization and absolutely calmly watch how others do it. A loyal employee must defend the interests of the organization, so it is very important that he appreciates it, and also understands the "rules of the game" - what is considered right and wrong in the company.

So, you've hired people who tend to be loyal. But will they actually be loyal?

3. The answer to this question also depends on how effectively you cultivate loyalty. How to do it:

  • Motivate your employees the right way. Each HR specialist has his own “map of motivators” (a set of key motivational factors), the impact on which gives the greatest effect. It is important that leaders know how to identify and use these motivators correctly.
  • Clearly define the "rules of the game". This gives people confidence and stability, and therefore increases the true commitment of the company. It is important to avoid substituting ostentatious values ​​for real values. You should not assume that those who sit at work until night and demonstrate their zeal in every possible way are loyal. Loyalty is best characterized by the achievement of positive results for the organization and adherence to the values, mission and rules of the company.
  • The corporate culture cultivated in the company and realized by the employee is one of the most effective tools increasing loyalty. A sense of belonging to a common cause, pride in your team and company make people more loyal. Clearly stated and shared values, team building work, common corporate events- all this contributes to increased loyalty.
  • The behavior of the direct manager, who in fact demonstrates devotion to the organization, cheers for the results of work, is another important tool for fostering loyalty.
  • Competent management of conflicts and changes is an essential condition for maintaining staff loyalty.

4. What to do if an employee is disloyal?

First of all, it should be assessed whether they are properly managed and motivated. If the problem is poor leadership, you must urgently learn the ability to manage people. And here again, the methodology for determining and using the “map of motivators” comes to the rescue.

If everything possible has been done in this regard, then, probably, the employee simply does not fit the organization, and the organization - the employee. Or is it the result of wrong selection. In such cases, it is better to part peacefully.

If a person is of particular value as a specialist, and the company is extremely interested in him, it is worth monitoring him as carefully as possible - after all, a disloyal employee is not so dedicated to the cause and can hack.

1.4. Analysis of the causes of disloyalty

So, why is it that the manager does not always manage to maintain the loyalty of the staff to him? This problem continues to be relevant in the field of interdisciplinary research on the following topics:

1) leadership and situational leadership;

2) formation of highly effective teams.

Based on the two stated topics, it can be said with certainty that the manager's mistake is:

1) incorrectly chosen leadership style;

2) inattention to the psychological characteristics of employees;

3) incorrect positioning of oneself as a leader.

In principle, the last two reasons are a direct consequence of the first. In the literature on business psychology, the problem of leadership style is fairly well disclosed. Everyone knows that there are three classic leadership styles: authoritarian, liberal, and democratic. A number of authors also highlight the situational one. In my opinion, the situational style of style leadership in the full sense of the word is not. It is, rather, the principle of leadership: management according to the situation. The situational style involves an alternation of techniques from classical management styles, subject to the dynamics of the business environment and taking into account the psychological characteristics of the employee. Suppose a manager prefers to use elements of democratic and liberal styles. However, in practice, in relation to a specific situation, he obtains neither the first nor the second, but a kind of synthesis - a situational management style.

In general, it is worth noting that a democratic leader in the textbook understanding of this phenomenon has never existed in nature. Any leadership carries an authoritarian charge of management style. Otherwise, the leader simply would not be a leader. The erroneous consequences of the wrong leadership style include:

1. Irrational distribution of responsibilities:

a) the manager considers employees inexperienced and, fearing for the result, takes the lion's share of the work on himself. In this case, instead of seeing the entire forest, the leader carefully examines individual trees;

b) in another case, employees, on the contrary, are underestimated, the volume of distributed work exceeds the abilities of employed workers. As a result, the work can be submitted on time, but it will have to be repeatedly completed and redone;

c) incorrect assessment of individual employees. An indisputable fact: usually the leader makes a decision based on personal assessments of likes and dislikes. If the main work is done by nice to the authorities, but incompetent employees, there is a good chance to achieve a disastrous result.

2. Lack of a fixed reward and punishment system. When the "carrot and stick" is used under the bad or good mood of the leader, envy and suspicion grow by leaps and bounds in the team. As you understand, this circumstance cannot but have a negative impact on the loyalty of the staff. However, some researchers believe that the reward system should not be fixed. In particular, W. K. Hamner said the following about remuneration:

a) remuneration for each his own;

b) no reward is the best incentive.

Another reason for disloyalty is the inattention of the boss to the psychological characteristics of the subordinate. He is in charge, but by whom? He doesn't fully know himself. Above, we touched on 9 "pure" types of employees. And now we will consider another typology, in which we will divide employees into only 2 “pure” types.

Employee types:

1) an honest performer (“workhorse”);

2) a creative person (“generator of ideas”).

Rice. 1.11. Employee types

What are each "pure" type. You can already judge from the name. A creative person is capricious, she has her own working rhythm. Stubborn, unpredictable, willful. It doesn’t cost her anything to break the workflow, arguing the egregious fact with the phrase: “Something I’m not in the spirit of today.” She critically comprehends reality, including her own bosses. Add here frequent depression, a terrible character, the eternal pursuit of personal glory. Unlike a stable, honest performer, an “idea generator” will never forgive criticism.

