When everything starts with trust, it’s amazing what you can accomplish.
When Associates trust their leaders, it drives more productive work environments which are more likely to put Guests at the center of everything.
It also leads to less turnover, increased morale, and the reputation for being a best place to work.
This in turn will drive talent your way as there is no doubt that the best talent wants to work for the best organizations. Think of the organizations out there – wouldn’t you want to work for them?
You are fooling yourself if you lament that great organizations are great because they have amazing talent. When you step back and look deeper, you’ll see that they actually attract great talent because they are great.
One of the best ways to be a best-in-class organization that attracts quality team members is to ensure that your entire business is built upon trust.
Try these strategies to create an environment of trust within your company:
SHOW CARE DURING INTERVIEWING AND SELECTION: Too often organizations that are hiring go to market believing that they are doing candidates a favor by giving them the privilege to interview with them. During the selection process there is a two way street in play. While you want to select the best talent available, your candidates also want to come to work for the best organization. So remember, if you want the best people to choose your organization, try treating them well during interviewing. This means being on time, being honest about the job, and making sure to follow up afterwards.
TRAIN WITH ENTHUSIASM: Once you have the right team selected, be sure that they have the skills they need. If you promise them you will teach them about your culture, your values, and their jobs – then follow through. If you don’t, you’ll find that you lose their trust right at the starting gate. This means taking care to onboard them thoroughly and making sure that they feel comfortable with their job function before they serve Guests.
MANAGE PERFORMANCE HONESTLY: When people know where they stand, they don’t have to Guess. When leaders ensure that communication is strong and that, good or bad, everyone understands how things are going, gossip tends to die out as well. In an information vacuum, people tend to make it up at they go along and do what they believe to be best. Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn’t, so that is no way to go to market. If someone needs to improve, let them know and help them do so. When folks know that you are transparent about goals and achievement, they feel better about things in general and tend to trust their leaders more readily.
REWARD GREAT WORK: Of course, folks love to know when they have done well. Why leaders keep that a secret or push back on recognition is a true mystery. At the end of the day, leaders should encourage all behaviors that further organizational goals, lead to productivity, or delight Guests. Just because that is baked into everyone’s job description is no reason to skimp on the positive reinforcement. After all, if it helps you sustain excellence and inspires trust from your team, what’s the harm?
BE MORE THAN A BOSS: We have discussed this previously at length, but when you let your team understand that you are a real live human being with real hobbies and dreams, you become more trustworthy to them. No one trusts suits, titles, or job descriptions – they trust people. Its okay to let them know the real you – you will find it so much easier to make connections that drive results when you look just beyond the work into the people who are doing it. This also means that you have to tell the truth – always. You may not be able to answer every question or share everything, but be honest about that rather than obfuscating.
So remember, the foundation of any winning organization is trust. Trust between the business and its Guests and between the team and its leaders.
When any business begins by building trust, it starts a chain of excellence that leads to loyalty from Customers and those who serve them.
Until next time, trust your team and inspire them to trust you – and inspire your Guests to trust you like they would a cherished friend.
Tony
Tony Johnson -Guest Experience Leader-
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