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Building a Workplace Culture of Trust

There’s little doubt that workplace culture is the key driver of success in any business. Your culture is your number one competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and keeping top talent, attracting customers, and boosting innovation, sales and productivity. And one of the key values that both drives and reflects an inspiring culture is trust.  You simply cannot sustain a healthy workplace relationship when trust is lacking.   When trust is broken, or when there’s even just a perception that trust is missing, the costs are enormous.  According to Edelman Trust Barometer 80% of people stop buying products or services bigstock-Trust-Concept--34774721from companies when trustworthiness comes into question. A lack of trust impacts your ability to attract employees and customers. It effects every aspect of your business and your culture. Morale plummets, stress soars and innovation becomes stifled. And it becomes substantially harder for leaders to influence or lead change in the workplace.

Conversely, cultures and leaders who are deemed trustworthy achieve enormous benefits that impact every bottom line financial aspect of an organization. You simple can’t afford to ignore the high costs associated with a lack of trust. Which is why great organizations and inspiring leaders are intentional hen it comes to building a great culture. They recognize that great cultures don’t just happen by accident!  Which also means being intentional about leading with your values – especially when it comes to one as critical as trust, which has the potential to impact how ALL your values are perceived and acted upon.

Here are seven ways to make sure you are building trust in your workplace.

1. Actions Speak Louder Than Words. Trite perhaps, but hey, when you’re talking about trust the only way to build it is through actions. When you say you’re going to do something by a certain date, do it! (It’s not rocket surgery.) And if you want to build trust fast remember the old service delivery cliché: under promise and over deliver. If you always do a little extra than expected, your trust currency will soar.

2. Communicate With Candor. High-trust organizations are open books when it comes to communicating. Semler Industries, for example, saves a seat at their board meetings for any employee to attend. Their financial books are completely open to every employee. Open communication fosters trust; closed communication fosters an environment of fear and suspicion. And you simply cannot communicate enough if you are trying to retain trust during a period of rapid change or turmoil.

3. Communicate With Authenticity. We trust people when they seem to be the real deal. So anything you can do to come across as more human and genuine builds trust. Using plain language builds trust. Making eye contact, being present, being accessible, and actively listening builds trust.

4. Be Vulnerable. Some leaders fear that sharing fears and emotions might make them appear weak, whereas inspiring leaders understand that being vulnerable makes them stronger leaders and that being vulnerable builds trust.

5. Admit Your Weaknesses, Admit What You Don’t Know, or What You Can’t Do! The employee handbook for the software company Valve includes a page about what they don’t do very well. Help wanted ads that offer more realistic, brutally honest descriptions of the actual work, receive more applicants. Leaders who talk about their weaknesses tend to score higher on trust surveys. Companies such as Zappos, that routinely recommend competitors when they can’t fulfill an order, score through the roof when it comes to trust.

6. Say You’re Sorry. When you need to apologize, apologize. A fast and sincere apology can do wonders to either restore or maintain trust.

7. Have a Sense of Humor. Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between humor and trust – we tend to trust people more who share an open, healthy sense of humor because humor helps us come across as more human and more real.

Michael Kerr is an international Hall of fame business speaker, trainer, and the author of seven books including, Hire, Inspire and Fuel Their Fire! 

Rave Reviews

“Your presentation was beyond excellent! You have the unique ability to both entertain and educate. It was the perfect mix of a serious business message, along with a very funny delivery.”
Dave Thompson, CFO & President, Sandvik Canada, Inc.
“Michael was brilliant! An incredible session that received a standing ovation. The content was a welcome and valuable divergence from typical educational sessions. If you need to leave your audience energized with great content, I highly recommend Michael Kerr!”
Dana Cooper, Executive Director, Orthotics Prosthetics Canada
“Michael held the full attention of our senior management team for a full 4-hour presentation! His management philosophy is a fantastic approach that I have encouraged my team to carry forward.”
Martine Rothblatt, Chairman & CEO, United Therapeutics
“It was evident, almost from the first word you spoke, that you would be one of the most memorable parts of the two days. Your high energy, fast-paced, powerful style had everyone on the edges of their seats. Beyond being incredibly entertaining, you gave the leaders pragmatic tools and ideas that are easily transferable to their jobs.”
Mark Breslaw, Human Resources Business Partner, Telus
“Michael’s Leading and Laughing During Turbulent Times was the best presentation I have seen in my 40 years in business.”
Rodney Meadows, Director East Alabama Home Medical
“That was one of the best virtual presentations I have been on and the best one since this pandemic! It was the highlight of my week and gave me a resurgence of positivity, motivation and energy.”
Natasha Purnell, Chief Culture Officer, Park Insurance
“Michael Kerr delivered an absolutely outstanding performance – virtually! His energy and humorous content had our event attendees wanting our company to book him again!”
Kylene Donaldson, Western Financial Group
“Michael Kerr’s humor, messages and energy was not lost at all in the virtual format and allowed us to continue an important tradition of having fun and being together. His messages on how to  build resiliency were delivered in an engaging way that really hit home!”
Brier Albano, Associate Registrar, Medicine Hat College
“With his high energy and animated presentation of over 90 minutes, he had everyone’s full attention!”
Jolaine Arsenault, Retail Market Analysis and Liaison Specialist, Co-op Atlantic
“Just wanted to say “WOW!” – that was awesome! We’ve had many speakers over the years, but none the likes of Michael Kerr.”
Richard Dansereau, President, NAPA Autopro BDG
“One of the most enjoyable keynote speakers we have worked with. Not only was it entertaining, it contained valuable lessons for our managers to take back to the office.”
Peter Panaritis, President, Brinks Canada Limited
“Many of the head office staff thought you were the best keynote speaker we’ve ever had! Thank-you for your invigorating and energizing keynote presentation.”
Tanya Dusyk, Territory Manager, Shell Canada
“Your dynamic and interactive presentation was the highlight of our conference. To this day, years later, we will often refer to the topics you enlightened and enriched our lives with!”
Steve Enns, Vice President and General Manager, TGS Harvard Management
“I wanted to share with you the amazing customer comments below. We’ve been employing various techniques that you described and I wanted you to know that your work makes a difference!”
Kevin Walsh, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, Showdown Displays
“Yours was one of the most effective, enlightening, and entertaining presentations we’ve ever had at a conference (and we’ve had a lot!).”
Mario Bernardi, Executive Director, ClimateCare Co-operative
“You were by far the best rated speaker. Michael’s energy influenced my entire experience at the conference.”
Mary Anne Yurkiw, Food Matters Conference Chair
“YOU ROCK! Michael had everyone in stitches and offered amazing workplace food for thought.”
Janice Vilaca, Program Administrator, Co-operative Education, Wilfred Laurier University
“I’ve seen Michael four times – he’s amazing. You come away with knowledge on how to make your workplace better and you don’t even realize you were being taught because you are so busy being entertained.”
Michelle Kimura, Owner, MicAr Marketing
“Thanks to your suggestions, staff feel engaged and empowered to start creating an inspiring workplace. You have made a huge, positive impact in just 90 minutes!”
Paola Zurro, Senior Director, Real Property Branch
“Michael exceeded our expectations in every aspect. He was nothing short of the star of our event. By far, the best speaker we’ve ever had!”
Rod Smith, VP, Business Development, Century Vallen
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