Five Secrets to Gaining Credibility with Your Team for Outstanding Results

Towers Perrin, the corporate benefits consulting firm,
surveyed over 1000 American workers and found the
following:

* Only 51 percent of all workers trust their organizations to
tell the truth in employee communications
* Only 48 percent of all workers with more than five years of
tenure believe their companies are honest in their employee
communications
* Only 44 percent of all workers over age 50 trust their
organizations to tell them the truth in employee
communications

Organizations then wonder why worker productivity
decreases, employee loyalty is at an all time low, and human
resource situations increase. Your employees see everyday,
at least in their eyes, the following:

* Record profits, yet massive layoffs
* Hearing how important they are, yet having their jobs
outsourced
* Experiencing changes to their jobs, yet not being asked for
their ideas
* Being told how they are doing a great job, yet being yelled
at for mistakes in front of colleagues

No wonder there is tension in the workplace. When I work
with organizations, the following three concerns are the ones
usually express:

“My supervisor, manager, etc., doesn’t know how to
communicate with me.”
“I am the last to hear about bad news.”
“He/she never asks me for my ideas.”

Because of these concerns, there is a divide, professionally,
emotionally, mentally, and physically between the employees
and their supervisor/manager, etc., which leads to lost
productivity.

The following are five secrets that will increase your
credibility with employees and produce outstanding results
for your organization:

1. Be Honest
You owe it to your employees and to colleagues to be
honest. Tell your employees exactly where they stand within
the organization. Be positive, yet don’t sugar coat it. Once
your employees know where they stand, use this as a
stepping stone for improvements and solutions you can
work on together.

2. Be Consistent
Be consistent with your communication among employees.
You will lose credibility with employees if they see you
communicate differently with different employees concerning
the same situations. For example, if you berate an employee
(which I’m sure you would never do) for a mistake, yet say
nothing to another employee for the same mistake, you will
lose credibility.
Also, be consistent with the way you communicate your
moods. Remember, if you project a professional manner, no
matter the situation, your employees will emulate your
behavior.
3. Communicate Bad News ASAP
There is nothing worse for employees than hearing bad news
from human resources, shareholders, the news, friends,
family, and even their religious leader, but not from you, their
manager. The biggest reasons I hear for not telling
employees are the following:
“Management asked me to keep it secret.”
“I don’t have all the facts yet.”
“I don’t think the employees can handle the bad news.”
Well, guess what:
* Employees always find out about bad news (sometimes
before their supervisors/managers, etc.).
* Employees always appreciate when you share whatever
information you have with them as long as you are honest
with them.
* Employees can take more than you think if you are
sensitive to their concerns and express these concerns with
them.
Will some of them be unhappy in the short run? Some
employees may not be happy; however, they will respect
you as a manager that respects them and keeps them
informed of all news, good or bad.
4. Give and Receive Constant Feedback
Employees want feedback on, “How am I doing?” By giving
constant feedback, you are developing a bond of trust that
improves the performance of your employees.

Remember, your employees are always doing something well.
Make sure you come from a positive position of
improvement when giving feedback. Let your employees
know that you appreciate their efforts and the difference
they make each day.

Also make it “safe” for employees to give you feedback. Let
them know that no one is perfect (I know we think we are)
and that you value their feedback to make the work
environment a “win-win” situation for all involved. Teach
your employees how to give feedback, both positive and
constructive. Remember, as a leader, you are constantly
developing your employees for the next level.
5. Ask for Employee Solutions
People go to work to succeed, not fail. Employees also go to
work because they want to make a difference at their job.
One of the best ways for employees to feel they are making a
difference is to involve them in the solution creation process.

Make asking for solutions from your employees an ongoing
process. Whether during staff meetings, one-on-one
sessions, etc., make it safe for employees to develop their
own solutions. If given the opportunity, your employees will
come up with solutions that are innovative, proactive, and in
some cases better than any solution we can ever develop.

To motivate your employees to create solutions, you must
do the following:

* Give them credit for the solutions
* Create reward systems for solutions
* Make it easy for them to communicate solutions
* Massage solutions for positive results

Very importantly, if employees share a solution with you,
please, please, please, give them feedback ASAP. You will
lose employee credibility if they think you don’t care or are
taking credit for their ideas.

Apply these techniques now and you will gain credibility and increase productivity with your employees while
developing a high performance environment that achieves outstanding results.

Source: Towers Perrin, Enhancing Corporate Credibility-Is It
Time to Take the “Spin” Out of Employee Communication?
January, 2004