9 Ways to Win Employee Trust

Employees work harder when they know the boss is trustworthy.

Geoffrey James, a contributing editor for Inc.com shared, “If your employees trust you, they’ll go the proverbial extra mile but if they don’t, they’ll slack off,” according to a recent survey by The Forum Corporation.

He argued that building trust is the best way to get the most from your employees and provided 9 Ways to Win Employee Trust.

1. Coach don’t command. Employees notice when your idea of “teamwork” is having people do exactly what you tell them to do. Dale Carnegie had it right, decades ago, when he advised that manager should ask questions rather giving direct orders.

2. Tell the truth. Employees realize there is stuff you cannot share, like what you are paying other people.  However, employees always find out when you do something underhanded, like telling two people that you’re grooming them for the same position.

3. Follow through. How can your employees possibly trust you if you do not fulfill your commitments?  Just as you expect your employees to deliver on their promises, they expect the same from you.

4. Take blame but give credit. Here is one of the great truths of management: if your team fails, it is your fault; if your team succeeds, it is the team’s achievement.  Getting this backwards makes bosses look stupid.

5. Do not badmouth. Employees are not stupid. Jill knows that if you’re badmouthing Joe behind Joe’s back, you’ll be badmouthing Jill as soon as she’s not around. How can you trust somebody who does that?

6. Walk the talk. Do not ever ask an employee to do something that you are not willing to do yourself.  Ever.

7. Listen more and talk less. By the very nature of things, your employees know more about your customers than you do. Therefore, if you truly want your business to succeed, keep your ears more open and your mouth more shut.

8. Admit when you are wrong. It is hard to trust somebody who is too insecure to admit when he or she is wrong. Of the employees that the Forum surveyed, 50% said that the boss never apologized while only 5% said that the boss alwaysapologized when wrong.

9. Make employee success your #1 job. The #1 job of every employee is to make the boss more successful, but that only works when your employees know it is a two-way street and that you are looking out for their best interests.

All of these suggestions are terrific AND require outstanding communication leadership. 

Manufacturing Leaders Fail to Communicate with Plant Floor Workers

In the largest quantitative research project of its kind, more than 1500 small and midsized manufacturing CEOs were interviewed (in February 2015) about their greatest barriers, challenges, and fears about growing their companies. The survey, conducted by TR Cutler, Inc., based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, is the organization which founded the five thousand-member Manufacturing Media Consortium.

The greatest pain point causing anxiety, fear, and apprehension about manufacturing growth among these manufacturing leaders was speaking to their employees. More than four out of five (82%) said that speaking to their employees was difficult or very difficult.

Knowing what to say is important. Knowing how and how often to communicate with employees are equally important. When so many manufacturing CEOs (all with fewer than 250 employees) report a weekly (in some cases daily) order, inventory, or delivery crisis, the notion of employee communication quickly takes a back burner.

Crisis management style and a failure to communicate effectively with plant floor workers erodes, the trust described above. There is a simple solution: outsource much of the employee communication while managing the crisis ensure happy customers AND happy employees.