Trust.
Trust, what is it and why is it important in building great companies?
There are just a few elemental forces that hold our world together and the one that is the glue of society is trust. Its presence cements relationships by allowing people to feel safe, to belong and ultimately to be able to live and work together.
Most leaders I have spoken with will agree that the lack of trust is one of the greatest inhibitors to building amazing businesses and yet for some reason, many companies still do not consider building trust is a strategy that warrants significant investments. One of the key reasons for this is that trust is often considered something soft and very hard to measure. However, without trust, our ability to build energised, inspired, unbeatable, high performing client centric businesses founded on the principles discussed in my previous blog, would be nigh on impossible.
Trust is built through honesty, authenticity, accountability, dependability, openness and vulnerability, not through platitudes and preaching of values but by ensuring we promote & foster safe environments for these behaviours and therefore people to thrive. According to the Edelman "Trust Barometer" (a survey of 33,000 people in 28 countries), one in three people don’t trust their employer. One of the basic principles about building trust is that trust is built from the inside out. It’s almost impossible to imagine a company being able to be trusted by its customers if, at its core, it is not trusted by its employees. For me personally, trust is also a leap of faith. One of my favourite quotes...
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." ― Ernest Hemingway
There's lots of real data from places like the Harvard Business Review, SHRM, Great Place to Work, Accenture, etc. that prove the benefits of building highly-trusted workplaces has a direct correlation to high performing businesses.
Trust enhances teamwork and collaboration. Trust in the workplace has a big impact on how employees collaborate and work together and is driven by open and honest communication in the workplace, which must come from the top and inculcated throughout the organisation.
Trust improves innovation and creativity. When people feel free to communicate, express their ideas, and when they trust their employers, managers, and colleagues, they are more likely to be innovative and offer far more solutions to challenges that the organisation and/or their customers may face. Available research highlights that, when there is more trust in the workplace, employees are 23% more likely to offer more ideas and solutions.
Trust improves organisational alignment. When employees trust their employers, they are much more likely to work together towards achieving the same ultimate business goals.
Trust improves efficiency, engagement, and productivity. Research shows that highly trusted workplaces enjoy a 50% higher employee productivity, 106% more energy at work, 13% fewer sick days and companies with high employee to employee and employee to employer trust levels generally outperform companies with low trust levels by 186%.
Trust enhances decision making. Trust is a two-way street. Employees have to trust in their leaders, and equally, leaders must have trust in their own teams. When this happens, employees are more likely to be empowered to make their own decisions and are more likely to have the confidence and courage to make them.
Trust overcomes resistance to change. The last year and the challenges that almost every organisation around the world faced due to COVID, is a great example of the need for organisations to adapt quickly and be able to align their entire workforce with the numerous new initiatives and ways of work. Without trust, getting employees’ buy-in and cooperation, which is crucial for change to be successful would not be possible.
So, what will you do to engender trust in your organisation?
Ken