When Loyalty Strategies Work
Loyalty in the workplace is a big topic these days.
I often see articles directing this attribute to a generation: “those crazy millennials jump ship as much as Ohio weather changes…”
But it isn’t just millennials, nor should it be.
If a company’s talent is leaving, especially the good talent, it’s because they’re not getting what they need. Laszlo Bock, SVP of People Operations at Google (that’s how Google says “Human Resources”) and author of WORK RULES!, narrowed it down to two factors — neither of which is money.
- The quality of the people they work with
- The feeling that the work they do is meaningful
It’s 100% true.
Our People
I love everyone I work with. They are the Ronald Weasley & Hermione Granger to my Harry Potter. The caffeine to my coffee. We respect each other’s crafts, trust each other’s judgments, and look to one another for outside perspective. Not many people can say that about ALL of their co-workers.
This didn’t happen by accident.
We have high standards. Every candidate is reviewed by the team at multiple intervals of the interview process. We assess their talent, experience, communication style and whether or not their personality will fit into our agency culture. In addition to looking at their presentation of work and of themselves, we research each person. We chat with shared acquaintances, review social profiles and read blogs; we obtain as much background information as we can. If a candidate makes it to the last round, we all cram into a conference room and do a panel style interview. Having that many people stare at you is quite intimidating, we know this, because we’ve all been in the hot seat. But we’re friendly people, so this is more of a round discussion where the candidate is the topic. We want to know you, for you. We also want you to get to know us.
The reason we do this is simple .
“We are not a team because we work together. We are a team because we respect, trust, and care for each other.”
— Vala Afshar
We are a highly collaborative team. We feed off of each other’s energy and ideas, building and validating possibilities. If there were mistrust or a lack of respect amongst team members, the thing that makes us “us” would fail.
There is a catalysis effect when respect and trust for a co-worker is lost. Energy dies out. Communication breaks down. Collaboration stops. People check out. Productivity suffers. Creativity suffers. Innovation suffers.
Bummer, right? On so many levels.
We don’t want that for our employees. We want them to love coming into work. We want them be present and in the moment. Their input helps make what we produce better. That is why we elected them to the team. And that is why we are so picky.
Our Work
Good marketing is about aligning a brand and its products to the customer’s personal beliefs and values. It’s what will make them choose Brand X over a competitor time and time again. It’s a law of attraction — we gravitate to things that share our interests, beliefs and passions. What some companies don’t often realize is this strategy applies to their employees as well.
When the personal beliefs and values of employees align with the beliefs and the values of the company, magic happens. There is a charge in the air, and it’s infectious. Work becomes meaningful. Dr. Brent D. Rosso (et al.) reported that finding meaning in one’s work has been shown to increase motivation, engagement, empowerment, career development, job satisfaction, individual performance and personal fulfillment, and to decrease absenteeism and stress (Research in Organizational Behavior).
We strive to make life easier. We believe technology should simplify tasks. Interactions should be seamless and unobtrusive. We want to solve problems.
We look for people who are passionate and meticulous about their craft, who know that collaboration internally and externally builds a better end product, and who genuinely want to contribute to the big picture. We do this because that’s what we (the brand) believe and because it’s what we deliver to both our clients and the people who use what we make.
Simon Sinek summed it up nicely when he said,
“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.”
The Take Aways
- Be picky. New hires should add to the quality of the team dynamic and end product.
- Hire people who share the brand’s beliefs and values. If they believe in the brand, they’ll find meaning in their work.
If a company can do that and, of course, practice what they preach, talent will stay.
