9 Communication Tricks to Build Trust in the Workplace

How you communicate matters beyond the words you use. Communication skills are critical to building and maintaining trust with employees, colleagues and clients.

In fact, 40% of employees have left jobs because they didn’t trust their manager, according to a LiveCareer survey. More than 50% have felt misled or lied to by a manager.

Trust Critical in Finance

When you work in Finance, the last thing you want is for employees, colleagues or clients not to trust you.

Instead, you want to gain and build trust in the workplace. Communication is key.

Here are nine trust-building ways to communicate. They come from experts at The Conference Board.

1. Lead with Empathy

Create a sense of togetherness when you share information, showing how it affects all of you in similar ways.

You can also show compassion by recognizing how it will affect the team or individuals in different ways.

2. Be Transparent, Accountable

Employees want to trust what their bosses say. It’s important to treat employees as adults and be direct and truthful, especially when it’s bad news.

Be transparent, explaining what you know, how you know it and how and when you’ll share more.

3. Commit to Well-Being

When you talk about difficult situations or share information that affects employees in negative ways, recognize their well-being as well. Remind them of organizational support and resources. Check in with HR if you don’t know what’s available or how they can access it.

They will almost always remember how you made them feel more than they’ll remember how the information affected them.

4. Stay Situationally Aware

Stay aware of how the information will unfold and affect employees and team dynamics.

Be open to feedback on how to go forward as circumstances evolve.

5. Communicate Regularly

Leaders can’t just dump information on employees and let it sit. You want to make sure employees don’t feel ignored after you’ve shared critical information.

The best way to maintain trust is to communicate relevant information often. When things are in flux, you might want to add “Ask Me Anything” discussions or daily email updates to your communication tools.

6. Make It a 2-Way Talk

As much as you share information, you want to get input and insight. If the buck doesn’t stop at you, take employees’ feedback up the line of command, sharing their concerns and expectations.

The same goes with your colleagues and clients: Share relevant feedback from others who need to hear it.

7. Remember the Big Picture

Most communication efforts – especially in a crisis or unchartered territory – aren’t one-and-done.

Recognize how the information or situation will affect the future of your organization, employees and clients – and speak to that.

8. Look Ahead

Communication after the current situation – whether it’s an organizational crisis or a major finance project – is just as critical as in-the-moment communication.

Follow up to find out how employees, colleagues or clients felt about how you communicated during the event. Get feedback on what could be done better.