Building employee trust gives rise to high levels of employee loyalty, keeping a team engaged and productive. But employee rewards are what maintain that trust and loyalty. People generally want to be part of a shared vision, have opportunities for growth, and work within a positive company culture—all of this is true, but making them feel that it’s true is where the work comes in.
Here, I’ll discuss what I’ve learned about surprising factors that drive employee loyalty, leading to greater retention and higher productivity.
Why Building Employee Trust Matters
The cornerstone of a loyal workforce is built on trust. If you want your employees to stick around, they have to believe you’ll be there for them and trust that you care about their wellbeing. Building employee trust is not something that happens overnight and can take significant effort. But with the right policies in place, you can witness the flourishing of your team’s cohesion and cooperativeness.
Building employee trust can be done in several ways. I’ve seen companies implement “always-on” feedback systems, which allow employees to voice concerns regularly without having to wait for a precise, company-authorized time. Additionally, the mere act of showing appreciation goes a long way toward improving trust among employees.
Just a boss giving positive feedback to employees increases employees’ trust in them by leaps and bounds. Forbes notes that 90% of employees reported high levels of trust in a boss who showed appreciation, whereas among employees who didn’t receive these affirmations, only 48% reported trusting their boss.
And this doesn’t have to simply be words of affirmation, either. It could come in more hands-off forms, such as trusting your team to guide a project without your explicit direction. This creates a sense of ownership of the project among employees and they’ll know that you’re implicitly trusting them to deliver high-quality results.
Employee Loyalty Rewards: Are They Effective?
I’ve seen many companies attempt to promote a sense of employee loyalty through the use of rewards programs. These can be anything from perks like child care, pet-sitting services or even simple bonuses like free coffee. In fact, when Amazon tried to take away their employees’ free coffee, 10,000 of them asked Amazon to reconsider, citing it as a significant boost to morale.
As you can see, employee loyalty rewards don’t have to be grand gestures to keep your team on your side. Even just a recognition program for excellent work can have dramatic effects. Gallup found that 45% of employees who feel well-recognized at work are less likely to have left after two years.
Practical Ways to Retain Employees
All of this data is great, but it begs the question, “What are the best ways to retain employees?” Even the most well-meaning boss or managerial team has likely found difficulty implementing actionable retention strategies that work. Getting one up and running takes effort and then requires time to monitor the results and see if it’s even working.
Simply put, you want to implement the right strategy the first time. Often, I’ve found that the best way to retain employees is through a multi-pronged approach consisting of initiatives like career development programs, open communication, and recognition systems.
Everyone wants to feel as if they’re moving up in the world and that their job purpose is meaningful. If employees start to stagnate, they can quickly become disengaged from their current roles and begin to look elsewhere. That doesn’t mean they’ll seek to switch to a different industry, but they may look for a new challenge.
A good career development program helps remedy this problem. Offering training or workshops to develop new skills will help keep your team members loyal and sharp. They’ll see that you’re also investing in their future, which will increase their trust in the company.
Many companies that don’t retain top talent have poor communication channels. Employees spend significant portions of their lives working for your company, and they want to feel like they’re a part of its progress, but when they voice their concerns and it goes nowhere, their loyalty and trust are likely to plummet.
Finally, having a recognition system in place that rewards work well done is a surefire way to retain employees. If your team is consistently hitting targets or an employee goes above and beyond to help the company, this needs to be acknowledged. Southwest Airlines operates an interesting SWAG program that lets other employees suggest their coworkers for an award or just send a message of thanks. Employees can then use the points they earn as part of this program for shopping, gift cards, or experiences.
This doesn’t necessarily need to be financial compensation either. It could be public acknowledgement, extra time-off or other benefits, but the risk of not having a recognition system is one that you don’t want to take. I’ve seen it quickly lead to reductions in morale as employees think if their work doesn’t matter, why bother?
How Trust and Rewards Drive Long-Term Loyalty
Building employee trust through reward programs, acknowledgement and feedback systems is what drives long-term loyalty to the company and increases employee retention. Fundamentally, everyone wants to feel like they’re performing well at work and that their efforts are noticed.
All too often, I’ve seen companies that don’t pursue these initiatives correctly lose out on employee loyalty. A company is not a person, and to people, it can sometimes appear like a distant entity, but responsiveness to the needs of its employees and acknowledgement of their efforts drives up employee trust, thereby maintaining employee loyalty.
Simple Steps to Build Loyalty in Your Team
As I’ve covered here, rewards and recognition can greatly enhance trust and retention among employees. A happy team is a loyal team which is also dedicated and productive. Using these strategies in your own business doesn’t need to involve a total overhaul of your operations, but by building effective feedback and acknowledgement systems into your team’s working environment, you’ll see clear results.
And remember, employee loyalty rewards don’t always need to break the bank. Just think back to what a little free coffee can do.
If you’re looking for more effective ways to retain employees, enhance workplace trust and build the high-performing team your business needs, sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll get actionable advice on constructing a more efficient and productive team that wants to stick around, plus you’ll be first in line to gain access to my upcoming book, “The Retention-Productivity Link”, which contains a wealth of insights on team management in the modern workplace.
