Our society is polarized, becoming more distrustful and increasingly pessimistic. Globally, trust in large organizations, government entities, and business leaders is declining. People are reluctant to trust each other and the institutions that drive our economy due to ethical failures, lack of transparency, and deliberate misinformation campaigns.
This pervasive distrust does more than create an anxious and suspicious workforce; it compromises financial performance. A report from Deloitte clearly links trust and profits, highlighting several companies that lost 20% to 56% of their value due to declines in stakeholder trust.
All other factors being equal, a culture of trust in your organization is a significant competitive advantage. Trust feeds psychological safety and team performance, leading to better collaboration, improved problem-solving, and increased creativity. The Boston Consulting Group studied trust at 1,000 of the world’s largest companies and found that the 100 most trusted companies generated 2.5 times as much value as comparable businesses.
Business success also depends on a strong internal culture that prioritizes trust, as it improves employee engagement, retention, and performance. According to the Harvard Business Review, workers at high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burnout than people at low-trust companies.
Research in the MIT Sloan Management Review, reveals that employees who trust their leaders and their colleagues are 260% more motivated to work, have 41% lower rates of absenteeism, and are 50% less likely to look for another job. However, the same report also found that roughly 1 in 4 workers don’t trust their employer. And many employers were unaware of their workers’ feelings, overestimating workplace trust by nearly 40%. Business leaders have an opportunity to build trust in the workplace, but only if they recognize the problem and commit to cultivating trusted relationships at work.
How can leaders foster trust in the workplace?
Sandra J. Sucher, professor of management practice at the Harvard Business School, explains, “Trust is built through actions. You can’t talk your way into trust. You have to act your way into trust.” The following actions can help leaders create a culture of trust.
Show your employees that you trust them
One of the best ways to cultivate trust is to model trust yourself. There are many ways to show you trust your team, from delegating stretch assignments to adopting a hybrid work schedule. Identify your own unconscious bias and work to avoid favoritism or unequal treatment. Remember, micromanaging or second-guessing your team can destroy trust, so allow them to try new ways of accomplishing a task–even if it isn’t the way you would have picked.
Promote economic security and pay equity
Organizations must commit to paying a fair wage that keeps up with the rising cost of living, so workers don’t feel they are being taken advantage of. When compensation is fair and transparent, employees feel that their work is recognized and that the company is committed to their well-being. Leaders can promote wage transparency by sharing information about how compensation is determined. Conduct an audit to ensure people of all genders are paid the same for the same amount and quality of work. Address any implicit biases that prevent historically underrepresented professionals from advancing within your company.
Provide a clear career path
Leaders can also build trust with their direct reports by supporting their careers and identifying opportunities for them to grow professionally. Act as their sponsor, promoting their accomplishments to other organizational leaders. Ensure that all employees benefit from personalized professional development. Create a transparent promotion process that rewards demonstrated skills. When individuals trust their managers to help them advance within the company, they feel a greater sense of belonging and are less likely to look for another job.
Speak and act with empathy
Empathetic leaders build cultures of trust and encourage a sense of belonging by relying on their own authenticity, empathy, and compassion. They build personal brands of vulnerability and humility by acknowledging their own mistakes and admitting what they don’t yet know. Check in with your team, ask questions, and listen to really understand, not just to move your own agenda forward.
Involve your employees in business decisions
Encourage and solicit a variety of perspectives from diverse communities. This practice shows you value your team’s opinions and that you trust their judgment. In turn, people feel a greater sense of belonging when their contributions are appreciated. If you conduct an annual employee sentiment survey, be sure to follow up with how you plan to act on the results. If you don’t act, then there is little reason for people to believe that their opinions matter or expect that anything will change.
Engage in your local community
Support philanthropic causes that align with your corporate values and organizational mission. Employees want to work for a company that aligns with their values, and community engagement demonstrates those values in a tangible way. A survey by Fidelity Investments found that 66% of respondents felt it was important for companies to be philanthropic and to support different causes. Among millennials, this rose to 75%. When a business sponsors community projects and supports charitable causes, it shows that leadership is committed to helping the entire community. These initiatives foster trust, build loyalty, and enhance brand visibility, all of which help attract new customers and boost revenue.
While these strategies all work together to help foster a workplace where people can trust and depend on each other, the most important guidance is to be a trustworthy and reliable leader. Follow through on your responsibilities, be transparent in your actions, and admit when you are wrong or unsure. Reliable leaders serve as role models for the entire organization. They create trust company-wide, which leads to a culture that is well prepared to succeed in an ever-changing global economy.
Trust is an essential component 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.
