The first thing that you need to consider is how willing your employees are to help their company when it is necessary. This means that if you have employees who are willing to go out of their way to do a good job and if they not only help the company but help each other as well, you will find that things will go much more smoothly. Part of being a good manager is being able to understand the dynamics of your staff and how well they interact. Sometimes, just listen with half an ear to the talk that is going around or even to how the employees speak to one another. The issue is that when there is stress and tension, loyalty is not going to be something that is possible.
Remember that loyalty is not something that is going to come free. Though this does not mean that it can be bought, you will find that as a manager, you will get what you give. If you expect your employees to be flexible for you, you will find that you are going to need to be flexible for them. Consider what you can do for them that will make their lives easier and what you can expect in return. Remember that you are dealing with people who are concerned about their lives outside of work; and in many cases, they are playing a very precarious balancing game. Instead of fighting for their time or their attention, consider what you can do to help them get the most out of their time.
One important example of what you can do to get your employee's loyalty involves time and reciprocal exchange. If an employee needs a flexible schedule, you'll find that if you give it to him/her, he/she is going to be much better disposed to helping you when you need that employee to volunteer to work late. This is the sort of exchange and loyalty that you can expect when you are thinking about how to get the best results out of your employees.
Take a moment to consider how employee loyalty might affect your work and what you can do to make sure that you are going to be able to get the results that you need.