Pick up any trade publication today and you’re likely to see at least one article on the topic of employee engagement. Employee engagement is the degree to which employees work with passion and feel a deep connection to your company. Gallup International recently reported that companies in the top 24% of employee engagement had lower turnover and a higher percentage of customer loyalty, profitability, and revenue.
Research on employee engagement goes on to say that trust in the workplace is the foundation of employee engagement. If that’s true, it would be helpful if we could get a better idea of what really constitutes trust between employees and managers or organizations.
In today’s organizations, trust is a two-way street. Employees want to work for a manager and an organization they can trust, and managers want to be able to trust their employees. The problem is that trust is a nebulous concept, similar to honesty, energy and commitment. We value these attributes in our employees and colleagues, but not all of us agree on what constitutes them. Many of us say, “We’ll know when we see it” or “I trust everyone until they prove me wrong.”
A useful way to define “trust” is to segment it into two types of trust: confidence, trust, and competence. “Trust” is said to be the belief that the other person can be counted on to do the right thing or to act in a positive and ethical manner. “Competence confidence,” on the other hand, is the belief in the person’s ability to do the job or complete the task. Confidence in the competition can be synonymous with one’s own “capabilities”. Confidence Confidence is synonymous with one’s “willingness to do the right thing.”
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Phil has been a project manager at a financial institution for 10 years. He has been a great performer and has a reputation for hard work, excellent communication skills and a very professional manner. When a recently hired VP was looking to add project managers to her team, she interviewed several candidates and chose Phil. Phil’s reputation preceded him, and the vice president believed that Phil would continue to outperform. Phil did not disappoint, and at his annual performance review, the vice president noted that Phil exceeded the standards for this position. He rewarded Phil both financially and with a nomination for a Leadership Team award, a prestigious honor given annually to employees who exemplify the company’s core values. Phil enjoyed both the confidence that the new vice president was willing to believe in him, “without seeing it,” and the confidence that he continued to demonstrate his capabilities throughout the year.
Similarly, the vice president enjoyed Phil’s confidence, both in his competence as a manager to set expectations, hold employees accountable for results, measure those results, and reward performance both financially and with meaningful recognition, and in his confidence. that it could and would perform “as advertised.”
In this example, the trust each person placed in the other was appropriate, and the end result was beneficial to both the employee and the manager.
Often, however, this is not the case. Consider what happened when Emily, a researcher with a lot of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, took on a new position at a company in her field. Although Emily continued to perform to her high standards, her manager spent much more time with her underperforming teammates. She reasoned that she needed to help these employees improve her own performance, and tried to provide in-depth training for each of them. When Emily asked her manager to provide peer review feedback on various papers she was writing, he agreed, but he was always busy or involved with her teammates when Emily asked him to review her work. her. In addition, her manager was chronically late for team meetings she called or missed them altogether when something else came up. Although Emily had accepted her position, in part, due to her manager’s professional reputation, she was beginning to question whether she was really up to date with the latest scientific research studies. When it came time for Emily’s annual performance review, Emily received very positive feedback about her work and a very nice raise. Her manager definitely had confidence in the competition that Emily was demonstrating strong capabilities, and she behaved as if she had confidence that she would continue to do so, with little or no supervision. However, she didn’t realize that Emily’s trust in him, both to play the role of her manager and to care about Emily and her job, had eroded.
The employer/employee pact that relies so heavily on trust will likely remain strong in Phil’s case. However, in Emily’s case, you may begin to wonder why she joined this company if she has little or no trust in her manager to provide what she needs to continue to be successful in her job.
What can we learn from the situations involving Phil and Emily, and how can managers ensure that they and their employees demonstrate both kinds of trust?
Communication is really the key to building trust. As a manager, if you set specific and measurable expectations, provide both positive and corrective feedback, understand your employees’ goals and motivations, and recognize and reward the best, you’re well on your way to gaining or maintaining employee trust in you as a manager. competent. It is especially important to remember to provide feedback to excellent performers as well as those facing challenges. And, if you promise an employee something, “do what you say you will do.” That will earn more respect than almost anything else you can do.
Employees will be much more inclined to be positive and energetic in their jobs if they trust their managers. However, on that two-way street, employees must also make sure they are demonstrating their capabilities, seeking feedback, asking how they can help the company be even more successful, and helping their managers understand what they need to be successful. .
So as you think more about that elusive concept of “trust,” ask yourself, “How are you demonstrating trust, confidence, and competence with your employees?” Now think about how your employees would answer these questions about themselves and you. Better yet, ask them!