"Workhorse" is the complete opposite of "idea generator". Ideally, there should be three creative personalities for seven honest performers, then progress is ensured and stability is guaranteed. However, personalities tend to change. The latter is doomed to become different under the influence of environmental factors and their own life experience. So, a creative person, tired of the awareness of his own uniqueness and prolonged depression, wants business relationships "like everyone else." An honest performer, on the contrary, will discover unprecedented talents in himself and say: “Chief, and I am extraordinary.”

Continuing to reveal the differences between the first and second types, we note their fundamental difference from each other: a creative person is devoted to the cause in the global sense of the word, and an honest performer is exclusively to the leader. Workhorses are more tolerant of criticism, they always consider it fair, the common phrase “He looks bosses in the mouth” is launched about them. In other words, an honest performer is personally obliged to his superiors. A creative person sees the leader as an obstacle to achieving their goals. A special mindset and imaginative thinking make her a high-class professional. This type of subordinate does not like strict control and criticism, they take comments with hostility and see no reason to make sacrifices. Uncontrolled creativity and the absence of external signs of loyalty cause an inadequate reaction from the authorities. However, the leader himself considers his reaction more than adequate. This is neither good nor bad. So to speak, "de facto". The creative person is confident in the fact of his loyalty: “I am committed, so I am committed to the boss. I just have a special look at everything, I want the best. ” The leader does not need a special look, but a complete acceptance, rather, of his beliefs by an obstinate creative person. The boss himself knows “how best”, he wanted the creative to slightly develop his idea.

"Stop. The idea is mine, but the boss? only the chief administrator” – this is how a creative person thinks. The latter is sincerely offended when the leader begins to criticize the work. That is, loving creativity, and even more often? themselves in this creativity, the "generator of ideas" is not able to understand and accept the dogmatism of the company's management.

So, you understand, a creative person is more problematic from the point of view of a leader than an honest performer. The “idea generator”, unlike the “workhorse”, needs a long leash and more oxygen, then he will not leave you until he wants to.

The author of the theory of labor motivation D. Atkinson also identified two types of employees. His criterion was the propensity to risk in the latter. The first preferred to perform simple tasks without risk for a moderate salary. The second showed a desire to take risks, they were not even embarrassed by the threat of complete failure, so strong was the desire to receive a large reward and immortalize their name. It is clear that according to the theory of D. Atkinson, our honest performers belong to the first type, and creative individuals belong to the second.

The last reason for insufficient loyalty lies in the inability of the leader to position himself as the only possible leader. There is a sad joke: formal leaders speak first, informal leaders speak last. As you understand, the opinion of the second is much more significant than the opinion of the first. Try to cope with this difficult problem with dignity.

Loyalty of influencers

Analyzing the loyalty of an employee, or rather, its degree, the manager cannot but take into account his gender, age and educational level. That is, there is a group of factors that determine the behavior of employees in terms of loyalty (Fig. 1.12).

Fig.1.12. Loyalty factors

Sociocultural factors are the rules of the game that subordinates follow based on the regulations adopted in this company. Biological and psychological factors are gender, age, temperament. We have already considered socio-cultural factors, now we will consider the biological-psychological and educational level of the employee.

We will study the phenomenon of loyalty on the principle of feedback. That is, not only how the factors determine the loyalty factor of an individual subordinate, but also how, depending on the determining factors, the manager is concerned about the problem of loyalty. That is, how scrupulous the boss, depending on his gender, age and educational level, is about the loyalty of the staff.

Gender differences

Despite progress, humanity to a certain extent lives in myths. We are accustomed to perceive a man in the role of a leader, and it is unusual for us to see a woman in the director's chair. But history knows many examples when women were distinguished by a high degree of rationalism, composure, determination and will. But why does a female subordinate cause such a share of skepticism? For thousands of years, there has been a stereotype that a woman should do household chores and nothing more. How can such logic be explained? The fact is that the main function of the representatives of the weaker sex was and remains childbearing, the continuation of the human race. And here a woman cannot be replaced by a man. In this regard, the myth "A woman has nothing to do in business" is widespread.

Let's argue with this. After all, women live longer, it is more difficult to break them psychologically. A man is always more vulnerable than a woman. After all, in any of them lives an indestructible thirst for victory and a panic fear of defeat or failure. You can replicate the myths about women's incompetence, about her coquetry in business, about supposedly low self-esteem, about the weakness of the sex... But one cannot but admit the fact that women's business has been living and flourishing for a long time.

To what extent is a woman manager concerned about the problem of employee loyalty? It turns out, more than a male leader. After all, a woman who is responsible for others makes high demands on those around her, and on whom her well-being and prosperity of the business depend.

