Six ways to build trust with your employees

Last week I wrote an article, Four ways to build trust with your customers. I don’t think anyone would argue (and the statistics prove it) that a customer you trust is more likely to do more business with you. After all, why would they want to risk doing business elsewhere?

Well, that goes for employees too. With so many employment issues these days, getting and keeping good employees is more important than ever. One of the critical areas that can drive employee retention is trust. Like customers, if employees don’t trust you, they may end up leaving for a competitor. And in the world of employee retention, a competitor is any other company that provides employment.

With that in mind, here are six ways to build trust with your employees.

1. Listen to your employees. Ask them for feedback. Frontline employees often have a better chance of knowing what customers think and say about you than anyone in the company. Listen to them. And many employees have suggestions about processes and systems that can be improved. Creating an easy way for employees to share feedback and make suggestions can be a powerful way to improve the experience, both for customers and for the employees themselves.

2. Respond to the feedback and insights employees share with you. If you ask your employees for feedback and insights and don’t act on it, employees will end up resenting them for taking the time to offer their ideas and suggestions. And at some point they will see it as a pointless effort and a waste of time, even if what they share with you is important. Employees often give even more valuable feedback than customers. So, even if you choose not to use their suggestions, at least acknowledge their efforts, express appreciation, and let them know why.

3. Make leadership and management accessible. If there is a metaphorical wall between employees and leadership, employees will always feel on the outside. And if they feel like outsiders, any organization that makes them feel more involved and valued could be the next place your employee—who you thought was happy—will end up working. There are several ways to tackle this. An open door policy is not always realistic. Alternatively, consider having “office hours,” a special time each week when employees can make an appointment. The point is that it should be easy for employees to connect with their managers, supervisors, and leadership.

4. Get out of the office and mingle with ‘the people’. If employees only see management or leadership when there are problems, the sight of them will create a level of anxiety and tension. Years ago I read Tom Peter’s strategy which he called MBWA, Management by Wandering Around. The idea is that employees shouldn’t be afraid of the sight of management because they get used to seeing their bosses and leaders walking around. If a manager shows up just to point out problems or criticize, employees will always be concerned when they see a manager or leader walking in their neighborhood. The goal is to achieve trust, not fear.

5. Trust employees to do the work you hired them to do. If you hire good people and train them well, let them do their job. If employees feel that they are always being watched, scrutinized for their jobs and not allowed to make the decisions you have hired them for, they will feel unsatisfied and frustrated. This is ‘Enforcement 101’.

6. Treat employees the way you want the customer to be treated. I refer to this as The golden rule for employees. You cannot expect employees to behave towards customers and each other in a way that is different, such as better, than the way they are treated by their managers and leaders. Your actions and attitudes towards your employees should align with how you want them to treat your customers. You can’t invite them into your office, yell at them, and then, “Now go out and be nice to our customers.”

What happens on the inside of the organization is felt by customers on the outside. To create the best customer experience, you need to create a comparable employee experience, if not better. While there are many components that help create a great culture for an organization, one of the essentials is trust. Without it, you can’t expect to get and keep your best employees.