How
to build trust ...
Andrew
Gill on driving fear
out of the workplace.
My father worked
for the same company for over 30 years. When he retired, he received
a gold watch, his pension, and medical coverage for life. He never
considered working anywhere else, knowing that if he performed well
in his job, there would be periodic increases in responsibility and
pay as well as a job he could count on to support his family. A very
clear bond of trust existed between my father and the company that
employed him.
Consequently, the organisation
received maximum effort and commitment from a talented, dedicated
employee and my father received security and the knowledge that
he was appreciated by his employer.
Unfortunately, the trust
that existed between companies and their employees during my father's
working years was blasted out of existence by the business trends
of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Greed, short-term focus and unethical
leadership have all contributed to a growing cynicism in the workplace.
However, it is intensified competition that has led the revolution...and
that means that almost everyone has been affected - however well-intentioned.
It's therefore
not surprising that a recent survey conducted by DDI found that
over half all respondents agree that "lack of trust" was a significant
problem in their organisation.
Further examination
of the leading organisations found that one of the keys to their
success was a high trust environment and a high degree of employee
involvement and commitment the cornerstone of organisational success.
So how can organisations
build a high trust environment? Here are three crucial areas that
directly impact the level of trust.
Compensation system
Few subjects create
as much controversy and distrust as compensation. If people believe
that their organisation's objective is to pay them as little as
possible, their lack of trust will spill over into related areas,
and the vicious cycle of distrust begins.
Ways to ensure
your compensation systems is consistent and honest include:
Sharing salary
ranges with associates as appropriate. Individuals have a right
to know the ranges for their particular job categories and to see
how high their compensation will be if they make it to the top of
the range.
Make merit pay
decisions based on fair, objective data that reflect actual performance
levels. Nothing is more frustrating, or more damaging, to trust
in the workplace than perceived favouritism.
Make bonus systems
quantifiable in order to avoid discretionary or unilateral decisions
on bonus amounts.
Conduct internal
equity comparisons for the same or similar jobs. If two people in
the same job with similar backgrounds and experience make significantly
different salaries, trust erodes quickly. It is also advisable to
make external equity comparisons. If an organisation underpays,
it runs the risk of losing good people.
Work environment
This plays a significant
part in staff perceptions of how much their organisations cares
about them. Decor, type of furniture, carpeting and windows all
communicate how the organisation feels about their sense of comfort
and satisfaction with the place they work.
Surroundings don't
have to be luxurious, of course, but people need to feel comfortable
and relaxed at work. In addition, if management has significantly
more extravagant furnishings, their credibility and trust is at
risk.
Also important is the
atmosphere that exists in an organisation. A negative atmosphere
can send ripples of discontent throughout an organisation that extinguish
any hope of developing trust.
Leadership
Understandably,
many leaders find it difficult to use a high-trust approach when
they face the pressures of reducing profits, stagnant inflation
and losing market share. Yet effective leadership is one of the
most powerful ways to build trust.
Here are some
of the best ways a leader can open communication and build trust:
Be positive
Employees look
to leaders for direction, guidance, and inspiration. Leaders need
to focus on the positive aspects of people, events results, and
the organisation as a whole.
Seek ideas and listen
Leaders should
seek ideas from others to increase understanding of what is happening
and why. Too often, leaders listen with the intent of replying,
not understanding; then they reply only to the content of what was
said and miss out on hearing people's feelings.
Leaders can improve
their listening skills by getting into the habit of offering responses
that reflect the content and the feelings communicated. These show
an employee that the leader heard what the employee said and felt
about an issue.
Disclose
One of the fundamental
reasons employees have low trust in leaders is they simply don't
know what their leaders think or believe. This situation occurs
because leaders sometimes hesitate to disclose their feelings for
fear of appearing weak. When leaders remove the mystery surrounding
what they feel and think, people have a better understanding of
the leaders' position, behaviour and decisions, all of which enhance
the level of trust.
Don't shoot the messenger
Open communication
quickly evaporates when leaders "shoot the messenger". The bearer
of bad news isn't necessarily the cause of the bad news; and the
more frequently the messenger gets "shot", the lower the level of
trust between leaders and employees.
Be consistent
"Walking the talk" is
one of the best ways of fostering trust but is not always easy.
Many leaders know what they should do, but doing it every day is
difficult. Too often, leaders will say the right things but do the
opposite. Yet the way leaders go about their job will communicate
far more to the employee about what is important, than a hundred
emails or "corporate directives". Leaders need to realise that when
they make commitments, following through and keeping them is essential.
Andrew Gill is
general manager (consulting) with DDI Asia Pacific
and has worked with most of Australia's Top 500 organisations.
Ph: (02) 9466-0300.
