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Building trust in the workplace is key to increasing retention, productivity, and engagement across an organization. Without it, businesses can’t effectively scale their efforts and build strong, healthy company cultures. If you want your business to succeed, there must be mutual trust at every level, from your online and offline workers to management and C-suite leaders.
However, trust isn’t something that happens overnight — it’s built through consistent actions, open communication, and a commitment to transparency. According to PwC’s 2024 Trust Survey, 86% of executives say they highly trust their employees, but only 60% of employees feel highly trusted. The reality is that cultivating trust is essential to transforming workplace dynamics and creating environments where employees feel like they belong.
Whether you’re leading a team, managing a department, or simply working alongside colleagues, trust is indispensable. But how do you take such a broad concept and apply it to your business practices? Let’s explore how trust can become the cornerstone of organizational culture with nine actionable steps you can start implementing today.
Why does trust in the workplace matter?
Trust in the workplace matters because it:
- Helps employees feel secure in their jobs, which reduces turnover.
- Builds employee engagement, which often leads to higher quality work and better results for your company.
- Promotes an environment of psychological safety, where people feel comfortable asking questions, sharing ideas, and expressing thoughts.
Ultimately, these results must come from the top-down. When leadership can support change, effectively communicate, and inspire confidence in the future, 95% of employees say they’re able to fully trust their leaders. The more you can sustain those numbers, the easier it is to build a diverse and inclusive culture where employees can feel a sense of belonging and be more connected to their team.
“You can’t create a trusting organization without it being modeled as a value from the top of the organization.”
– Sarah Lewis-Kulin, VP Global Recognition, Great Place to Work
What are the 3 Cs of building trust in the workplace?
Building trust in the workplace starts with the 3 Cs: competence, character, and connection. Here’s how these qualities work together:
- Competence: Showing you have the skills and know-how to get the job done helps people feel confident in your abilities.
- Character: Being honest, dependable, and doing the right thing builds trust with those around you.
- Connection: Building real relationships and keeping communication open helps create a sense of understanding and mutual respect.
Each pillar acts as an essential part of a balanced, and sustainable workplace culture. If these qualities can be displayed at the highest level of your organization, your employees will see that you’re leading by example.
How to build trust in the workplace
Building trust at work takes time, but it’s always worth the effort. To help you get started, we’ve outlined nine of the best strategies for building a trust-centered workplace culture.
1. Listen more than you speak
Ask your employees to speak their mind, and when they do, genuinely listen. This is the foundation for positive workplace relationships built on mutual understanding and trust.
To improve your listening skills, engage in active listening training. This involves making a deliberate effort to ask your employees questions and encourage them to elaborate more so you can truly understand what they’re trying to communicate. There are opportunities to listen every day. For example, set aside some time in meetings for employees to discuss their work experience and how they’re feeling. Encouraging that always-on feedback is essential to helping your employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas, thoughts, and concerns.
Remember that you should be ready to listen to both positive and negative feedback, and that you need to show you’re open to their feedback whether you agree with it or not.
2. Ask for and act on feedback
HR professionals and managers can’t be everywhere to capture valuable employee feedback at all times, but it’s important to understand that employees want a voice in their organization. Creating trust between leadership and employees starts with giving them a platform to share their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. It’s a simple and effective way to learn what’s really going on across the business.
Companies are quickly learning the value of employee feedback tools and how they can be used to gauge employee sentiments and encourage open communication. To ensure your efforts are effective, be sure to request feedback regularly and consider an always-on, employee-driven feedback channel like a workplace chatbot to provide additional insights.
Once you gather feedback, analyze the results and find areas where you can improve. Having these insights at your fingertips is the best way to take actionable steps forward and address weaknesses before they become serious problems. Be sure to communicate the results to your team and work with them to figure out what actions you can take to improve their experience in the workplace. Building a collaborative action plan demonstrates transparency and helps employees feel valued.
3. Show appreciation every day
Yes, your employees get a paycheck in return for their work, but that simply isn’t enough to show that you value and trust them. It’s important to provide them with frequent recognition in real time.
You can show recognition by sending thank you messages, offering verbal praise, and distributing tangible rewards like bonuses and employee awards. Everyday appreciation builds a sense of community and helps employees feel emotionally secure, so when you recognize your team often, they’ll be more likely to trust you.
Remember that public recognition is just as important as recognizing employees privately — if not more so. You can highlight your employees’ accomplishments during team meetings, in a hall of fame, or via a company-wide newsfeed. Let others within your organization know that your workers are doing a great job — preferably with a recognition platform that makes recognizing employees from anywhere across channels a breeze.
4. Empower your team by trusting them first
Trust goes both ways, but it’s important to set the tone as a leader. Empower employees by encouraging professional development and autonomy. Add extra responsibilities onto their plate. Invite them to sit in on meetings that they typically wouldn’t attend. For instance, let a sales rep sit in on a strategy meeting so they can offer their on-the-ground insights to help guide your sales and marketing plans going forward. They’ll remember the trust you showed in them, and you’ll benefit from their unique perspective.
