Has employee loyalty increased in the pandemic?

The majority of employers believe staff loyalty has increased following the pandemic, despite only half of employees feeling the same way, research has found.

A poll of 491 senior managers and 1,061 employees, found that 64% of senior leaders believed staff became more loyal because of their company’s response to the pandemic. However, the same poll found just 45% of employees felt their firms handled the coronavirus pandemic well and were more loyal as a result. In comparison, a fifth of employees said they felt less loyal as a consequence of their employer’s response to the pandemic.

Senior managers were most likely to cite keeping staff happy as one of the top three business challenges followed by increasing staff turnover and involving those who work from home. Among employees, involving those who work from home was the top concern followed by keeping staff happy and protecting health and safety.

The research shows that employers who embrace flexibility and consider workplace support to ensure that employees are included wherever they work will have a significant advantage in attracting and retaining those employees.

Support can be as simple as informing all employees of job and training opportunities and inviting home-based colleagues to attend office-based meetings either in person or via online platforms. Ensuring that all employees feel valued, despite being remote, will build loyalty.  It is also important that managers are trained to conduct one to one meetings with their teams, ensuring that communication is maintained despite remote working and other operational difficulties which may have been caused by working through the pandemic.

121 HR Solutions can assist businesses with managers’ training, and can be contacted at enquiries@121hrsolutions.co.uk