Why emphasizing safety builds trust with employees

I just read another survey showing that many employees do not trust their bosses. Numerous studies show that trust in their immediate supervisor is one of the most important elements of job satisfaction for employees. However, this remains an elusive goal for many organizations.

If you are a boss:

• Do your direct reports trust you?
• Do their direct reports trust them?
• How do you know?
• Do you cross your fingers hoping that organizational members trust each other?

Trust is the foundation for teamwork, and the challenge for many companies is creating an organizational culture of teamwork. If you are working on teamwork without addressing the trust issue, you are missing the boat.

Let’s see if a “5 Why” problem analysis can be of value:

1. Why isn’t our organizational performance where we want it to be?
Answer: We suffer from a lack of teamwork

2. Why don’t we have better teamwork?
Answer: Though not spoken, we believe there is a lack of trust

3. Why is there a lack of trust?
Answer: One reason is that employees don’t feel like we care about their personal well-being

4. Why don’t employees feel like management cares about their well-being?
Answer: Safety is not viewed as an organizational value

5. Why isn’t safety viewed as a value?
Answer: Because management confuses the organization with statements and actions like:

• Safety is #1
• Safety is only in the workplace
• Not communicating the concept of “safety is a 24-7 value”

Improving performance

Here’s the message:

• You cannot have a high-performing organization without teamwork and trust
• You cannot build trust without safety as an integral part of daily business
• You cannot get people to “want to” be safe without establishing that safety is a personal responsibility extending beyond the worksite

If you want an organizational culture of teamwork and continuous improvement, you need to have safety as a value – not a priority that conflicts with other priorities. When that value is driven by senior leaders as part of their daily business, you are taking the first steps in a very long journey to building trust – and a sustainable organization.