Alyce Vayle

Employees in any organization are heavily invested in their time at work.

Trust is often cited as one of the main hallmarks of a successful company and building employee trust is essential to the running and success of any given team.

According to Harvard Business Review, “Your employees must believe in each other. When they don’t, communication, teamwork and performance inevitably suffer.”

So how do you go about building a winning team that trusts each other and your organization as a whole?

Be Consistent

Consistency is a key factor of any successful organization.

How a place runs – including the rules around processes – are ways to communicate an organization’s visions, goals and ideals.

It is important maintain consistency from the regulations governing annual leave entitlements to which team is in charge of the kitchen roster!

Staff need to have a clear idea of what they can expect to encounter on any given day. Consistent rules and directives help employees to feel more in control of their working lives, as they are aware of the parameters that surround them.

Consistency helps employees to achieve their goals by freeing up headspace so that they can think about the future instead of stressing about what the day-to-day framework of the organization is going to look like.

Have Firm But Fair Policies

Every organization needs to ensure that the employee policies they set down are firm but fair.

There is an increasing move towards more flexible workplaces, where people can take advantage of lifestyle improving factors such as flexible start and finish times, the option to work from home, casual dress policies and open door access to upper managers.

While all these policies make for (generally) better workplaces, it is still valuable for employees to know the rules and regulations around these benefits so that they are used appropriately and judiciously for the benefit of all.

If employees feel like there are no firm policies, many will become disengaged and may feel that some people are taking advantage of the system, while others keep their nose to the grindstone.

Having firm but fair policies and communicating these effectively is key to any organization’s long-term success.

But Stay Flexible

The Work Life Balance Organization believes strongly in the benefits of providing a flexible workplace.

“Flexibility in where, when and how work is undertaken is a priority for most employees at different times in their careers,” and “If employers are to attract and retain staff they need to offer and support flexibility at their workplace.”

If your employees trust that you (as an organization) will support them when they require flexibility in their lives, such as when an unforeseen emergency comes up, they will be more likely to go the extra mile for you when they need to.

Demonstrating flexibility can be a great cost free (or low cost) incentive for staff members and one that has shown to have long-term value.

Never Badmouth Others

Toxic workplaces have become so common that there is even a Wikipedia page devoted to the subject. A toxic workplace could be defined as one that is “marked by significant drama and infighting, where personal battles often harm productivity.”

Bullying, backstabbing, and badmouthing are all signs that a workplace has become toxic.

Badmouthing others is never an acceptable workplace practice for an HR department. This may seem like an obvious point, but it is too often ignored. It is also one that is difficult to weed out once a culture of negativity has been established and allowed to grow.

Deal with staff members who badmouth their colleagues or upper management in a firm but fair way and communicate that the entire team and company at large demands a higher standard of engagement.

Be Transparent

Marc de Grandpre, senior VP of marketing for KIND was recently interviewed for an article the necessity of maintaining a transparent workplace.

In it he states, “It is absolutely critical to have both an authentic and transparent work environment.” – Click to Tweet

He also beg the question, “How can your company learn, grow and succeed if people are afraid to be themselves, voice their opinions and genuinely show that they care about the brand and team?”

Because, according Grandpre, transparency is essential for idea-flow and allows staff to flag problems early on, without the fear of recrimination or rebuke.

Set an Example

Older siblings set examples for their younger siblings and so should upper management set examples for their team.

An HR team should be the driving force behind the culture, the ethos and the values of any organization. It must enforce these guidelines judiciously.

How can team members be expected to uphold the best practices for their workplaces when they see management slacking off or behaving badly?

Leading by example is one of the most important ways organizations can foster employee trust.

“As a leader, part of your job is to inspire the people around you to push themselves – and, in turn, the company – to greatness. To do this, you must show them the way by doing it yourself.”

– Diana Vanbrabant

This is relevant whether you are a manager fronting a team or an HR department that is driving the organizations’ culture as a whole.

