Building trust and engaging in open communication can help HR managers to build the trust of leadership with their employees. If junior employees feel neglected, it means that HR is not doing enough to improve employee relationships.
Lack of trust could make employees fear talking about the problems they are facing at the workplace and this could affect their productivity. In this blog, we look at five ways HR can gain the trust of leadership while boosting employee experience.
Building an inclusive and a fair workplace
HR teams can focus on building a positive culture by ensuring that the workplaces are equitable and fair. Autonomy, recognition of challenging tasks, and social responsibility commitments can also motivate employees to build trust from their leaders.
The HR leadership should identify what inspires employees and then develop practices, benefits, and policies accordingly. To build an inclusive and fair workplace, HR should begin by addressing the hiring processes by ensuring that they are not biased.
Hiring employees without being biased is a way of demonstrating to them that the organization does not advocate for discrimination whatsoever. As such, the employees are likely to feel more comfortable with HR. The HR leadership must also ensure that employee remuneration is fair and equitable and take complaints seriously.
Giving confidentiality priority
Honoring employee confidentiality and keeping their private matters private regardless of the situation is one of the best ways to build trust with the employees. This entails avoiding sharing private information with leaders and subordinates without consent from the employees.
Unless for legal reasons, an employee should not encounter any form of betrayal with anyone in the organization. HR teams deal with lots of employee personal data and it is very important to protect it. In some cases, it is important to consider employee transparency and also for HR to keep the employee information confidential. In case employee information is accidentally leaked, this may result in a compromise of leadership trust.
Keeping the data secure and safe ensures that employees trust their HR and feel free at their workplace. Organizations can invest in HR software to allow the HR teams to receive information regarding the best ways to protect employee data.
Introducing staff wellness programs
Some employees may not feel comfortable about airing their views and concerns to HR, whether there is an element of trust or not. HR can build trust with employees by offering contacts and tools that they need for guidance or support. Some employees could be facing issues with finances or relationships, and this may affect their performance in the long run. HR teams can introduce wellness programs to allow employees to deal with financial issues.
The pandemic has caused employees to suffer from mental health issues, so HR introduces employee assistance support to empower employees. By so doing, the employees will realize that HR is concerned with their affairs and so they will build trust. Wellness programs can also improve the overall employee health and reduce the cost of healthcare.
Engaging in open communication
Practicing open communication with employees entails communicating company practices, policies and strategies in simple terms. The HR leadership should be clear about the company expectations from the goals point of view. During meetings, HR should listen to employee contributions and acknowledge their feedback while encouraging them to ask questions. Staff meetings enable HR to hear employee feedback, ideas, and concerns and respond accordingly.
In the case of remote working, the HR teams may not connect with employees physically but they can do so virtually through video calls. HR should regularly contact employees who are working remotely to evaluate their performance and identify whether they have any problems or concerns.
Employee engagement platforms that are suitable for remote workers allow companies to drive valuable change through feedback from employees. Open communication between employees and HR can enable employees to understand that they can raise issues at any time and subsequently be comfortable at the workplace.
Training HR teams
Training HR teams adequately on matters of employment laws can influence the way the employees feel about the company leadership. The HR leadership should train the teams about how to handle employee complaints and manage other essential responsibilities. Training allows employees to build confidence with HR leadership by enabling teams to treat them with dignity. The employees can respond to any changes that could be caused by organizational restructuring.
The organizational leaders can conduct training by benchmarking against the competition to find out what the competitors are doing. Reviewing the social media sites may allow the management to read the customer comments about the company. The management could use digital platforms to train HR teams about the importance of employee feedback. This creates an opportunity for employee growth and trust with the HR leadership.
Wrapping it up
Having a trusted HR at the workplace can have a positive impact on the overall employee performance. The leadership should always evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of HR functions and make changes where appropriate. HR managers looking to cultivate solid relationships with their employees should consider implementing the above strategies. Doing so is a great way to support employee growth and empower the future of organizations.
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- 5 Ways HR Can Gain the Trust of Leadership - April 16, 2024
