{"id":3149,"date":"2019-02-01T20:16:48","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T20:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knowyourteam.com\/blog\/?p=3149"},"modified":"2025-02-27T15:23:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T23:23:52","slug":"the-bottom-line-benefits-of-building-trust-in-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2019\/02\/01\/the-bottom-line-benefits-of-building-trust-in-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 bottom-line benefits of building trust in the workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Building trust in our team is more than a “feel-good” thing \u2013 here’s the data that show how trust affects our team’s performance and the company’s bottom line.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Trust in the workplace matters to us<\/a>. Or at least, we say it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We surveyed 597 managers and employees back in Fall 2018, and 91% of people said they value trust<\/a> highly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also seem to spend a decent amount of time of it: 85% of managers say they spend a moderate to a large amount of time and energy on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, how many of us could specifically say what the specific outputs of trust are?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inherently, we know we\u2019re supposed to trust our team. But it\u2019s more an assumption than it is a true understanding of the payoff. Let\u2019s take a look at the exact benefits of trust in the workplace, so we\u2019re not just saying it matters, but understanding the ways in which it matters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1: Correlates to higher revenue<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Research often shows organizations seen as \u201chigh trust\u201d tend to have higher financial returns. A 2016 Harvard Business Review piece<\/a> written by Stephen M. R. Covey and Douglas R. Conant compiled many of these findings. They cited companies listed on the \u201c100 Best Companies to Work For\u201d<\/a> by Fortune, which trust comprises two-thirds of the criteria, \u201cbeat the average annualized returns of the S&P 500 by a factor of three.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also noted how \u201can advocacy group, Trust Across America, tracks the performance of America\u2019s most trustworthy public companies and has found<\/a> that the most trustworthy companies have outperformed the S&P 500.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, they discovered that \u201ca 2015 study by Interaction Associates shows<\/a> that high-trust companies \u2018are more than 2\u00bd times more likely to be high performing revenue organizations\u2019 than low-trust companies.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2: Improves job performance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A 2002 study conducted by Dirks and Ferrin<\/a> found that trust in leadership that significant relationship with these individual outcomes: increasing job performance, reducing turnover, increasing job satisfaction, and increasing organizational commitment. In addition, when in our own survey of 597 managers and employees, we found that 75% of people said they believe trust affects performance to a high degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3: Increases employee engagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to a Gallup study<\/a> of more than 10,000 people, when \u201cemployees don\u2019t trust organizational leadership, their chances of being engaged are one in 12. But when that trust in the workplace is established, the chances of engagement skyrocket to better than one in two. That\u2019s more than a six-fold increase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4: Encourages employees to spread the word about the company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trust is also your team\u2019s rocket booster: It also gives people the \u201coomph\u201d to spread the word about your company. In a 2016 Edelman study<\/a> with 33,000 employees, they found that employees who trust in their leadership team are more likely to advocate for their company and its product and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#5: Enables dissent and open flow of communication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trust opens the door for your team to express how they\u2019re actually feeling. A Harvard Business Review article<\/a> discusses how, \u201cWithout a foundation of trust, people in the organization may comply outwardly with a leader\u2019s wishes, but they\u2019re much less likely to conform privately\u200a\u2014\u200ato adopt the values, culture, and mission of the organization in a sincere, lasting way. Workplaces lacking in trust often have a culture of \u201cevery employee for himself,\u201d in which people feel that they must be vigilant about protecting their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remind yourself of these benefits anytime you\u2019re doubting whether you can afford to spend time on building trust. You can and you should. The payoff is real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2764\ufe0fTo help, you may want to peek at our\u00a0Building Trust in a Team module<\/a>\u00a0in Canopy\u200a\u2014\u200a<\/em>for genuine, non-cheesy ways for everyone in the team to get to know each other and cultivate warmth across the team<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>Sign up for free and try it out yourself today<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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