When trust exists in an organization, probably everything else is easier to achieve. We all think we know what Trust is from our own experience, but we don't know much about how to improve it. Why? Because we have been taught to look at Trust as if it were a single factor. Do not try to guess what your staff or boss thinks as you may not be always in line with their thoughts and your act against their will may lead to distrust from the staff.
Why Trust is important in an Organization and how important is building a trusting work environment?
Trust is the necessary precursor in any teamwork and they are basically for :
• feeling able to rely upon a person,
• cooperating with and experiencing teamwork within a group,
• taking thoughtful or calculated risks, and
• experiencing believable communication.
Ways to create and preserve trusting relationships in a trust promoting work environment.
• Hire and promote suitable, qualified, experience people, who are capable of forming positive, trusting interpersonal relationships with people who report to them, to supervisory positions. It should not be by favouritism or by providing opportunity to groom if they are inexperience.
• Develop the skills of all employees and especially those of current supervisors and people desiring promotion, in interpersonal relationship building and effectiveness. Be fair and equal to all and no prejudice.
• Keep staff members informed. Provide information as much as you can comfortably divulge as soon.
• Expect supervisors to act with integrity and keep commitments. If you cannot, explain what is happening in the situation without delay. Current behavior and actions are perceived by employees as the basis for predicting future behavior.
• Confront problematic issues in a timely manner. If an employee has excessive absences or spends work time wandering around, it is important to confront the employee about these issues. Other employees will watch and trust you more.
• Protect the interest of all employees in a work group. Do not talk about absent employees, nor allow others to place blame, call names, or point fingers.
• Display competence in supervisory and other work tasks. Know what you are talking about, and if you don’t know—be frank and admit it. Nothing to be shy about not knowing it.
• If you are a supervisor or a team member, set high expectations and act as if you believe staff members are capable of living up to them.
The Human Resources professional has a special role in promoting trust. So do line managers. You coach managers and supervisors about all of the appropriate roles described above in building trust relationships.
Engage in trust building and team building activities only when there is a sincere desire in your organization to create a trusting, empowering, team-oriented work environment. Engaging in these activities for any but honorable reasons is a travesty and a sham. People will know the difference, or they will find out, and then, they will never trust you.
Build Relationship Over Time
Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. It is not a matter of technique, but of character; we are trusted because of our way of being, not because of our polished exteriors or our expertly crafted communications.
Trust is telling the truth, even when it is difficult, and being truthful, authentic, and trustworthy in your dealings with customers and staff. Can rewarding, mission-serving, life- and work-enhancing actions get any simpler than this? Very very likely not.
Looks like Trust is gone with BP ??
BP CEO TH was so busy defending the company’s handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, he failed to follow manager-in-crisis rule
No. 1: Check with your own guys on the inside to make sure your assertions of success are in fact accurate. Or, put a different way: Don’t lie.
During an interview with BBC, he outlined in detail how well BP was handling loss-of-income and other compensation claims filed by Gulf residents. Which would be great, if it were in fact true. This latest gaff is egregious, in large part, because Hayward is so ridiculously self-assured and emphatic as he makes a wildly inaccurate claim.
Here’s what he told BBC :
Well you know what we have done so far is pay every claim that’s been presented to us, and we will continue to do that. You know the most important thing in terms of claims today is to ensure that people who can’t fish today have the wherewithal to feed their families.
And we’ve taken a claims process that has taken 45 days traditionally in the United States and shortened it to 48 hours. It takes 12 seconds when you phone the BP claims line to be put into the process, and be given a number. If you turn up at the claims office, within 48 hours you’re given a check. You take it to a bank and you cash the check. We are going to continue to do that.
Here’s the reality of it all. BP is paying out claims, but not every one — not even close. BP had received 37,000 claims for compensation as of Monday, according to Darryl Willis, the company vice president overseeing the claims process. Of those claims, 18,000 — or about 48 percent — have been paid out for a total of nearly $50 million. BP announced a second round of payments this month, which will bring the total to $84 million.
It’s not just that BP is behind on its claims. Once again, BP has failed to share information, giving the public another reason not to trust the company. BP has repeatedly denied requests from the Louisiana state government — including the attorney general’s office — to share its claims database or even explain how it decides to grant or deny claims.
And this makes it incredibly difficult for state agencies to look out for the interests of Gulf region workers and businesses. Among the hardest hit, to date, are the growing number of small businesses that have yet to see any money. About 90 percent of the paid out claims have gone to out of work fishermen, and about 10 percent of the payments have made it to small businesses, based on the information available.
Moral of story, do not make up "story" !
