Trust and belonging are two critical, but often overlooked, qualities of highly effective teams and workplaces. When employees trust their colleagues and feel connected to the mission of the organization, they are happier and more productive. Crucially, they are also more engaged and enthusiastic about their work. Trust and belonging translate into better customer satisfaction, higher-quality products, and increased profitability.
The Boston Consulting Group examined stakeholder perceptions of 1,000 of the world’s largest companies to gain a better understanding of trust in the workplace. This study found that the 100 most trusted companies generated 2.5 times as much value as comparable businesses. The study also discovered that trust is highly dynamic: Fewer than half of the Top 100 companies from any given year were still in the Top 100 the following year. For the Bottom 100, turnover was as high as 70%. Trust and belonging can’t be taken for granted; leaders must measure and manage trust on an ongoing basis.
In today’s dynamic global business environment, with multiple stakeholder groups and rapidly evolving expectations, growing and maintaining trust and belonging can seem challenging. To manage these crucial factors effectively, leaders must measure staff sentiments and track progress over time. While the concepts can seem abstract, employee trust and belonging can be assessed using three methods: surveys, stay interviews, and indirect evidence.
Track and measure employee experience using periodic and pulse surveys.
Center your employee engagement survey around factors that drive feelings of trust and belonging as well as characteristics of high-trust teams. Consider including the following topics in your survey:
Factors related to the individual
- I think that, in general, most people can be trusted.
- I am confident that my coworkers will fulfill their responsibilities.
- My opinions are heard and valued.
Factors related to the team
- Everyone on the team, including top performers, is held accountable for negative actions/behaviors
- Team achievements are recognized and celebrated.
- Team members rely on each other to accomplish team goals.
- Team members ask for help when they need it.
- Team members give assistance freely and ask how they can help the rest of the team.
Factors related to management
- Leaders treat all employees fairly and without bias.
- Employees are given discretion in what they work on and how they accomplish their work.
- Managers work intentionally to build individual relationships with team members.
- Managers facilitate professional growth of employees.
- Leaders show vulnerability by asking their reports for help.
- Managers monitor employees’ work and frequently check their output.
Rather than asking open-ended questions, ask respondents to assign a value to a series of statements that relate to these factors. Sample statements might be “On this team people can rely on each other” or “We have complete confidence in each other’s ability to perform assignments.” For agreement-based statements, we recommend using a five-point Likert scale: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree.
To avoid priming employee responses, do not use the words “trust” and “belonging” in the survey statements. Rather, ask questions that reveal the underlying components, such as measuring trust by gauging confidence that management is communicating transparently. To promote candid feedback, make survey responses anonymous other than identification by team.
Analyze survey results at the team level.
When analyzing survey responses, recognize that individuals differ in their propensity to trust others. Different life experiences, personality types, cultural backgrounds, education, and other socioeconomic factors influence one’s propensity to trust. For example, the World Values Survey asks: “Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you need to be very careful in dealing with people?” This survey found large differences in responses by country. In Norway and Sweden for example, more than 60% of the survey respondents think that most people can be trusted. At the other end of the spectrum, in Colombia, Brazil, and Peru less than 10% believe this is the case.
This is why it’s important to take a high-level view, rather than being distracted by individual results. When the information is analyzed at the team level, organizations can discern systemic issues and trends related to trust and belonging. This level of insight enables leaders to launch initiatives that will boost inclusion as a whole and improve the entire culture of the organization.
At the team level, recognize that survey results may vary depending on how long particular individuals have worked with each other, the degree to which their work assignments require cooperation to complete, and similar factors.
Explore individual feelings of belonging and trust during stay interviews.
Stay interviews are one-on-one conversations, usually between a manager and their direct reports. They allow employees to express how and why their current role makes them want to stay at the company, how they would like to advance in their career, and what opportunities outside the organization could entice them to leave. Through these conversations, managers can determine whether the employee feels supported and appreciated by their team and if they are invested in the success of the organization. By asking about employees’ individual experiences, leaders can better understand the level of belonging on their team.
Measure feelings of belonging and trust through indirect evidence.
Investigate to what extent lack of trust and belonging are contributing to low-performing aspects of your organization. Specifically, consider analyzing the causes of employee absenteeism, low productivity, under-performing teams, and resignations.
Are rates of absenteeism rising or falling? Is absenteeism more prevalent on certain teams? Are the causes of absences stress-related? If so, to what extent is that stress tied to the workplace vs. personal concerns? At employee exit interviews, include questions related to trust and belonging. Ask current and exiting employees for suggestions to enhance trust and belonging in your company culture.
These bits of information can be pieced together, into a broad impression of employee sentiment. On their own, these factors are inconclusive, but when they are combined with your survey results and individual interviews, they will help you identify challenges and work toward higher levels of employee trust, belonging, and engagement.
Make measuring trust and belonging a strategic priority.
Individuals who feel they belong have a strong connection with their work and colleagues; they gain satisfaction from being real contributors; they develop professionally by making the most of opportunities to learn. According to Great Place To Work, belonging in the workplace is “an employee’s sense that their uniqueness is accepted and even treasured by their organization and colleagues.” Team members with a sense of belonging feel confident, comfortable, secure, and able to contribute their best work. Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies. They also suffer less chronic stress and are happier with their lives.
Trust and belonging increase employee engagement. They should therefore be seen as tangible and critical assets of every organization. Given the quantifiable value they deliver, measuring and cultivating these assets should be considered a strategic priority.
Trust and belonging are essential components of The Employee Engagement Growth Model – a framework that enables organizations and leaders to boost the effectiveness of teams while inspiring enthusiastic, motivated, and committed employees to do their best work. Contact us today to learn more.
Amber Keister is a Content Strategist at The Diversity Movement. She has spent more than 20 years as a journalist for publications throughout the South. Connect with her on Linkedin.
