No matter the industry a business is operating in, an efficient and effective workplace involves having employees who trust one another. Trust helps to boost productivity levels, enhances exceptional customer service, and provides a workplace where employees enjoy working. Trust is not instantaneously established among workers, so it is important for managers to create this atmosphere.
5. Create and enforce rules and standards
Your employees will have a hard time trusting one another if there are no rules to follow. No one will know what to expect from one day to the next, and not only does this hinder trust, but it also lessens productivity. When you create rules and standards, don’t make them so strict that no one enjoys coming to work, but simple common sense rules need to be enforced, such as:
- Stealing, etc. from employer or other employees will result in immediate termination
- No “water cooler gossip” about co-workers will be tolerated
- Everyone is responsible for their own workload, and, barring an emergency, each employee needs to consistently show up for work or provide a valid excuse.
4. Encourage attainable goals
Employees will find it is easier to trust one another when being realistic is a top priority. For example, a team project at a local manufacturing company is being carried and there is a two-day deadline. If this isn’t feasible, then all team members need to be realistic, and come up with an extended due date. If workers are constantly expected to meet deadlines that aren’t realistic, hostility towards each other and those in charge will foster. Unrealistic promises, just the same as unrealistic deadlines, make trusting one another difficult.
3. Implement effective forms of communication
If your workers don’t have effective forms of communication to take advantage of, both general and important messages won’t be properly delivered. Even the simplest of a message when not delivered to the right person at the right time can harm the level of trust in the workplace.
For example: your company carries out research studies, and Bob tells Sue to tell Bill that his assignment deadline has been moved up two days, but Sue fails to do so. Bill doesn’t ever get the information, so Bob becomes angry with him, and when they realize what happened, both now have difficulty trusting Sue. This could have been avoided by Bob simply telling Bill himself, be it through email, a message on his cell or work phone, or another pre-agreed upon method of communication.
2. Tell workers to follow up on all tasks and projects
No matter the work being carried out, your employees will find they trust one another more when assigned tasks are followed up on. Within reports, all of the employees involved with a particular project should provide their honest opinion on what could have been done to make the project simpler and more effective. An open and honest work environment can significantly increase employee trust between one another. It can also boost productivity. In fact, 69 percent of workers said they would work harder if they felt more appreciated, and this includes feeling more appreciated for each project that they carry out.
1. Be upfront and don’t spin the truth
You should always be upfront and professional with other employees. Even if you’re the low man on the totem pole at a local veterinarian office, being honest and upfront is key to building a workplace that boasts trust. Your coworkers can tell if you’re lying or spinning the truth, and when this happens, office gossip about you will start to get out of control. In the end, you have a workplace that’s full of drama and completely void of trust between anyone, not to mention you may find yourself out of a job.
Author Bio:
Sandra Mills is a freelance health and career writer. She often writes about practical ways that people can advance their careers and live happier lives.
