I was chatting with a colleague the other day about the importance of building a culture of trust at work. And by this, I’m not talking about how you as a leader ensure the trustworthiness of your staff. No, I mean how important it is that your staff
a) believe they can place their trust in you and other leaders and managers in your company
and
b) feel trusted to get on with their jobs, be supported in their decisions, contribute their ideas, and share their feedback without fear of being criticised, undermined or punished.
What Happens When Trust Is Missing
I once worked in an organisation that certainly did not have a culture of trust. Rumours abounded of hidden cameras in meeting rooms, that the loos were bugged, and that “anonymous” feedback gathered via staff surveys was covertly tracked – so you spoke your mind at your own risk (true or not, this is what people believed). What was true was that burly security guards were regularly stationed at the exits to search employees leaving the premises at the end of the day, in a bid to eliminate the perceived threat of pilfering. The company also had a pair of private detectives on the payroll whose job it was to discretely monitor the movements of staff away on sick leave, presumably to ensure they weren’t moonlighting or holidaying in Tenerife. With the detectives and the security guards all reporting into Human Resources, it was hardly surprising that HR had come to stand for all that was sinister and menacing and became known as ‘The Gestapo’.
The impact of all this on the organisational culture and staff morale was damaging in the extreme. An atmosphere of intimidation, paranoia and fear prevailed. Now this was 20 years ago and happily I have heard that big improvements have since been made in that particular organisation – which is great, as trust is absolutely essential if you want an engaged and productive workforce. Because when trust is missing, it erodes commitment, motivation, innovation and goodwill. In turn, these all impact the harder measures of attendance, retention, productivity and – inevitably – your company’s business performance and its bottom line. How ironic that it was exactly these outcomes that this particular organisation valued most highly. And these were clearly the real drivers behind all the mistrustful practises.
So what do we actually mean by ‘trust in the workplace’?
To quote The Great Place To Work Institute: “Trust is the defining principle of great workplaces – created through management’s credibility, the respect with which employees feel they are treated, and the extent to which employees expect to be treated fairly.” You can find out more here http://www.greatplacetowork.co.uk/. Time and again, studies have shown that organisations that genuinely place trust in their staff, and actively encourage trust within and between teams, significantly outperform organisations that do not.
Why is Trust So Important?
Well trust is essential for people to feel safe, and feeling safe is a basic human need. If we don’t feel safe at work, we’re much less likely to express ourselves openly and share our opinions and ideas. We are less likely to innovate, try different approaches, and take risks. We are less likely to feel confident enough to be decisive, accountable, pull out all the stops and go above and beyond what is required. We are less likely to give voice to disagreement – even when we see mistakes being made. In short, if you don’t have a culture of trust in your organisation you will be discouraging the very behaviours that are essential in helping your business to thrive.
So, assuming you are not in the habit of secretly filming your staff, searching their bags at the door, or following them to Boots in a trilby and trench coat taking notes as they shuffle round sneezing and stocking up on cough mixture, what else can you do proactively build trust in your company?
To do justice to this question will take another post.. so next time I’ll talk about how you can develop a culture of trust across your company, through your own personal actions and behaviour as a leader.
Photo Credit: Hands by Kirsty Andrews
