‘Loud Loyalty’: 6 Ways to Make This Trend Work

Quiet stuff sucks. So let’s embrace what’s new and loud in HR — “Loud Loyalty.”

Think about all the quiet trends that worked against HR, managers and companies as a whole: Quiet Firing. Quiet Vacationing. Quiet Cutting. Quiet Quitting.

In fact, we saw the highest number of voluntary quits ever in the past few years — more than 50 million, according to data compiled by Awardco. Employees left in droves for seemingly better opportunities.

But, by the end of 2023, quits dropped to 44.5 million. The glass castle shattered (or, at least, wasn’t so sparkly).

Now, the labor market is holding relatively steady, with few changes in turnover, hiring, quit and layoff rates, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

‘Loud Loyalty’ is Cool

Today, Loud Loyalty is cool.

“’Loud loyalty’ is really the counterargument to the quiet trends. It’s about creating a workforce that is engaged and enthusiastic not only about their own work, but about who they work with and the positive workplace experience they have cultivated,” says Stacey Messier, General Manager of New England at CIC. “Employees that have this enthusiasm and experience are often more inclined to stay with their current employers long-term.”

Not only do some employees want to stay loyal to their employers, they want to make their loyalty known — which can lead to an increase in employee referrals and new people being attracted to your organization.

But we aren’t suggesting this is altruistic loyalty: Some employees are staying because the market beyond their current work situation doesn’t look good. Or they’re sick of quitting jobs or looking for new jobs. Still, many stay because they like the company, people, goals and benefits of working where they do.

“We are at an inflection point when it comes to the future of the workplace, and new workplace trends are emerging daily,” says Messier. “Companies have the chance to flip the script on these quiet trends and find ways to authentically encourage loud loyalty to boost retention.”

Now’s the time to give employees more reasons to stay loyal. Here are six strategies.

Build Pride

In a related study on loyalty, researchers asked employees to talk about what would make them proud to work for an organization, regardless of whether their current employer exhibited these qualities.

The top things that make people proud to work somewhere:

• Fair compensation and benefits — which speaks for itself.
• Community impact. The company positively impacts the community.
• Employee recognition. It recognizes, acknowledges and rewards employees for their contributions.
• Employee development. The company gives them opportunities to grow, advance and learn.
• Respect and concern. The company and colleagues ensure a safe and secure workplace and create a positive and supportive culture.
• Transparency. Leadership is transparent in decision-making and communicating, plus it gets employees involved in significant decisions.
• Values and ethics. The company’s align with employees’ values.

So, to start, consider how your company stacks up when it comes to creating a place where people are proud to work.

Be Together With Purpose

We aren’t going to get deep into the debate about return to office mandates here. Most companies need to do what works best for them, their employees’ well-being and the bottom line.

But coming together can help employees want to stay loyal.

“A recent Harvard Business Review Analytic Services global survey found that 77% of decision-makers agree that their organization is interested in having employees attend in-person events to connect with a wider business community,” says Messier.

Whether you mandate time in the office or not, ” business leaders should be prioritizing and investing in purpose-driven programming, community development and in-person projects to attract employees into the office and keep them engaged.”

Celebrate More

Most people like a celebration — but not your run-of-the-mill pizza party. They want to recognize and celebrate things that matter to them — professionally and personally.

Managers will want to find out what their teams care about most and take time to celebrate wins in those areas.

“In my own team management, I’ve learned through post-meeting survey data that our staff cares deeply about celebrating one another’s anniversaries and promotions as well as how we’re doing across key metrics,” says Messier.

So you aren’t necessarily rewarding employee loyalty. You’re creating a culture that inspires connections and engagement across teams.

“If you create the type of experience that keeps your employees engaged, a natural outcome will be loud loyalty,” she says.

Let Employees Take Risks

Help employees take risks by empowering them with autonomy, decision-making authority and opportunities to take ownership of their work. This is possible when you give them tools to continuously train and build their confidence with new professional opportunities.

When possible, invite them to be innovative and creative by building a culture that values experimentation and continuous improvement.

Of course, this advice isn’t for the risk-adverse. If you ask people who are afraid to take risks, you’ll only alienate them.

Be Role Models

From the CIC study: “There is no greater path to building company pride than when employees respect the ethics of company leadership. Lead by example and demonstrate the company’s values through actions and behaviors. Foster trust, respect, and integrity in all interactions with employees. Provide inspirational leadership that motivates and inspires employees to perform at their best.”

Encourage Loud Loyalty

It doesn’t hurt to ask employees who are loyal and proud to spread the love.

Engaged employees also tend to participate in things inside and outside of work with colleagues and would-be colleagues. Encourage them to advocate for these events and invite others.

“Each time someone shares their positive experience with someone and invites them to join in, there is a strengthened sense of loyalty and community,” says Messier. “These experiences can also be amplified over social media, especially LinkedIn. This boosts internal morale but also spreads workplace positivity more broadly.”