When you find and hire a candidate that seems like they will be the ideal team member who will take on their position with full responsibility, go the extra mile, make everyone feel better or happier, and will be a true asset to the practice, you would certainly want them to be loyal and stay for a long time, right?
What is the definition of loyalty? “It is a strong feeling of support or allegiance; being faithful to commitments or obligations.” You can see from this definition that you can’t force someone to feel loyalty. So the question begs, how DO you develop employee loyalty and keep these great staff?
3 Steps to Keep New Staff
- Ensure that the new staff member is given a full job description which includes all duties and expectations of that position and any protocols involved fully outlined. Also, an up-to-date copy of the Practice Policy Manual should be provided to them. In this way, they can quickly be brought up to speed on what is expected of them exactly. This gives certainty, guidance and comfort which is important when coming into a new situation.
- You and the rest of the team should pay lots of attention to the new member of the team. Helping them integrate into the team and feel accepted ensures they feel wanted, included and necessary to the team.
- Help them to become an effective, contributing part of the team. If you just hire them and let them sink or swim on their own, you are just as likely to lose them as to keep them. Investing time into helping them learn their duties quickly and become effective and productive will pay off in the long term.
A New Employee Needs:
- Help to learn their job duties and requirements
- To be told by you who can give them direct orders
- To find out what everyone else’s position does
- To learn where to find help when needed
- To find out where supplies, tools and other materials are kept.
- To feel integrated as part of the team
- To feel challenged (in a positive way)
- To know who to go to when in trouble
- To feel that their boss has a personal interest in their well-being
- To be acknowledged when they have done things right
- To feel happy coming into work every day.
Valuable and Contributing
A person who is producing something valuable and who feels they are contributing to the success of the practice is going to feel a strong loyalty to the practice and will therefore be much more likely to stay with you a long time
“Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down.
Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.”
– Grace Hopper, Naval Officer
