Addressing the Leadership Trust Crisis to Retain a Strong Workforce

Leadership plays an integral role in ensuring employee engagement, satisfaction and workplace productivity as a whole. However, in recent years it has become increasingly apparent that employee trust in leadership is rapidly declining, posing a significant threat to employee engagement and satisfaction, but also operational efficiency and productivity. This may be due to a multitude of factors, such as lack of transparency, unfulfilled promises and communication gaps. Maintaining trust between employees and leadership is crucial to retaining top talent, engagement and fostering a sense of connection and belonging amongst team members.

This blog addresses the potential drivers behind the leadership-employee trust crisis, the results of this and strategies to rebuild trust and foster a sense of long-term loyalty.

Drivers behind the leadership-employee trust crisis

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A lack of trust between employees and leadership can form as a result of multiple factors, whether it be leaders not being transparent enough or employees not feeling secure in their jobs. Below are the most common drivers behind a lack of trust in the workplace:

Lack of transparency
When employees are left in the dark about certain business decisions that have an effect on their roles and responsibilities, it can form a sense of distrust in leadership. When leaders also provide limited or unclear communication, it leaves employees feeling excluded which can also create distrust.

AI and technology challenges
Employees who aren’t technologically savvy may feel concerned about the rise of AI and the introduction of more digital technologies in the workplace, which may result in feelings of insecurity and ambiguity around their place in the organization.

Job insecurity and burnout
When employees feel that their jobs are at risk or when there are high-pressure or stressful environments in the workplace, they tend to lose trust in their leadership.

Inconsistent values and actions
Another way trust can be reduced between employees and leadership is when leadership does not align their actions with the overall values of the organization.

The Result of Low Trust in Leadership

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When employees lose trust in leadership, it may have a negative impact on a range of important operational processes in the organization. Here are a few examples:

High Turnover Rates
When employees feel at risk and lose trust in their leadership and the organization that they work for, they often start to seek opportunities that they believe are more dependable. This poses a significant threat to retaining employees and if they do follow through, the organization is likely to deal with the challenge of high turnover rates which not only reduces productivity, but also creates a bad reputation for clients and when it comes to attracting new employees.

Diminished Engagement and Productivity
If employees have reached the point where they no longer trust their leadership, it often lowers their motivation and willingness to do well in their jobs, resulting in decreased engagement and reduced productivity.

Difficulties in Attracting New Talent
When employees lose trust in the organization, it often leads to increased turnover, which can then have a negative effect on the employer brand, making it more challenging to recruit and retain future employees.

Strategies for Rebuilding Trust in Leadership and Retaining Top Talent

If leadership can sense that employees are less motivated and that there is reduced productivity in the organization, it may be a sign to start attempting to win back the trust of employees. There are a number of strategies that leadership can use to rebuild trust between employees and leadership or the organization as a whole.

Here are a few:

Share and uphold company values
In order to earn employees trust, it is crucial for leadership to share the values of the organization and live by them. This instills trust and credibility amongst employees as they can see leadership taking accountability for their actions.

Communicate with employees transparently and consistently
For leadership to truly win employee trust, they need to consistently share honest updates about the organization, such as performance standings, goals and challenges that are being faced. In addition to this, leadership is encouraged to create spaces where employees can openly share their thoughts and ask questions to leadership. When leadership is transparent with their employees, it has a significant positive impact on trust.

Encourage middle managers to build connection with employees
Another way for leadership to rebuild trust with employees is to empower middle managers to get closer to and build a connection with their employees. This can be done by providing middle managers with the necessary tools and resources to communicate in an effective, transparent way and lead their teams with empathy. In addition to this, managers can act as advocates for their individual teams, where they can allow employees the opportunity to express concerns and share them directly with leadership, ultimately strengthening the chain of trust within the organization.  

Request employee opinion in decision-making
Employees feel valued when they can share their own opinions, thoughts and ideas within an organization and a great way to rebuild trust in this aspect is to involve employees in decision making when it comes to projects and company decisions. Leadership can then make use of feedback channels to acknowledge their contributions, which ultimately creates a sense of inclusion and belonging.  

Use AI and technology responsibly
Some employees may feel overwhelmed and that their jobs are at risk by the adoption of AI and technology in the workplace, however leadership can counteract this overwhelm by educating employees on the use of AI within the organization and that their jobs require human input. Leadership can also encourage employees to share their feedback on the technology platforms that the organization makes use of, allowing them to address concerns before they flare up.

How Qualee can Rebuild Trust between Leadership and Employees

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Tools like Qualee are key to rebuilding trust between leadership and employees in an organization, promoting a culture of connection and belonging. Qualee assists organizations in bridging the gap between leadership and employees in a number of ways, such as:

Engagement
Qualee Engage’s survey feature allows leadership to obtain valuable insights into employee sentiment and engagement continuously, ensuring proactive detection of any issues. In addition to this, Ad Hoc Surveys can also be used as a tool to gather employees’ opinions and thoughts on certain projects or company initiatives.

Messaging
Qualee’s Messaging feature enables leadership to stay in touch with employees in real-time through a mobile-first app, allowing them to consistently communicate transparently, ensuring employees are always aligned to organizational efforts.

Learning
Qualee’s Learning feature enables leadership to provide training to middle managers on how to communicate effectively and lead with empathy. In addition to this, the Learning feature can also be used to provide training to employees on new technology systems or the adoption of AI in the organization, giving them more security in their jobs.  

Conclusion

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In conclusion, when employees trust their leadership in an organization it results in increased engagement, satisfaction and overall productivity. However, when trust is lost as a result of ineffective communication or not aligning actions with values, it is important for organizations to rebuild this trust to avoid high turnover rates, a damaged employer brand or loss of productivity. In order to do this, organizations can make use of best-in-class technology, such as Qualee, to effectively communicate with employees, obtain valuable feedback and provide necessary training, ensuring all teams are powered for success.

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