Trust is a fundamental building block of any organization, and it leads to results. It’s the foundation for creating an ethical work environment, building morale, launching innovation and improving performance. Essentially, everything an organization needs to succeed in the long term is heavily influenced by trust.
This article explores how we build trust within an organization. Developing trust must be systemic if it is going to be effective. This means we must build trust with every employee and sustain it over time. To do this we must first explore how trust develops. Here is a simple 3-step formula we have developed about how to develop trust in the jobs we hold.
Trust develops:
1. Over time
Trust takes effort and time (i.e. it does not happen overnight). In the work environment, we must make a conscious effort to build trust. To make a significant move toward trust, we must invest time. Our efforts over time will show we want to improve our environment and it will show we care about the relationship. There are very few ways to develop lasting trust that do not involve a sincere time commitment.
2. With someone who is relevant
For a strong bond to develop individually and collectively, it must first be with the individual who impacts an employee the most work – a person’s immediate supervisor. Numerous studies show people leave positions because of their supervisor more than any other reason. Developing a bond between an employee and supervisor is essential to bettering a workplace. In an effort to create systemic trust throughout the organization, this relationship is the starting point.
3. By having interactions that show we are trustworthy
To develop trust, we must have meaningful interactions where we can show we are trustworthy. When these interactions occur on a regular basis, we can ensure trust grows throughout the organization. Without a scheduled meeting time, trust develops more slowly and erratically.
How this works in practice
For trust to grow systemically throughout the organization, an effort must be made to have structured interactions with every employee. We have learned that a private one-on-one meeting held monthly is the best model to manage structured interactions in a busy organization. We refer to these meetings as “looping.” The idea is we want to initiate and complete the communication loop between the supervisor and the employee. Looping must be:
• Scheduled and on both calendars.
• Completed unless there is a good reason not to meet (such as an emergency at the meeting time).
• Interactive with both standard questions and time to discuss any issue important to the employee. (The meetings are more productive when the employee knows the structure in advance.)
As an organization, we must commit to address the issues the employees bring to our attention during these interactions. There are traditionally three typical responses to most issues. Yes, no and maybe. Although this seems obvious, the value comes from asking the questions, getting definitive answers and following through with commitments.
• Yes. If we can do what the employee has an issue with, then we should do it as soon as practical.
• No. If we cannot change what the employee has an issue with we tell them no. Then we explain why the answer is no and we let them know the answer will not change. The response may not be liked by the employee, but they will eventually appreciate the honest way it was approached.
• Maybe. This requires even more diligence on the part of the supervisor. This answer requires an explanation on why the answer is maybe and when we will be able to discuss it again. Trust grows when the supervisor follows-up on these issues and communicates when they’ve been completed.
By time the supervisor and employee have met four to six times, we start to see significant changes in employee engagement and department operations. At this point, we have likely discussed and addressed 18 to 20 important items the employee has raised. This shows the employee we care about them and we are trustworthy.
How trust results in better operations and results
These conversations are driven by the employee. They start out being focused on personal preferences and issues related solely to that employee. Once the personal issues have been addressed, the conversations transform to issues in the department that prevent the employee from liking their job. This is where operational improvements develop. Employees bring issues forward they would like to see addressed and the proposed solutions to fix them. Although there is a time commitment involved, the organization benefits directly from focusing on building trust. This process improves operational efficiency.
Here are real quotes from employees and managers about how trust manifests itself in their units:
• The team brings mistakes to my attention rather than trying to hide them. They share them with the team to help prevent others from making the same mistake.
• People bring up small issues that plague them every day. In the past, they would toss their hands up say, “that’s just how it is.”
• I appreciate that my manager addresses issues in real time, as a team and is transparent.
• I like these conversations with my supervisor. It gives me confidence to make suggestions or do things different rather than just roll over and do as I’m told.
• I can say whatever’s on my mind and it’s ok. That’s how we get to the root communication issues rather than just scratching the surface.
These are powerful statements from actual employees who want to help others and like their jobs. However, the benefits to the organization continue and in a way, become routine. In two acute care hospitals where we used trust as a catalyst to transform the culture, we saw significant increases in EBITDA year over year (+18% in one and +25% in the second). This increase contributes directly to the cost savings, efficiency and service line growth that results from employees gaining trust. When trust is the foundation of a cultural transformation, we see the employee’s goals align with the organizational goals.
As we start the process of building trust in the organization, we may be motivated by the chance to improve interactions with employees. However, over time, the benefits far outweigh the time requirements because this has proven to be a verifiable method to engage employees in a sustainable way. Developing trust is the critical path to employee engagement and empowerment which sets the stage for rediscovering purpose. When everyone in an organization lives their purpose, the patient experience improves and the clinical/financial results the organization needs to achieve, become the new normal.
About the author
Robert Freeman is a former attorney who started the Freeman Group in 2014 with a mission to improve the patient experience by focusing on the engagement and empowerment of healthcare employees. Robert developed the We Care culture transformation framework to help healthcare organizations systemically build trust throughout their workplaces.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker’s Hospital Review/Becker’s Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
