Building Trust Among Your People
It’s all about trust! How do you create an environment where people trust each other so that management is able to be collaborative rather than directive or dogmatic? The answer is through management of your people and culture.
This is a new world where most staff working remotely provides extraordinary opportunities to save time, travel less and be accessible to home life. To achieve a continuity of trust, it is crucial to maintain relationships, open conversations with your people and culture you’ve spent so long developing.
I hear the phrases, “but I’m always available so I don’t need a specific time” or “my metaphoric door is always open”. However, this just doesn’t work when you’ve lost regular eye contact. I maintain that I can walk a floor and know who management should be concerned about through instinct and awareness; this is difficult to do when you’re on Zoom.
So, when you’re developing a plan to ensure continuity of people and culture, be clear about your focus. It’s an unpredictable world which creates all levels of anxiety. Be careful about prioritising profit over health; we know they’re both important, so let your team know that you know it too.
Some points to consider to create confidence in your leadership:
MENTOR
You can’t see who needs this, so assume everyone does, and create a mentoring program. This is a great opportunity to involve everyone, and give options to opt-out rather than opt-in.
BUILD
Build relationships with new staff. Induction programs are important; the training is almost as important as introducing your new staff to the expected behaviour in your business. It’s still expensive to hire. Invest to ensure longevity of tenure for your staff.
RECOGNISE
Recognise the introverted and the extroverted members of your team. Introverts need more time to regroup before returning to the office while extroverts are champing at the bit. Know your team well enough to identify how to support individuals.
PREPARE
At the moment, there is continual change. Be prepared by recognising that the rules are changing. Follow government guidelines and consider the many options available to manage the situation. For example, A and B teams, odd and even days, week 1 and week 2.
PLAN
As always, have a plan and make sure it’s agile. We may be going back into lockdown (sorry Victorians – I’m hearing how hard it is). Keep up to speed with the latest news.
If you’re not sure how to proceed, call me. I’ve got so much experience in this field and can talk you through some ideas and options.