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The Only Way
to Create Loyal Employees
by Dov Gordon
When my fifth grade
teacher saw me drawing in class, he didn’t scold me. He continued his
lesson while walking around the room and stole a surreptitious glance at my
work.
At the next recess break he
called me over and complimented me on my talent as an artist. (A talent which
has since fallen into desuetude.) Rather than appreciate the recognition, I
worried about the consequences of getting caught.
Then he surprised me.
Every Friday this teacher
sent home a review sheet so our parents could see what we had learned and
discuss it with us. Most weeks he included a clip art drawing that somehow
related to that week’s material.
“I’d like you to draw the
picture each week instead of me copying it from a clip art book,” he said.
Wow. Did I feel good!
I (and my mother, too)
remember him as one of the best teachers I ever had. He understood how to see a
student’s potential and channel it. He didn’t try to fit us all into the same
box. For this little extra attention and caring, I am forever grateful.
This story holds the key to
nurturing loyalty amongst our employees.
Studies show that
employees usually quit their jobs because they feel disrespected and uncared
for. Their talents are underutilized and they feel unappreciated. This
perception is usually created by their immediate boss who demonstrates his or
her uncaring by overworking the staff, putting people in the wrong jobs,
communicating poorly and offering insufficient or superficial training.
The cost of turnover is
high. So is the cost of unmotivated employees who bide their time until they
find a better job.
As executives and managers we
must invest the time to listen to our people, to understand what they really
care about and what they enjoy doing and being a part of.
When people feel cared for
they are loyal to those who care about them.
Loyal employees are
passionate and dedicated to helping your company meet its goals. Loyal
employees offer a superb return on investment. (See Nucor article link below.)
Dov
Gordon’s CEO Thought-Provoker™ Questions:
i.
What skills do you and your managers need to cultivate in order to better
utilize the unique talents of each employee?
ii.
Are your employees involved in deciding what kind of training they need
or is training offered in the same flavors for everyone (vanilla, chocolate and
strawberry) even when some employees are ready for Rocky Road and Cookies and
Cream?
iii.
Are there systemic forces that discourage loyalty? Any system that
unfairly favors some employees over others will discourage loyalty. This could
be in the compensation plan, evaluations, etc.
iv.
If you don’t already do this: Schedule a monthly or bi-monthly meeting
where frontline employees get to sit with senior managers who just ask questions
and listen. You will be amazed at the variety and freshness of ideas. If you
act on even a few of them, you will be nurturing a super-loyal cadre of
employees by showing how much you value their input.
The Gordon Group can help
you increase employee loyalty and enjoy the commensurate growth in profits.
Contact us to learn more. dov@gordongroupec.com
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THIS JUST IN:
BusinessWeek has an article about how Nucor’s exemplary treatment of its
employees has fueled its stunning growth. (Registration may be required.)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982075.htm?campaign_id=nws_insdr_apr21&link_position=link3
****
You can comment
on this and other CEO Thought-Provokers™ at our blog:
http://ceotp.blogspot.com/
Archives
of The CEO Thought-Provoker are here:
http://www.gordongroupec.com/CEOTP/CEO-Thought-Provoker-Archives.html
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Dov Gordon,
author of
"If You Are 'Implementing' Your
Strategy - You Don't Have One!" helps
senior executives at small and mid-sized companies around the world to earn the
respect and admiration of their marketplace. Clients benefit from clarifying
their strategies, sharpening their focus, better decision making, improved
teamwork and growing into great leaders.
Management and Strategy
Consulting.
Executive Coaching.
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You may
republish and redistribute this article provided that you include (1) the full
article with the attribution at the end, (2) a link to
www.GordonGroupEC.com in the
attribution and (3) You must notify us
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Please
email me your thoughts and feedback.
See our
recommended reading list at:
www.GordonGroupEC.com/books.html
Copyright 2006 © by Dov Gordon. All rights reserved. |
