Loyalty in the Workplace

Read this article in the New York Times. It talks about how not many are staying loyal to their workplace. Seems aptly timed considering that it's the season of job-hopping here in Malaysia.

I always say that people leave their jobs because they are unhappy. Unhappy about the pay, unhappy about the workload, unhappy about the people...the list goes on. I mean, honestly, who in heck leaves their job, happy?

And I also always say that a job is an exercise in democracy. If you stayed with a job, it's coz' you "voted" for the company. That is, you're happy with the direction it's taking, you're happy with what it's doing, you're happy with what is in place.

But if you are leaving a job, it's coz' you "voted" against the company. You're unhappy with the pay, the powers that be, the people etc. etc. etc.

I see parallels of this with CRM. The very premise of CRM is to keep your existing customers happy. Happy so that they'll stay loyal with your brand. Happy so that they'll continue to buy your products or maybe buy even more of your products.

But something's got to give. With CRM, you've gotta give them something in return for that loyalty.

How is this different with loyalty in the workplace? Or maybe the correct question to ask is Why should it be different?

The answer is it shouldn't. Something's got to give.

The problem is most companies seem to take the easy way out when it comes to attempts at retaining staff. They start throwing money at you because (and they are right about this) the singular most common reason why people leave their jobs is money...or lack thereof.

But after awhile, once the allure of the dollar signs loses its potency, that's when the real reason surfaces. And that's harder to fix. Reasons like work that is not challenging or lack of managerial support or lack of training or the long hours etc. etc. etc.

The article I mentioned offered a remedy. It says that "employers need to make jobs more challenging and give workers more creative leeway". The sad part about this remedy is that a lot of companies will have to figure out what the definition of that would be.

Can there be something to learn from CRM? In a way, all the jobs in companies out there are already doing something similar to CRM, i.e. the longer you stay with us, we will reward you with salary increments, promotions or bonuses. But that's the old-fashioned way.

With CRM, no one is gonna stay with a brand just because they can get better discounts or birthday gifts.  If it's a crappy product or service, you can bet people will say adios to the brand. Even after sales service or customer care service plays a huge part in keeping one with the brand.

The same goes with jobs.  If a company doesn't do what it says it's gonna do, that can be reason enough to leave.    If a company does not provide the tools of the trade or training that can improve an employee's productivity, that can be a reason to leave. If a company is doing something that is against one's principles, that too can be a reason to leave.

The reason to stay with something or someone or some company can be the most flimsiest of reasons but it's not flimsy to the person who chooses to stay.   At the end of the day, it's all about relationships. The employer and the employee are in a relationship together. Both has to do their parts to make the relationship work.