When you closely observe or micromanage your team’s work, your workers are bound to feel like you don’t trust them. Most employees don’t want you to look over their shoulders. They want to feel trusted enough to be able to work with minimal supervision. Macromanaging instead of micromanaging demonstrates that you trust your employees and believe in their knowledge and experience. Be supportive without hovering and show that you’re available without putting pressure on them, so your employees know you trust them to act on their own but are always there if they need to reach out.
5. Encourage coaching
Leadership is a vital part of building trust in the workplace, but not all leadership styles are created equal. Employees thrive in environments where they’re championed and encouraged, rather than the typical “boss” who delegates and disciplines. Employees want to feel like their manager is their coach — someone who can inspire them to do their best work. In fact, employees with managers who embrace a coaching mindset are 8x more likely to feel highly engaged than those whose managers don’t prioritize coaching.
When you coach employees, you provide them with more training, support, and encouragement, especially when they’re struggling. While most employees look to their manager as their primary source of learning and development, not all believe they currently fill this role. Set you and your team up for success by providing safe spaces to test new ideas, prioritize asking more questions, and approach every interaction with curiosity rather than judgement. Ultimately, be their cheerleader and help guide them in the right direction. Do this, and you’ll notice the difference coaching can make in your leadership strategy.
6. Practice consistency
Taking selective action will never create that keen sense of trust you need to drive success. You need to prove that you’re consistent. Practice what you preach, day in and day out, so your team knows what to expect and won’t have to wonder if you’re going to deliver. If you demand your team shows up on time, do the same. If you expect them to know your clients inside and out, do your homework as well. Your employees will trust that you’ll keep your word, lead by example, and do a great job.
While you’re practicing consistency with your performance, consider the same approach when you think about your mood at work. Do your best to stay calm, cool, and collected, even in uncomfortable or difficult situations. An inconsistent mood may instill nervousness and anxiety in employees, and it can make it difficult for them to trust you.
7. Focus on nonverbal communication and soft skills
While verbal communication is important, it’s not everything. Nonverbal communication and soft skills, like personality traits, attitudes, and behaviors are just as crucial. If you make eye contact with your employees and nod when they speak rather than check your email or look at the clock, it shows that you’re interested in what they have to say.
Positive body language combined with skills like empathy, patience, and problem solving create a welcoming atmosphere for employees and encourages them to approach you. Most importantly, always be genuine and authentic when communicating. If employees don’t think you’re speaking from the heart, any trust in you will disappear. The more comfortable your team feels around you, the more likely they are to believe in your words and in your leadership.
8. Create an inclusive culture
Your company culture is the collection of traits that define your organization. While your culture will be unique, it should reflect qualities like appreciation, resilience, and teamwork. Developing a culture that everyone at your workplace buys into is a key part of establishing trust in your organization.
That’s why it’s important to build an inclusive culture — one that accepts and values the strengths of all your employees. The ability to build a culture of belonging can have ripple effects across your organization. Achievers Workforce Institute (AWI) research shows that 59% of employees who feel like they belong at work are more engaged compared to only 8% of those with a low sense of belonging. But how exactly do you achieve those engagement metrics? Start by pursuing initiatives that focus on equal pay and benefits, workplace accessibility, and diversity education and training to start creating a culture that welcomes everyone.
Next, consider if you have resources in place to create community at work. Are there opportunities to create employee resource groups where people can come together to learn, support one another, and share ideas? Creating an inclusive culture starts with a commitment to increasing your DEIB efforts across your organization.
9. Be honest and transparent
In many cases, it can seem easier to tell your employees what they want to hear, rather than telling them the truth — especially during challenging times. But being honest, while being sensitive to their feelings, encourages employees to trust you. Every relationship, whether professional or personal, is based on honesty. One lie can ruin even a long-term relationship — potentially for good.
Transparency is especially important when it comes to discussing changes in the workplace. Change can mean different things to different people. It’s important that your employees are always in the know and that they feel comfortable coming to you with questions or concerns.
When being honest and communicating with your employees, engage them. They won’t feel valued if you tell them something and close without giving them the opportunity to speak. A two-way conversation makes it clear that you’re not there to talk at them — you’re there to talk with them. HR professionals play a key role in this process, acting as a bridge between leadership and employees to ensure concerns are addressed with care and transparency.
Build a culture of trust with your employees
One of the best ways to build trust in the workplace is by acting quickly on employee feedback and showing appreciation every day. There’s really nothing more meaningful to employees than seeing their concerns addressed or having their hard work recognized. It’s a simple way to show you truly value them.
Achievers can help you build that foundation of trust. Start with Achievers Recognize — our all-in-one employee experience platform, designed to amplify engagement and productivity across your organization. Take your recognition efforts to the next level with Achievers Listen, our integrated suite of feedback tools that lets you into the hearts and minds of your employees.
We give HR teams and people leaders the tools they need to connect with their people, make data-driven decisions, and create action plans that inspire employees to drive success — key foundations of building trust.
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