What do employees who experience less stress, more energy, higher productivity, fewer sick days, less burnout, more engagement, and more satisfaction with their lives in general have in common? According to Forbes, these are all traits shared by employees who work at “high-trust” organizations.
Building trust between employee and employer is crucial to an organization’s success, so laying the groundwork for a work environment focused on trust is well worth the effort.
Keep Employees in the Loop
Employees like to know what is happening with the organization, current and future. According to Harvard Business Review, if there is a void of information, people will always fill it with negative information which only fuels the rumor mill.
It is important to be transparent and open about anything that is shareable, good or bad. Performance metrics, financials, culture, and strategy are all good places to start. This can be done through town halls or team meetings, email blasts, social media or the organization’s blog if appropriate.
Some employers such as Buffer, a social media optimization company, take it a step further and share even their compensation formulas publicly. This reassures employees that they are being paid fairly, and in Buffer’s case, reinforces one of their core values that transparency breeds trust.
Connect and Engage
Understanding and relating to your employees is a cornerstone of trust. According to Officevibe, putting in the time and effort to get to know your employees on a human and personal level is vital to building mutual trust and loyalty.
Small gestures go a long way. Ask about an employee’s weekend or vacation. Take an interest in his or her hobbies or family. At the same time, share your personal interests. Be accessible to your employees and make a daily effort to say hello, touch base, and offer your help as needed. This lets employees know that not only are you their manager, but also their teammate.
According to Best Employee Surveys, the best way to engage and empower employees is by showing them that you are all working together toward a common goal. By rolling up your sleeves, openly communicating with them, and trusting them to accomplish important tasks, you in turn gain their trust by treating them as equals while guiding them as a leader.
Turn Mistakes into Learning Opportunities
Managers can earn their employees’ trust by showing support for employees when they make mistakes. The way a manager reacts to an employee’s mistake can make or break trust.
According to Insperity, employees appreciate it when their manager quickly debriefs them on the mistake and then treats it as a growth opportunity. Conversation starters such as “Talk me through what led you to that decision,” “What do you think went wrong?”, and “Let’s talk about what can be done differently next time,” helps the employee learn from the mistake instead of just feeling the failure of it. It also reassures the employee that he or she can trust coming to his or her manager with any future concerns, roadblocks, or issues, knowing that the feedback will be constructive.
On the flip side, managers also need to own up to their own mistakes. It’s important to show that just because you are in a leadership role, doesn’t mean you know everything. Taking responsibility for a mistake and fixing it shows that managers are human too, and we all have room for improvement.
Give Trust to Gain Trust
In order to create a trust-centric culture, employers need to be able to trust their employees as well. According to Harvard Business Review, trust begets trust, but people must feel trusted to reciprocate trust.
Invest in employee development, ditch micromanagement, allow for flexible work arrangements, and be open to new ideas and ways of doing things. These are all ways to foster an environment of trust.
Building trust within your organization doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a conscious effort to rethink some of the traditional mindsets of employer/employee relationships. If trust is not already ingrained in your organization’s culture, giving up some control may seem scary, but it is worth the risk. As Steve Jobs famously said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
If you are wondering whether you should invest in making trust a top priority in your organization, ask yourself instead whether you can afford not to. After all, according to Forbes, trust is an investment with one of the best returns you’re ever going to get.
