The Importance of Building Trust within Your Organization

Trust must be woven into every facet of an organization if it wants to thrive. Trust is needed between a business and its customers, between employees and leaders, and between coworkers. It is an essential part of business, and yet it is often overlooked. Many people get so caught up in making a profit or making a name for themselves that they forget that without trust, they have nothing. Trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets. If you want your business to be successful, you must work on building trust.

When trust flows easily, businesses develop customer loyalty, they experience a higher level of team collaboration, they take innovative action, and they have employees who are happy to show up to work. Think about what it would be like to come into your place of work and not trust anyone else there. That would be exhausting, and you would quickly start looking for new employment. Now, imagine that as a customer, you had the choice between working with a company that you trust to be ethical and honest, and to listen to what you need, or working with a company that is solely focused on their own gain and who you are wary of. It’s an easy choice to go with the company that you trust.

We understand the importance of trust when we are the customers. It is crucial that we build that understanding when we are part of the business that is trying to attract and retain new customers. When a company demonstrates that they are untrustworthy, it can be nearly impossible to come back from that. We naturally guard ourselves against risk, and when there is a lack of trust, there is an abundance of risk involved.

Long-term success and trust go hand in hand. Not only do you need a solid foundation within your organization, you also need the outside world to trust that you are who you say you are and you’ll do what you say you’ll do. Be as open and as forthcoming as you can, and never give anyone a reason to doubt your mission and vision. Trust will benefit the company when done right, but it can be detrimental when there is a lack of it.

-Meghan Slaughter