Loyalty in the workplace has become a scarce commodity. One particular writer refers to the lack of loyalty in organisations as “the casualty of the new workplace”. In this age where businesses are experiencing dizzying levels of change, competition and complexities, the need for loyal employees have become more critical as there is a dire need for organisations to not only innovate but produce consistent results. So who is a loyal staff?

A loyal staff has an ownership mindset, takes responsibility for their work and helps others succeed. Loyalty has nothing to do with blind obedience or tenure in an organisation. The loyal employee’s creed is “the goal is greater than the role”. Being engaged is second nature to loyal employees. They consistently put in discretionary effort in getting their job done.

A report shows that 76% of full-time workers, while not actively looking for a new job, would leave their current workplace if the right opportunity came along. Every organisation that has made progress has done so by quality leadership, great products, excellent service delivery and of course, the presence of loyal employees. And the opposite is true for organisations that are ‘struggling’ to make a headway in the scheme of things. If loyal employees are a remarkable asset to organisations, then why do we lose them?  Why are there not enough KPI’s ensuring we’re tracking these metrics like sales and market share?

Various reasons can be attributed to why we lose loyal employees but it all starts with the relationship between the employee and their line leader. The line leader, supervisor or line manager colour the perception employees have about their organisation. So it’s safe to deduce that loyal employees are first ‘lost’ by their supervisors before the organisation loses them.

What if there was a workplace commandment of “thou shall not lose a [loyal] employee?”

A laundry list of reasons can be responsible for why we lose loyal employees.

Here are our top five (5) habits that line leaders exhibit which contribute to the loss:

1. Thou shall fast track attrition by not reinforcing and rewarding the right behaviours
2. Remaining stoic and not give credit to the efforts of employees when they meaningfully contribute in achieving business goals can kick-start disengagement
3. If thou withhold honest feedback continuously, be ready for a robotic team and a near term expiry employment date for team members
4. Not consistently tracking and communicating progress breeds disconnection, opens employees to not feeling valued and ultimately leads to exits.
5. Thou shall loose loyal employees if trust is not evident, valued or exhibited

The long-term success of any organisation depends heavily upon the quality and loyalty of its people and it starts with you. You contribute to building leadership muscle and bench strength.