Becoming an Employer of Choice: Building a Culture of Trust

The ability for a company to be successful in today’s market place has become more and more difficult and challenging over the past year.  Organizations have struggled to remain in business in this economical troubled environment by reducing costs, employees and overhead expenses.  The “tightening of the belt,” has touched the majority of the workforce in one way or another.  There is uncertainty as to what will happen next.  When will the economy hit the so-called “bottom” and begin to climb out of the hole it is in? How long will recovery take? Will we be able to survive another quarter or two?  These and other questions tend to haunt business owners today.

According to the Conference Board “Consumers' appraisal of present-day conditions, things improved moderately in April 2009 (from March 2009) and rose 12.3%. Those claiming business conditions are "bad" declined to 45.7 percent from 51.0 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "good" increased to 7.6 percent from 6.9 percent” (The Conference Board - www.conference-board.org). 

However, what does this mean for your business and the confidence that your Board of Director, managers, employees and/or customers have in your company?  And is there anything you can do to increase the confidence they have in you, when you have already cut employees, costs, and services to the bare bones?

The easy answer is yes, you can do something and for the most part, it is a low cost initiative. 

Value of being an Employer of Choice

The Great Places to Work® Institute, Inc. has for over 20 years researched what makes an organization a great place to work. The Institute has proven that companies who have demonstrated certain criteria have consistently outperformed their competitors in higher productivity and profitability, reduced employee turnover, reduced health care costs, achieved higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, greater innovation, creativity and risk taking, and obtained more qualified job applicants for open positions.

Additionally when a company invests in their employees, they have invested in their organizational success.  These companies can show a positive ROI between training and employee motivation, improvements in productivity, employee satisfaction and financial performance.

Let’s explore what makes an organization an employer of choice and consider how it might be worthwhile investing energy and resources into becoming a great place to work?

Developing a Culture of Trust

Trust is composed of three dimensions – credibility, respect and fairness – and is at the forefront of what makes a great place to work great!  The leadership team is influential in setting a tone of trust that ripples throughout the entire organization.  Do corporate policies, core values, words, actions, and keeping promises align with espoused rhetoric? 

While the leadership team may be the face of the company and trust, middle managers are where trust is fostered and grown.  Managers influence employees on a daily basis, and have a major responsibility in upholding company policies, values and objectives. Training managers in the processes and practices of delivering effective performance management, corrective action and recognition, will build a consistent message throughout the organization that employees are treated consistently and fairly. Managers also set a tone for innovation and the ability of employees to grow and develop professional and personally.

Finally, employees have a responsibility to demonstrate trust and personal accountability in accomplishing their daily work and performance.

Dimensions that Create a Culture of Trust

• Credibility – to be credible, words must be followed by action.  Credibility involves open and honest communications between upper management, to/from middle management and subsequently to and between line workers.  Managers seeking ideas from employees and then providing information about the company’s direction, plans and challenges will show employees that management is interested in what they have to say.  Just as important is the follow through and acknowledgement of ideas submitted.  Asking employees to “help” by providing input, will only go so far if management does nothing with or ignores the input given.
• Respect is a word that is cast about on many levels in organizations today.  However do your managers and employees know what is involved in respect?  Providing employees with the equipment, resources and training to do their jobs and appreciating good work and extra effort shows (as opposed to telling) employees that you respect their efforts and experience.  A culture of respect also develops from fostering a spirit of collaboration and enlisting employees in the support of the company’s efforts and plans.
• Fairness is demonstrated through an equitable sharing of resources and compensation.  Everyone has an opportunity to be recognized for their contribution and decision on hiring and promotions are made impartially and free from discrimination.  Fairness is also demonstrated through the consistent and timely application of employee and organizational policies from one person to the next.  Nothing will diminish moral and thereby trust, faster than the differential treatment of employees.
• Pride and Camaraderie relates to the relationships between employees and their jobs.  Are employees proud of the work they do?  Are they executing to the letter of the law or the spirit. This is most evidenced by how employees describe their work and workplace.  Do they say what they do on a daily basis, or do they tell the story of how they were able to implement a process or project that made someone’s life better?  Finally do employee enjoy each other and develop ways to reward and recognized each other.  Do employees find opportunities to make the lives of their co-workers better?

Principals to Grow a Culture of Trust in Your Organization

• Use your words wisely. Focus on what is possible, kind, respectful, honest and open.
• Be accountable. See, own and act on breakdowns proactively.  Focus on questions and solutions rather than explanations and excuses.  Commit to truth-telling and risk taking and support those who tell the truth and take risks rather than dismissing their ideas or feelings.
• Focus and Intention. Align daily actions and behaviors with what matters most.  Own and become accountable for personal, department and corporate goals and objectives.  Work smarter, not harder by extracting the greatest value from your efforts.  Be intentional about your words and actions.
• Mine the Gold. Bring out the best in yourself and others.  Commit to building an environment that is based on cooperation and collaboration.
• Strive for Balance. Take time for recognition, recovery and renewal.  Commit to ongoing quality improvement and continuous learning for individuals and the organization.  Espouse and demonstrate a balanced life recognizing that employee have lives outside of work.  Increased individual vitality and energy will be the result.
• Lighten up. Seek to bring laughter, fun and joy to your own work and the work place.  Look for opportunities to make someone smile, and don’t take yourself too seriously.

Is it Worth It?

Employers who build cultures of trust not only reap financial benefits by outperforming their peers – something all companies could use in these challenging times – but see higher levels of employee engagement and productivity, have considerably less turnover, and are more easily and economically able to attract top talent.  Additionally employers of choice show improved performance, customer loyalty and satisfaction.  Next time your organization is faced with decisions to cut employees, costs and/or product lines, consider what an investment in time and alignment of values to build credibility, trust, and respect may do for the bottom line.

TPO is an award-winning firm established in 1991 made up of a group of highly experienced, nationally certified HR experts and trainers. TPO is licensed by the State of California (PI-25638) to provide investigative services. For more information, please contact us at 800-277-8448 or visit our web site www.tpohr.com

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