How to Earn Employee Trust and Commitment (Human Factor by Bruce Johanson)

Within the last two decades and even more so in the last couple of years around Northwest Arkansas, there has been a strong push in the U.S. to run companies in a lean and profitable manner.

Companies are pushing hard to make the necessary changes to stay competitive. These efforts have also created the often dreaded words “downsizing,” “flatter organization,” and “lean and mean.” From an employee perspective, this has caused less trust, and commitment by the employee towards the company they work for. The level of employee loyalty seems to be dropping in many companies.

Thus, the question that needs to be asked and answered is “What can we do to gain or regain genuine employee commitment?”

First, employees need to feel that they are truly valued and are true partners in the organization. This can be accomplished by keeping employees up to speed on the company’s current performance and future outlooks and trends for the company. This will minimize the amount of potential negative surprises should the company be heading for tough times or expressing the good news of success that the company is enjoying and is expected to enjoy in the future. It is not good business for employees to find out something significant – good or bad – about their company by reading it in the local newspaper or seeing in on TV without receiving prior internal communications.

Secondly, employees are valuable resources when it comes to determining new services, new efficiencies, etc., as they are the ones close to customers and the business. Management must be open to hear and promote employees’ ideas and suggestions. For example, a team of inventory associates who work for a major local retailer came up with a more efficient method of how inventory is shipped to the various stores around the country. The first year’s savings was roughly $20 million dollars due to their efforts. Another example that I know of was a local bank executive who took lunch out to the various bank branch locations and would spend time over lunch talking about how the bank is doing and asking for input on now the bank could improve its services, operations and employee satisfaction. Employees can also tell you through confidential surveys if the company has too many employees, thus through attrition be able to save some on overhead cost and increase productivity and satisfaction with the remaining employees.

Thirdly, employees need to feel good about the company they work for. An employee wants to know that the company is well respected in their immediate community and beyond depending on the size of the organization. It may be time to look at the company’s core values and standards. Management, with their employees’ input, may need to establish or re-establish what the company stands for. All employees should be proud of whom they work for and management should help set the tone, image and standards to live by. I’m sure when the news of Enron, WorldCom, and other companies that were exposed for unethical practices, did not set well with their employees who had no control over those situations. Luckily, Northwest Arkansas is fortunate to have a great resource, The Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics, that assists organizations with ensuring its leadership, first and employees next, have a firm foundation on values, ethics and standards that are critical to the internal moral and professional code of conduct for the organizations.

Fourthly, the employees need to know in clear terms what is expected of them and how that fits into the big picture of the organization. By taking the time to ensure that all employees understand their jobs and the significance they have on the company, employees will typically respond in a positive and productive manner. I believe it is also important that you ask for and obtain their commitment for the work they are going to do. If they have any misgivings or are confused, this should help to uncover any unresolved issues. If there are none, the employee will be more likely to commit to the job and the company.

Lastly, employees feel more committed to the organization when their pay and benefits match up to the responsibilities and accountabilities of the job. If a position is worth $30,000 a year and the employer is paying $25,000, the employee will typically produce at the $20,000 level. Management needs to stay abreast of current pay and benefit practices and commit to providing appropriate pay and benefits based on the value of the job and the market standards.

When management consistently carries out these actions, employees will be genuinely committed to their job and the company. They will also be better prepared to understand and support the organization when tough times come upon it or ready to celebrate the ongoing growth and success of the company in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

(Bruce Johanson is a partner in the Johanson Group, a recruiting and consulting firm in Fayetteville. He may be reached at [email protected].)