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Trust is a key ingredient of any successful relationship and trust is also an essential part of any organisation, especially in the workplace.
But building trust isn't always easy, particularly in larger companies where managers may not have much personal interaction with their teams. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to build trust in the workplace.
How can you build trust in the workplace? Here are 8 effective solutions:
1) Be honest and transparent. Don't hide information from your employees or clients, even if it makes you look bad. Doing so will only encourage them to distrust you in the future. If there's bad news, share it with them as soon as possible (and before someone else does).
2) Show respect for others' time and opinions by listening carefully and responding thoughtfully when they speak up during meetings or other discussions.
3) Offer praise when employees do good work — whether it's completing a project ahead of schedule or following through on a difficult assignment despite obstacles that could have derailed their efforts along the way. Praise doesn't cost anything but can go a long way toward building employee loyalty — and trust — throughout your company's ranks.
4) Demonstrate empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand how others are feeling, or how they may feel in a given situation. When used effectively, empathy can help bridge the gap between people who wouldn't normally connect otherwise. For example, if someone has an issue with their supervisor or manager, showing them empathy can help them feel more comfortable talking about it with you in a non-judgmental way.
5) Offer feedback. People are more likely to trust you if they feel valued and respected. One of the most effective ways to build this feeling is by giving feedback on performance and work habits. If an employee has been doing a good job, tell them so. If they’ve been making mistakes, offer constructive criticism and advice on how to improve.
6) Follow through on commitments. It can be difficult to keep track of everything that needs to be done at work sometimes, especially if you manage several projects at once or have multiple responsibilities within your department or team. However, following through on commitments shows employees that you care about them personally and are willing to go above and beyond when necessary — which will encourage them to trust you further down the line when new challenges arise in your working relationship.
7) Reliable communication. The first step toward building trust is being a reliable communicator. This means following through on commitments and communicating clearly about what you expect from others — without sending mixed messages or changing your mind later on. This may sound simple enough, but it’s surprisingly difficult in practice.
8) Have regular one-on-one meetings with each employee to discuss how they’re feeling about their work or their career path within the company. These conversations will allow you to learn more about each employee and their needs, which will help you better understand what motivates them so that you can communicate more effectively with them going forward.
Keep in mind that trust has many positive effects on a business. It can help reduce turnover and attrition, increase employee engagement and productivity, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and even help attract and retain top talent.
When you don't trust each other, communication becomes more difficult and misunderstandings can arise more frequently than they should — leading to resentment among team members. And when team members don't trust their leaders, they're less likely to take risks or go above and beyond the call of duty because they fear being punished rather than rewarded for their efforts.
Studies revealed that when employees trust each other, teams become more productive and engaged with their work; they are more likely to outperform their competitors by delivering higher levels of customer service, employee engagement and financial results.
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