You or the company – Who does your employee trust?

Human psychology at work captured by many theorists and researches dictates patterns of thought and behaviour. The rational mind tempered with an irrational environment makes people behave in very unpredictable ways.

What one person would die to achieve would not be tried by another even if it was a part of one’s duty. The environment is quite volatile now. Wherever we go, whether it is the UK, USA or any part of Asia, uncertainty is the order of the day. Unemployment, low wages and quality of work life deteriorating are just a few of the issues that loom in the working environment. As such, the business community needs to help HR build a more liveable environment at work.

A recent informal survey I conducted with 30 large companies shows that many employees don’t seem to trust their companies and or their bosses. Some trust their co-workers and they even like their job for the most part, but they don’t believe that their managers/seniors are making the best decisions. This is especially true when it comes to decisions made about them. Some feel that they can’t trust anyone at work.

Main reasons for distrust

nManagers and companies don’t seem to ‘walk the talk’. They have their own agenda to feather their nest. Companies have value statements that don’t resemble their work ethic by a long shot.

nOrganisational politics – It’s about whose team you are on or who likes you. Many play favourites among employees.

nLinguistics or may be even the school you attended – Acceptance levels vary according to one’s language skills or school attended.

nPeople management system denotes hypocrisy – Performance management is bad enough, but for some it doesn’t apply at all. People get paid above the job scale and or get other benefits.

nPeople’s emotions are not taken in to account. It’s a people game – Emotional intelligence is crucial for taking care of people.

nOrganisations don’t help employees to build a work life balance – There is a sense of tiredness and hopelessness in the air. The role of HR tries to match the needs of the people as much as build resilience to perform better. Yet, are we succeeding? When a professional leaves home at 6 a.m. and works till 8 or 9 p.m. and returns home at 10 p.m. for six days of the week, home becomes a ritual of dining and resting and not much else. Some might return home by 7 p.m., but only to answer e-mails or continue to work at home till 10 p.m.

nThe managers do not take the time to coach the employees; they are only there to reprimand them at the end of the year.

nThe managers are not developing themselves and are living in the dark ages. They don’t read, nor do they want to hear a great idea – They feel many of the ‘youngsters’ are too smart for their own shoes. As a result the generation war begins. People don’t trust their bosses as they are stagnant with their knowledge.

Two questions to think about

nDoes it matter that your employees don’t trust you or the company?

nHow do you find out?

We believe the first question is the easier one to answer – yes, it matters very much. The four biggest reasons why it matters are related to performance, profits, retention of talent and employer brand.

Performance

It is common sense that one will not get top performance out of any employee who does not trust in the system or its people. If they don’t trust you to make the best decisions and trust you to look out for their best interests, they feel they have to do it themselves. The time spent worrying about their issues, or thinking about how to do it, takes away their attention from the output.

If your employees don’t trust the management, then the managers probably aren’t going to trust them too much either. As a result much time would be spent on factors of checking and going through documents/end products.

Profits

Loss of time, creativity and attention to detail could result in heavy losses to the company. One cannot drive people only through KPIs and goals – they need to live collaborative KPIs. In the service industry, a smile can dictate if the service was good or bad. When employees are emotionally disconnected, one cannot expect the best. If the competitors do it better, then one has lost out.

Retention of talent

Talented people love to work for organisations that care for them. Their passion drives them to excellence all the time. When they have a company that cares for them – for example, a boss who shouts at them when they are not going home to look after their kids – they then begin to emotionally attach themselves to the company. This bond creates a form of love money can’t buy.

A general rule of thumb in Sri Lanka says that an executive will not leave his/her job for a better job, other things held constant, for less than 25-30% pay rise. The rule of thumb also says an executive in a company they are attached to as a ‘family’ will not leave unless a 50% or above salary is offered. It also says people are willing to stay within the firm for a salary less than 10% below the market value if the company culture and bosses look after them.

(The writer – B.Bus (Mgt) (HRM), MBA, MAHRP, NLP Master Practitioner, SLID – is Past President of the Association of Human Resource Professionals.)