As a small business owner, you have a number of important items on your mind – a financial plan, customer satisfaction, revenue – just to name a few. However, you should also be concerned about your employees' trust.
For example, how well your employees have trust in you as a leader, and in your company as a whole, could directly lead to increased productivity, a boost in sales and other positive benefits. They'll feel that you are honest, and they'll buy in to your strategy and your rhetoric. This is all good news – with a high level of trust, your small business can position itself for growth long into the future.
On the other hand, without trust, you may run into some serious problems. So, with that in mind, here are four effective ways to guarantee your employees trust you:
1. Get involved in the business
In today's business world, too many leaders have a tendency to order their workers around. They often take the idea of a "boss" to heart, and this can cause some employees to turn away from the company and become less invested. Instead of this, Inc. magazine recommended that you become a coach, not a commander. This incorporates the idea of teamwork into the company. It is better to be a part of the process and help out whenever possible, often by asking questions, offering up services and ensuring that workers have all the tools they need to be successful.
2. Be honest and open
The details of your financial plan and business banking account may not be for everyone in your company, but making sure that other bits of information – such as open job positions, new strategies and changes to pay – should be shared equally among everyone. According to Inc. magazine, it is better to be open, honest and tell the truth. Doing so is a great way to earn your employees' trust. For instance, if you hide the facts or go behind someone's back, there is a good chance they'll find out quickly. If this happens, you'll lose whatever goodwill you've already earned.
3. Connect on a personal level
In addition to honesty and involvement, small business leaders should also connect with their workers on a personal level.
"Managers will never learn the truth about a company unless they have employees' trust," Jim Dougherty, software CEO and a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, told the Harvard Business Review.
With this in mind, you should gain their trust by making that connection, the news source noted. For starters, get to know your staff members. Take them out for a meal, implement team-building activities in the office or help out with their jobs for a little while – like making a few sales calls. While you are in charge, it doesn't hurt to get to know the other people in your company, and doing so can have a widespread positive effect.
Dougherty added that you should do something that shows workers that you are one of them, in order to demonstrate that you are in it together.
4. Give credit where it is due
Balancing punishment with reward is a tricky part of small business ownership. According to the HBR, you should take the blame whenever possible and reward those around you when they have done something good. Most importantly, never steal the spotlight from your staff members. When a benchmark is hit, offer praise or send out a company-wide announcement. This will make the people involved feel good about themselves, and they'll be more likely to trust you when you ask them for something.