Employee Satisfaction through Trust

Employee satisfaction is usually on people’s mind since it is important to their business.  Why? Employees are what make you succeed. The best way to create employee satisfaction is through trust. Employees need to know that what you say, do and act is the truth. Not only in regards to the truth of  your words but also true to yourself, who you are. That may sound “fluffy” or “new age” however, from working along side you day after day, employees will learn about who you are and what you value and need to see that reflected in your behavior.

Trust as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary is:  assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something or one in which confidence is placed.  Now if you look at this in terms of Leadership and Employee Satisfaction it makes sense.  People need to trust you, your character and your abilities as well as place confidence in them.

How do  you do this? Several small ways:

• Honest conversations – if you are not happy with someones performance or attendance, for example, just tell them. Be consistent, don’t tell one person they need to come in on-time and not the another person who also has tardiness issues.
• Explain decisions – if you made a decision to either cut staff or no longer offer a benefit, explain why. Now, you don’t have to get into the exact numbers of your business but you can say “I’m sorry our sales are down by 15% and we couldn’t afford to keep them”.
• Admit when you need help – sometimes as a leader we may think that we need to know everything.  While that would be great, it is not realistic.  So if you need marketing ideas for example, ask those around you. 
• Be Yourself– I know, again with the “fluffy” stuff. Here is what I am getting at.  If you are a jokester, be a jokester in the office (but be serious when needed).  If you are a serious person, be that person don’t try to fake being a jokester – it will look and feel unnatural to you and those around you. If you are passing along news that has effected you, it is ok to show some emotion.

As you can see, you shouldn’t have to try to hard to establish trust.  It can be very easy as well to destroy it.  So keep it in the back of your mind when going about your business.

Also, as a side note – your customers will also like it and it will help create loyalty.