Alyce Vayle is a career writer, journalist and blogger for a major education brand. She is also a content producer, digital communications copywriter and media geek. You can contact her through her blog.

Creating and maintaining a successful team culture is one of the most effective ways to retain staff, keep them engaged, and ensure your company is meeting its targets.

Today, workers place a higher importance on the culture of an organization – if they don’t feel valued, appreciated and that they are a good “fit” they are more likely to move on.

Equally, hiring managers seek to fill roles with staff that enhance the company’s image, personality and ethos.

A team member who does not fit with the general culture of his or her organization will struggle to perform.

They may begin to feel restless and start to cause problems for the rest of the team, either deliberately or unintentionally.

Astronaut, engineer and military man Chris Hadfield said:

“Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high.”

Here are some techniques to build an effective team culture in your organization.

Have a Distinctive Personality

Every organization, even when only made up of a few individuals, needs to know what it represents to its customers and clients.

Paul Meehan of consulting firm Bain and Company says that turning commitment into strong performance relies on the fact that “a company’s personality needs to be complemented by behaviors that motivate employees to excel over and over again.”

Make sure that every employee from entry-levels staff to the chief executive team knows what is expected of them, so that they can be as productive as possible, while still maintaining a sense of individuality.

Hire the Right People

This is a simple point, but hiring correctly in the first place saves time and money.

It also prevents serious workplace issues such as disengagement.

Rather than just looking at a candidate’s experience and resume, consider how they are going to fit in with the company as a whole.

Remember that diversity is an essential part of any well-rounded workplace. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you need to hire a certain gender or age group for a role.

Every department benefits from a good mix of people, older and younger, parents and singles, ethnicity and gender diverse.

Have Open Communication Channels

Are you team members working in a silo? How accessible is upper management to the wider team?

When a worker has an issue, how easy is it for them to get assistance and how likely are they to seek out help from the correct channels?

Ben Kirshner of American Express’ Open Forum says:

“When employees feel they can engage directly with leadership, they’ll build a stronger sense of community with your organization as a whole.”

He also says that at Amex, this has been imperative to building a strong and solid team culture and an iconic brand.

Set expectations for your staff

Every team member needs to have a clear picture of where they fit, this should not be set in stone, but be flexible and constantly under review.

Team dynamics shift and change as new members are added and this affects the expectations placed on every worker.

According to Simon Moss, TRC Group’s Managing Director:

“Every employee should have clear expectations as to what they need to do to advance. They should know what that advancement will look like. If you begrudge it then you’ve foolishly set the standards too low.”

Keep Your Team Motivated

What sort of rewards systems do you have in place for when your team achieves goals?

Workers are placing an increased importance on other motivators.

Flexible/remote work, time off, incentives and “perks” like free meals and a decent coffee machine factor into their engagement.

Review the motivators that are in place to see if they are effective. Survey your teams frequently to find out what they value most because this will change as staff join or leave the team.

Foster a Team Mentality

John Keyser is the creator of a company called Common Sense Leadership.

He is an expert career motivator and works with executives to develop organizational cultures.

Keyser’s aim is to assist them to produce outstanding results and organizational improvement.

He says, “This fosters a stronger sense of interdependency and encourages everyone to share new ideas.”

And that “Viewing an individual by what they do fails to take into account many attributes and talents that an individual can contribute to creating a winning team.

Engaging others as partners in the success of an organization shows that you value people for who they are and not just by the results that they produce.”

How’s your team culture shaping up?

Finding and fixing gaps in your team culture strategy is a great opportunity to make their mark on your organization.

No winning team culture is built overnight and sometimes a few tweaks in the right direction can have an impact felt company wide.

Surveying current staff can be a great way to get started, either informally or as some sort of structured venture. Don’t be discouraged if what you discover is not 100% ideal – these “culture gaps” are golden opportunities for growth.

Alyce Vayle is a career writer, journalist and blogger for a major education brand. She is also a content producer, digital communications copywriter and media geek. You can contact her through her blog.