Loyal to the bitter end

By ANGELA McCARTHY

Keeping staff - particularly good staff - is a challenge for organisations, says Malcolm Jackman, CEO for international recruitment consultancy Manpower New Zealand/Australia.

Through an international survey Manpower has found that although employee loyalty still exists it varies across age group, sex and industry. The factors that drive loyalty also vary across countries.

Employees with three to five years' tenure tend to be least loyal, women tend to be more loyal than men and loyalty is more important in retaining staff for small companies than for large.

For the survey Manpower spoke to 2600 human resource managers in eight countries, not including Australia or New Zealand.

In the public sector, which had the lowest employee turnover, strong teamwork was the most important loyalty driver. The service sector rated good communication as most important, while in the manufacturing sector it was job interest and variety.

Sum up those qualities and job satisfaction starts to play a major part in employee loyalty. The 2002 New Zealand work-life balance survey by Pohlen Kean backed this up, finding that job satisfaction is a major factor in staff loyalty.

Several factors affect job satisfaction, from indecisive or unclear management to lack of job security and career prospects, says FX Consultants director Stewart Forsyth, technical consultant for the Pohlen Kean survey.

While there is no strict formula for instilling loyalty, each individual's perception of fairness is critical, he says.

"Fostering loyalty is particularly important when industries face skill shortages, as is the case now in areas such as IT, engineering, communications and medicine," he says. "When a person walks away from a job they are not just taking away a pair of hands, but a head full of institutional memory."

Auckland-based employment psychologist Jean de Bryn says many organisations offer benefits over and above legal requirements to attract and retain staff. The issue of employee loyalty is simple, she says.

"People just don't want to get messed around by an organisation. That comes out very strongly."

Management is a critical factor in building loyalty, says Jackman. "Leaders have to provide an environment in which people want to work."

He says a good manager makes your job workable, doesn't put obstacles in the way, ensures you're learning on the job and creates reasons for you to like your job and remain loyal to the company.

If people feel workload is allocated incorrectly, or they are are in a rut or invisible to the manager they are unlikely to be loyal.

Profit sharing, internal promotion (when appropriate), bonuses and investing in employee career planning can all improve loyalty. Some employers fear that career planning encourages employees to move on, but Forsyth says it can motivate employees to see a future within the company.

External factors are also important. A lack of job security creates a need for people to be loyal to themselves first, so leaving a job is no longer a betrayal, says de Bryn.

"More and more people loyal to their CV or their profession, not a company or job."

Forsyth adds: "They take opportunities that may not seem to make sense in the short term but will increase their long-term economic value."

The Manpower survey found employees fall into four distinct loyalty profiles: mutual, blind, saboteurs and mercenaries. Mercenaries and saboteurs have no sense of loyalty towards their employer at all.

"Saboteurs and mercenaries are a fact of life," says Jackman. "You can't get rid of them, but you can minimise them. It boils down to good management, leadership and ethics."

WHAT'S YOUR TYPE?

Mutual Loyalists (53 per cent)

Are loyal and believe their loyalty is deserved. Feel their own efforts and performance is rewarded with investment from the company. Most common among women, senior managers and United States employees.

Blind Loyalists (19 per cent)

Express loyalty toward their company, despite often feeling the company doesn't deserve it. Most common among women and British employees.

Mercenaries (6 per cent)

Feel company deserves their loyalty but do not feel any towards it. Only about half intend to be with the same company in three years. Mercenaries highest in non-managerial roles and those who don't understand their companies values.

Saboteurs (12 per cent)

Feel company doesn't deserve their loyalty, and don't feel any towards it. Only one in four of this group would speak highly of their company. A similar number would actively criticise it. Highest among men, employees with a three- to five-year tenure and British employees.