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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
****
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-Provokersâ„¢ 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.
+++++++++
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 before
you use this piece to confirm this
is still available.
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.
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