Loyalty

There are many forms of loyalty. One can be loyal to a friend, spouse, job, school, cause, principle, or mission. Business owners expect loyalty from employees and desire it from customers. Politicians in the CNMI depend on the loyalty of family and friends to get or keep them in office. And the military demands loyalty from its forces to accomplish its objectives.

Yet, to gain loyalty one must be able to give loyalty to individuals, and a lack of loyalty makes one less worthy of the trust of others. In the military, loyalty is drilled into new recruits who are expected to follow orders without question, but a great officer realizes that before he can win on the battlefield he must first win the hearts and minds of his soldiers. Viscount Montgomery said: “If he wins that battle and subsequent similar ones, his men will follow him anywhere; if he loses it, he will never do any real good.”

The military genius of World War II, Gen. George S. Patton, once said: “There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent.”

It may be obvious that those in the armed forces hold loyalty in high regard; however, it appears to be less than obvious to business owners and managers. It is this lack of loyalty in the private sector that can lead to losses on the business battlefield to gain market share and capture profits.

In his book, The Customer Comes Second, Hal Rosenbluth shares how to build highly effective teams and inspire loyalty from the workforce. As CEO of Rosenbluth Travel, he believes that loyalty must come down first before it can be expected to come up from employees. The first place to demonstrate the commitment your company has to employees is to create a lasting first impression after hiring someone.

Rosenbluth states: “Most people spend their first days on a new job filling out forms. But the beginning of a career should be an event to remember. A creative and inspiring orientation program gets everyone in step, instills culture, and builds loyalty—rewards that will repay a company time and again.”

When we’ve conducted informal surveys with groups and asked how many people had a formal employee orientation shortly after being hired, the response has been dismal. Small businesses basically do not have one. Larger companies and government departments usually have some form of an orientation, but it would not be labeled “inspiring.”

After the orientation meeting, it is important to make people feel they will have a challenging and fulfilling job in both good times and in bad. A lot of employees are made to feel like human fodder that can easily be discarded at the slightest hint of financial difficulties. A prominent bank on island was going through reengineering several years ago and the branch manager shared with us that everyone in the organization dreaded the final results of the consulting firm hired to streamline the bank’s processes. No one felt his or her job was secure—even the bank manager. Morale was at an abysmal low, productivity was down, and people had their résumés updated to find other work. The bank manager eventually found other employment because he felt no loyalty from corporate headquarters.

By contrast, Rosenbluth Travel experienced a financial downturn during the Gulf War because people were afraid to fly. Travel came to a virtual standstill and layoffs were quickly initiated at their competitors. No one at Rosenbluth lost his or her job. Hal states: “In the short run, our people benefited from remaining employed. In the long run, the company benefited by keeping the best people and cementing their loyalty.”

They were able to keep their people because they had earned the trust of employees who knew the company would do everything possible to find solutions. The philosophy of people over profits builds confidence, trust, and loyalty within an organization. With a strong foundation of loyalty coming down from the top, it becomes easier for workers to focus on creating loyal customers, and loyal customers means repeat sales, referrals, and new business.

In order to get loyalty, you must first give your loyalty to employees, customers, vendors, and partners. Make and keep promises to others and yourself. Establish values and a service philosophy that inspires people, and lets them know they can count on you to do what you say, and be true to your word. Then you can live by the quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “This above all else; to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst then be false to any man.”

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)