By Martin Barrett and Monte Regier
A culture of trust is a powerful predictor of why some companies are prosperous and others are not. When employees assess contributors to their satisfaction at work, a culture of trust ranks second after fair treatment of all people. Gallup reports that companies with socially engaged employees are 22% more profitable than those who mere watch the clock. Companies that have high trust have more social interactions between employees and customers, which result in more economic transactions that lead to prosperity. Trust is good for employees, increases profits and builds stronger communities.
At World Changers, we believe a culture of trust is where doing good and prospering coincide. The World Changers model is focused on helping companies extend generosity to build trust and attain more prosperity. Because prosperous companies have more to give away.
Every day we ask how can we help companies promote behaviors that increase trust (i.e. levels of oxytocin) between employees and customers. We focus is on repetitive activities because studies show that the more often a person engages in trust-building activities, the easier it becomes for them to reflect trust through empathy, compassion and loyalty. Consider these ways companies can promote trust and loyalty both internally and to a broader community.
- Give gifts. Giving gifts is good for both the giver and receiver. Companies that develop thank you programs internally with employees and externally with customers are, in fact, promoting trust. Using gifts to say thank you or just to surprise someone yields excellent results.
- Practice Generosity. Acts of generosity have a significant impact on companies working to develop employee and customer trust. You can increase the effect by including customers in the distribution of generosity to good causes. Most people shy away from doing generous acts if they are not “significant.” Remember the habit of generosity produces better results than large acts infrequently practiced.
- Publicly acknowledge others. While research shows that acknowledging others through social media raises oxytocin for everyone, we prefer live public acknowledgement over electronic methods. Acknowledging the generous and trustworthy acts of others gives an extra benefit. Grow a business culture that says thank you and acknowledges others.
Practiced over time, these habits can move your company to a position of deeper trust and loyalty between employees and customers. We recommend that you travel this road because you would like to contribute to a better world. The research also suggests you’ll be more prosperous. If you need some help building a culture of trust, give us a call. Our goal is greater prosperity.