In your business, you want your team members to trust you. When a team trusts you, they respect you and look to you for guidance and leadership. Establishing that trust with your team takes work, and once you have it, you need to continue to do the work in order to keep it.
With trust comes employee buy-in and high performance. Employees who trust their leaders feel a connection to the mission and vision of the organization, which can also help them to feel purposeful at work.
As a leader, it’s crucial that you model the type of team culture you want to promote. If you want a team culture that builds employee trust and communication, then it’s important that you lead by example by communicating with and extending trust to your employees.
Strategies for Building Employee Trust
The first step to building employee trust that lasts is by treating your employees right. Leaders need to take care of the people they are entrusted to manage. When employees feel like they are valued, they are more engaged and committed to their work. Take the time to recognize an employee for a job well done. Small, caring gestures go a long way with teams.
Another way that you can increase employee trust is by having an open dialogue with your team. With teams working remotely now, it’s important to check-in and see how your team members are doing. Rather than tracking their productivity for them, ask your employees how they are handling their workload while being at home. If there are certain hours of the day where they can get more work done, give them a choice to shift their schedule so they can be more productive. Creating an environment of choice is key to empowering your employees and will help them feel even more committed to your organization’s mission.
Finally, be consistent in your communication and delivery. Let your team members know which tasks are a priority and what goals they should be meeting individually and as a team. This is especially important for remote teams. Remind your employees that you are committed to being as flexible as possible during these times.
There is no right way to build employee trust, but there are strategies you can implement to help you get started. By showing your team that you trust them, they will start to trust you too.
Need help implementing these strategies so your team can feel more cohesive? We can help.
Comments