The Secret to Staff Loyalty

In the current economic climate, the threat of business closures, mergers and relocations looms large. To ensure staff loyalty during a downsizing, Ivan Temes, founder of Leadership and Loyalty, recommends building a solid foundation now—before employees believe their jobs are in jeopardy. The following suggestions, written for supervisors of customer-care staff, apply to anyone in a management position.
 
- Identify and remove obstacles that are keeping your employees from fully satisfying customers, meeting goals, or whatever else their job entails. How do you identify these obstacles? Ask the people involved.
 
- Encourage your staff to offer input and suggestions, then take immediate action to show that you’re listening. Many employees withhold ideas, because they think that no one cares. Again, ask the people involved.
 
- Identify obstacles to your employees' growth and positive spirit by—you guessed it—asking the people involved.