Dive Brief:
- Nearly all chief executives (96%) responding to a recent survey said building and maintaining trust with stakeholders is a high priority, according to a Jan. 14 announcement from global leadership community YPO.
- While many said the importance of trust has increased in recent years, 40% of chief executives said they find it easy to build trust with employees.
- Moreover, more than 60% of respondents said they have yet to measure employee trust within their business; only a third (34%) have plans for building or maintaining employee trust.
Dive Insight:
Employers need employee trust and buy-in for growth, but they continue to struggle to build that relationship, as study after study has demonstrated. One released last year revealed that 21% of HR leaders don't think employees trust organizations' leaders. Much of this distrust was based on a lack of two-way feedback between staff and management.
But according to a Peakon study, a plan for building trust can start with something as simple as saying "hello" to employees as they begin their day. The research showed that a morning greeting from managers can lead to a conversation that encourages employees to share their opinions and thoughts — a significant step toward building trust.
Employers also can build trust by taking employee concerns seriously, according to Dana Barbato, founder and CEO at InvestiPro. Speaking at the Society for Human Resource Management's Employment Law and Legislative Conference last year, she suggested three ways to build trust during workplace investigations: 1) establish a consistent, transparent system for safeguarding employees' privacy, while being open about how investigations are carried out; 2) listen actively to employees involved in investigations and request accurate information; and 3) resolve investigations in a timely manner and take corrective action.
