I’ve been thinking about writing this post for more than a year. As I wrote in my previous post, I lost my mum in July last year. It was completely unexpected and horribly fast, only one month passing from discovering her illness to her passing away.

Not surprisingly, it was a very difficult time for me. I was working on multiple projects and two important tenders, but I was naturally struggling to focus. My team was incredibly supportive with one member stepping, taking on extra work and helping me to manage my workload. Without her support, I wouldn’t have been able to do my job.

So, this post is about trust and how trust in the workplace is an absolute necessity that can be your lifeline.

We all know that trust is essential for any successful relationship, and the #workplace is no exception. Having faith in your team members and knowing that they have your back when you need it most fosters an environment where individuals can lean on one another during difficult times, encouraging resilience and unity. Also, when employees trust their colleagues and leaders, they feel more comfortable sharing ideas, collaborating on projects, and going the extra mile, leading to increased productivity, innovation, and employee engagement.

Research mentioned in the Harvard Business Review article “The Neuroscience of Trust”, by Paul J. Zak (1) found that people at high-trust companies report, amongst other benefits, 50% higher productivity and 76% more engagement compared with people at low-trust companies.
Another study by the Great Place to Work Institute mentioned in a Grant Thornton report (2) states that trust fuels sustainable business success.

So, when hiring new team members, it’s important to look for people who are honest, reliable, and trustworthy, but

HOW CAN WE DO THIS?

• Ask behavioural interview questions to get a sense of the candidate’s past behaviour and how they’ve handled difficult situations
• Check references to get feedback from the candidate’s previous employers
• Pay attention to the candidate’s body language and tone of voice during the interview.

However, hiring a team of trustworthy people is just the first step. It’s then important to continue building trust. To do this, as employers we need to always be honest and transparent with our team, keep our promises, be supportive and give them the resources they need to succeed, but most importantly be respectful and treat every single team member with dignity.

Trust is not something that happens overnight, it takes time and effort to build. But once we’ve established a foundation of trust with our team, we WILL be rewarded with a supportive and productive workplace. One of our values at Kharalis is honesty, which is the basis to create strong and positive trusting relationships.

I am so grateful for the trust that I have in my team. They are my support system and I know that I can always count on them.

#trust #support #team #culture #workplace #productivity #success #honesty #values

(1) “The Neuroscience of Trust”, by Paul J. Zak, HBR, Jan-Feb 2017, pp.84–90. https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

(2) “The Business Case for Trust”, Grant Thornton, 2017. https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/globalassets/1.-member-firms/united-kingdom/pdf/publication/the-business-case-for-trust.pdf