Trust: The Intangible with Tangible Benefits

High turnover. Poor morale. Low productivity and performance. There are few business leaders who haven’t faced one or all of these issues at one time or another. And when faced with these issues many questions arise about how to prevent them. Your Human Resource advisor tells you to implement an Employee Relations program. So you do. However, if you have missed the critical component of creating trusting relationships with your staff, you may be wasting your time.

Trust. Without it your staff will leave. If they stay you may wish they hadn’t. They may even file lawsuits or unionize.

So what does it mean to inspire trust? It means creating an environment where employees feel safe and that their needs are considered when important decisions are made. It means that they know what is going on with the business and that they can offer feedback without fear of repercussion.

Sounds easy. Nevertheless, many employees will tell you that they don’t

trust their supervisors and are not confident in their employer. They may also tell you that they don=92t feel their supervisor trusts them.

One of the most valuable tools to use in inspiring trust is communication. Not a new concept. Many business owners say they DO communicate with their staff. However, we often forget that the communication street runs both ways. Sure, we tell employees what we think they need to know but we forget to ASK employees for feedback. Sometimes employees are asked for feedback but in the tone that indicates that the boss really doesn’t want to know. If you want to inspire trust, ASK then LISTEN. Then, do something! (That doesn’t mean punishing them if you don’t like what they tell you). Employees often become jaded because the suggestion box never gets answered. When you ask for feedback, you’d better be prepared to respond. Even if the suggestion is not feasible, take the time to explain why. If they are asking questions, give an honest response. Employee trust often flows simply from understanding why something is happening or why a particular business decision has been made.

In an age of more frequent workplace violence, safety is also important in inspiring trust. To create a feeling of safety, develop and communicate to all staff safety procedures in the event that a threat of violence occurs. Having a plan creates a feeling of security and avoids chaos if something does happen. In addition, comply with all safety regulations and provide all the necessary equipment to protect staff against injury.

Employees are astute observers. They read and interpret your every action as the leader. Be aware that your behavior can either create or destroy a feeling of trust. Your behavior becomes the standard. Are all of your business decisions perceived as ethical? Do you behave as you expect your staff to behave?

Staff development also brings a feeling of trust to your employees because it indicates that you care about them and their future. They know that their professional success matters to you. Staff development also means training employees properly and offering additional training when requested. Providing opportunities to learn new skills while working also inspires trust. In a small business, staff development can be provided by promoting attendance at seminars conducted at institutions like Edison Community College or FGCU’s Small Business Development Center.

How do you deal with conflict among your staff? Do you ignore it, hoping that they will work it out among themselves? Or do you facilitate constructive communication among the staff so that differences can be resolved? You are not expected to solve conflicts among the staff; you are expected to create a process where they can solve it among themselves. That doesn’t mean threats like ‘work it out or you-re fired’. It means: ‘I’d like you to get together, discuss your differences and create a solution.’

Another key component to inspiring trust is the establishment of performance expectations that are consistently promoted. One of the biggest mistakes supervisors make is being inconsistent in the discipline of staff. Discipline isn’t easy. Sometimes the tendency of managers is to ignore performance shortfalls hoping they will be miraculously cured. The rest of the staff observes this and becomes cynical and disrespectful towards the supervisor over time. Reestablishing trust within your workgroup then becomes extremely difficult.

Finally: respect and dignity. Do you treat your employees that way? All the time? Talking ‘down’ to staff certainly inspires nothing but discontent. To inspire trust you need to talk with them not at them.

Trust is an intangible that can have tangible results. Talk to your staff, ask for feedback, and promote a safe environment. Be consistent and treat your employees with dignity and you will improve your results.

Libby Anderson is a human resource consultant and trainer. She can be reached via e-mail at edahrsvcs@aol.com.