How to fill the trust void

We go more in-depth on the business case for trust in our downloadable leadership toolkit. Because it’s not just a nice-to-have. It’s a tangible asset that can unlock growth and drive your organisation forward.  

How can you build trust? 

So how do you start building more trust in your leadership - and across your organisation? 

There’s one simple answer: be more human. Listen more. Empathise more. And, perhaps most importantly, act on what you hear and learn. 

Remember that your employees are people. Before they look for work perks, like a coffee machine or subsidised office restaurant, they need their basic expectations met. Like enough money to live on, a clear path for career development and a workplace where they feel psychologically safe enough to put ideas forward and have them taken seriously. 

Some simple steps you can take to start building trust are: 

• Encourage your line managers to really get to know their teams. Ask them to find out what people enjoy and where their strengths lie, and empower them to coach those skills and talents to consistently get the best from them. 
• Make it clear you understand the challenges your employees are facing and empathise with them – and then do something to prove it. Iceland, for example, has upped their staff discount to help with the cost of living crisis. Bristol-based e-mobility company Pure Electric offers employees at their HQ the chance to loan an e-bike so they can choose greener, easier travel without having to pay a huge amount of money up-front. At Six, we’ve helped our people with some extra bonuses and vouchers in their recent benefits.
• One way is to look at your business performance and identify what your teams are thinking and feeling right now. We work with Tensense to help businesses identify opportunities for change and growth. With listening and acting at the heart of trust, we’d highly recommend looking at your OX data.

Is building trust worth it? 

Short answer: yes.  

Long answer: a quick glance at Glassdoor’s most recent Employees’ Choice Awards shows that the reviews of the winners almost all note the culture or employee experience as a key factor in their high rating. 

In businesses where employees trust their employers to look after them and have their best interests at heart, they return any investment you’ve made in strengthening that trust tenfold.  

If you’d like to find out more about why trust matters, and learn practical tips for helping your leaders build more, read our free leadership toolkit online.