Rethinking Business Communications Blog

Even the most skeptical and suspicious of people trusts someone or something. 

Some equate trust to faith, some to destiny or luck, and for those scientific minds: trust is related to a predicted outcome.

So, as children, we trusted our parents when they told us Santa actually delivered the Christmas presents. Why? Because they loved us; they said so, and they were our parents.

Or we trust our doctors when they tell us that by eating healthily and exercising, we can stave off health-related problems. Why? Because research and proven results support their sound advice.

Sometimes, trust is considered ‘blind’, especially in religion. But what cynics label ‘blind and irrational belief’ is what some happily defend as faith.

The point here is that trust is established because of two reasons — either because of the nature/credibility of the person to whom trust is targeted (such as parents, doctors, and teachers) or because of the proven outcomes of the phenomenon (e.g., eating healthier and exercising reduces the risk of heart-related ailments).

At the workplace, the same rings true as trust is established by these two ‘pillars’ — the credibility of the person to whom it is directed and the actions/results displayed by that person.

Trust is desired in an organisation because it’s a crucial indicator of favourable outcomes: ranging from worker motivation/commitment and engagement to excellent performance and high productivity.

So, how can a company establish trust and keep it?

Let’s focus on these two ‘pillars’ of trust:

1) The person

This might be as specific as the CEO or as ambiguous as ‘Management’. It encompasses all those in authority at different levels, so team leaders, supervisors, and managers could all be seen as ‘trust-generators’.

However, the CEO is the most visible driver of perceptions in order to inculcate organisational-wide trust. 

So, Mr/Ms CEO, the most obvious way to get your workers to trust you is to become transparent and credible.

You could achieve this by being open about the favourable and dismal facts about the company. First, communicate simply so there’s no ambiguity in your vision. Next, develop a  Communications Strategy highlighting all six components. Ensure you regularly give factual and timely feedback to track progress. Be that elusive, credible leader and be consistent in your attitudes and behaviours. Finally, demand your executives to do the same and establish sanctions to pre-empt defaulters or those who lose steam.

As Linda Galindo, an executive accountability coach with twenty years of experience echoes in many of her articles, you must become accountable and inculcate ‘100% ownership’ in all facets of your business. As CEO, you must be responsible for your actions and demand the same for all, especially from those whose roles cover responsibility.

Remember that trust is a perception slowly built over considerable time, so don’t expect quick results. In fact, you should view the process as a slow burn or a slow-cooked roast.

When you and your executive cadre become trustworthy, your employees unconsciously become so themselves.

However, suppose you, Mr/Ms CEO, lack integrity, are involved in or have approved questionable and unethical practices. Then you might as well forget about imbibing a culture of trust in your company.

You simply can’t give what you don’t have.

2) The actions/outcomes

This corresponds to the ‘How’ component of an effective communications strategy and explains how many organisational initiatives are successfully implemented.

Sometimes, we trust the outcomes of a specific activity because they have been consistently proven and they hold true. So, if you test them multiple times, using different methods, you can be sure of getting the same results. Other times, these actions solve a problem/concern we have or they provide significant value to us.

For example, Mr/Ms CEO, you’ve suspended, or fired executives in your ‘inner circle’ who leaked confidential information or used unethical (albeit legal) means to increase sales. You acted because they breached the company of ethics and transparency. If your actions are consistently applied,  without fear or favour, you win the trust of your employees. It doesn’t matter if different, ingenious, or complicated methods of breaking your company’s code of conduct are used; the result/outcome/action would be the same. The executives, especially those in the managerial cadre, will face the consequences of their actions.

In essence, employees would trust the system of accountability because it addresses their concern of favouritism in the workplace. When they feel they would be treated fairly via an impartial system, they become more motivated, engaged or ‘tuned on’ in their duties. This trust would then extend to you, Mr/Ms CEO, the driver of that system. More engaged workers increase productivity for your company. If your employees are happy with the structure you have set up and with your consistent actions, they are unlikely to leave. They become eager cheerleaders to outsiders, boosting your corporate reputation.

On the flip side, if actions taken to remedy specific concerns are arbitrary, inconsistent, and even flawed, they won’t offer value to your employees. Consequently, your staff would ‘tune off’ from their roles. This leads to the unfavourable development of employee disengagement.

This is how it works: Trust cannot be cultivated without consistent, proactive actions. Without trust, motivation is stalled, and disengagement rises, leading to negative results.

According to a Forbes article, findings from a recent Gallup research on employee engagement involving more than 350,000 respondents, spanning three years, revealed that 70% of American workers were ‘not engaged’ or ‘actively disengaged’. They were emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and were less likely to be productive. Moreover, actively disengaged employees were estimated to cost the US $450 billion to $550 billion yearly in lost productivity. These disgruntled employees were more likely to steal from their companies, negatively influence their co-workers, miss workdays, and drive customers away.

The figures, although shockingly high, are ironically not surprising, given the widespread disillusionment of professionals with their companies around the globe.

So, the absence of trust at the workplace, Mr/Ms CEO, would cost your company millions, sooner or later.

Conclusion

As I stated earlier, we all trust in someone or something.

At the workplace, organisational-wide trust can be cultivated if the leadership is credible, and if tested, consistent actions are taken to build upon a foundation of transparency.

In a nutshell, that is how to generate trust and keep it going.

Over to you:

1) In what other ways can you increase trust at the workplace? Let us know!

2) Be social – kindly share in your social networks by clicking on the icons below. 

Recommended reading

Inside The Complicated Mind Of The Employee

Employee Retention: 5 Reasons I Would Leave Your Company

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N:B – First, second and fifth images are courtesy of Stuart Miles via freedigitalphotos.net. Third and fourth images are courtesy of Rattigon and Jscreationzs, respectively via freedigitalphotos.net.