The boss, unlike the boss, is more inclined to apply measures of moral and psychological influence, rather than administrative sanctions. If a male leader, in case of failure, thinks about reforming production structures and introducing new regulations, then a female leader will direct her enthusiasm to improving personal relationships, rightly believing that loyalty cannot be preserved by opening a new department. A man, when it comes to maintaining loyalty, tends to manage in the rhythm of "I - you." The woman, on the contrary, - "We are together." A male leader, building relationships with subordinates, is used to relying on logic, a female leader makes decisions intuitively. The boss is ready to defend his decision to the end, regardless of the victims. The boss in any situation wants to find a way out of the impasse in a peaceful way, to look for a compromise. A male leader relies only on himself when making fateful decisions. To your feelings and thoughts. A female leader, when reasoning, takes into account other people's points of view: “I wonder what Marya Fedorovna thinks on this issue?”. A male leader is ready to take risks in a difficult situation, but a female leader favors cautious decision-making strategies.

If a male boss blames his subordinates, the government and the ozone layer for everything when an enterprise collapses, then a female boss? only yourself.

When solving the problem of staff loyalty, a woman tends to resort to diplomacy, while a man wants to suppress his subordinates with his charisma, as well as experience, knowledge, and aggression. A woman, feeling like on stage, often thinks: "I am a woman, and I must constantly prove my right to lead no worse than men."

As subordinates, women are more loyal. In addition, women constantly read literature in their specialty and more critically assess the level of their professional competence.

It is more difficult for a manager to maintain the loyalty of a male employee due to his natural aggressiveness and fixation on a constant increase in social status. A man considers himself successful in life only when he reaches a high position. Women do not react so sharply to their social status: the weaker sex has more opportunities for self-realization. This is the role of wife and mother, daughter. A woman, if necessary, maintains a high degree of loyalty even with a relatively low salary. Here it would be appropriate to speculate about the gender discrimination of workers, but this is a topic for another book. So far, I’ll just note: in order for a female subordinate to catch up with a male colleague, she has to work three times harder.

Age differences

In this section, we will analyze two factors of influence:

1) the influence of the manager's age on his anxiety about the loyalty of the staff;

2) the influence of the employee's age on the degree of his loyalty to the manager.

I will note right away that age is a less significant factor of influence than gender. Before considering the topics we have stated, another question should be raised. To what extent does a person's age affect his psychology? After all, the age factor does not have the same effect on everyone. It is known that there are people who do not feel the age limits at all. Therefore, the influence of the age factor can be studied in the same way as the state of an absolutely solid body in a vacuum. There is a logical explanation for this: gender is given to us from birth, and we get used to age. Nevertheless, there is some empirically obtained data that can be used to predict the situation.

Male leaders tend to take more risks at a younger age. With age, the need for risk decreases. The male leader, approaching the age maturity, raises his requirements for the loyalty of the staff. If we talk about the loyalty of a male subordinate, then the following fact should be noted: a man becomes more loyal with age. A conflict is possible only in one case, if the head of an elderly specialist of the stronger sex turns out to be half his age.

A woman leader throughout her life is demanding of the loyalty of her subordinates. She can forgive her lack of knowledge, but she regards the lack of visible signs of loyalty as a personal insult. And he reacts to this circumstance as to all signs of obvious unreliability. By maturity, the female boss only overestimates the selection criteria, trying to immediately predict the degree of loyalty of the new employee. A female subordinate is quite loyal throughout her career. The representative of the weaker sex is more loyal to the leader of the man than the leader of the woman. The point is not only in the eternal desire of a woman to please: it is harder for two women to find a common language. Women perceive reality more subjectively, the conflict is possible not only on the basis of different views on the company's strategy, but also on the basis of individual preferences in the world of fashion, music, and literature.

Educational Phenomenon

Knowledge is power. An educated subordinate who knows five foreign languages, who is well versed in technology, music, and the culture of the Ancient East is always less loyal than his opposite. An inversely proportional relationship is observed between the level of education of an employee and the degree of his loyalty to the manager.

A legitimate question is: why is this happening? The answer is simple. An educated worker has more to offer than an average worker, but he will ask for more in return. A high-class pro is more sensitive to management methods, he is more scrupulous in matters of his own dignity. A highly qualified specialist evokes legitimate concern of the manager: “I hire him, teach him in courses, and he will take and leave ...” The concern is understandable. There is only one way to solve this problem - to study together with the staff. If you haven't completed your MBA (Graduate School of Business) yet, go ahead. The level of education of the most highly qualified specialist of your company should not exceed your own. Your subordinates should know that you are not only a good leader and a pleasant person in all respects, but also a person who is constantly engaged in self-education. An extra-class pro recognizes only that leader whose level he has not yet reached. Example: if only candidates of economic sciences work at your enterprise, it is high time for you to defend your doctoral dissertation in macroeconomics.

So, the manager-intellectual is interested in the problem of loyalty. But unlike a leader with a low level of intelligence (this is possible only in crime), an educated leader solves the problem of loyalty with more subtle methods. He organizes trainings for subordinates on the topic “Formation of highly effective teams”, where he understands his staff using civilized methods. The more often a leader resorts to punitive measures, the lower his qualifications as a manager.

This text is an introductory piece. From the book Behavior Assessment by Keenan Keith

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