When you hire a new employee—especially somebody considered to a superstar and who is expected to make an immediate impact—you’d like for that employee to be loyal.
After all, you’re investing a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money into them. Their loyalty would be a nice return on that investment.
Alas, that’s not always the case. So . . . how can you tell? According to a recent article by Jeff Haden of Inc. magazine, loyal employees exhibit six characteristics:
- They treat you like a person. You have hopes, fears, goals, and aspirations just like they do . . . and they know it.
- They tell you what you least want to hear. Why? Because they know you need to hear it, especially if it benefits the company and its employees in the long run.
- They’ll never criticize you in front of others—They understand that if they want to receive respect, they also have to give it.
- They disagree in private. Disagreeing in public can be disruptive. However, disagreeing in private can be productive and lead to fresh ways of thinking and new directions for growth.
- They totally support your decisions in public. They don’t undermine your authority or your decisions by planting the seeds of doubt.
- They tell you when they need to leave. You don’t find out when they submit their two-week notice. You find out before that happens, because they want you to prepare.
Of course, these six criteria can also be applied to your other employees, regardless of their skill or talent level or how long they’ve been with the company.
You never want to lose a loyal employee (whatever the reason), but if it happens, you want to do everything you can to replace them with another one.
Inc. magazine link:
//business.time.com/2012/09/11/6-qualities-of-remarkably-loyal-employees/