Building Trust In the Workplace

Trust-Meter

I recently had a question asked of me as to how to build better trust in the workplace.  What a GREAT question!  Seriously, this person really understood that trust is a lynch-pin to an organization's effectiveness.  People want to work at companies where trust is high.  If you're the type of company that has a hard time attracting and retaining talent, you might have to take a long, hard look at your "Trust-Meter." 

How Do You Measure "Trust"?

Maybe this is the best question of all.  What indicators do you look at when you consider whether or not you have high trust within your workplace?  Managers, some indicators may include:

• Do employees come to you with personal problems and questions?
• Do your employees actively volunteer for projects, committees, teams and company-sponsored events?
• Do you feel comfortable when you hold "all-employee meetings"?
• Do your people look you in the eye?  Do they actively seek you out?
• Do your people accept change well? 
• Do your employees use positive descriptors when they speak about the company or their job?
• Do your employees generally have good attendance?
• Does your company have low turnover for your industry?
• Are your employees high-performing (low drama, good output, consistent results)?

If you've answered "YES" to all of these questions, then chances are great that you have high trust in your organization.  For the rest of you....let's continue.

Trust Starts With You

Building trust starts first with your leadership.  The best boss I've ever had was steady, consistent, predictable, had great follow-through, communicated well, asked questions, and most importantly, gave trust to his employees BEFORE he expected them to trust him. 

Leaders need to be worthy of earning someone's trust.  They need to understand that employees watch everything that their leaders do and say.  They use these observations to determine if you're a trust-worthy person, or if you're a self-seeking individual who will turn coat whenever adversity arises.  Be mindful of your actions.  It takes years and years sometimes to build trust within a team, and a single bad decision to destroy that trust. 

Next time, I'll talk about specific strategies you to employ to build trust within your team.

Kathleen Lapekas - PHR

Action HR Consulting

For Personal Attention to Personnel Matters...

www.actionhrconsultant.com