Tools for building trust and loyalty with employees
Building trust and loyalty with employees is crucial for fostering a positive and productive work environment.
Here are some common strategies that are used by managers to build trust and loyalty with employees, and how you could utilise WUZZOO software (online training, learning management system and digital forms) to help implement these strategies . . .
Effective Communication
Strategy:
Establish open and transparent communication channels. Actively listen to your employees’ concerns, ideas, and feedback. Provide clear and timely information about the organisation’s goals, changes, and decisions.
Use WUZZOO digital forms to regularly survey your employees to find out what are their challenges, what they appreciate and what they need and want in their roles.Â
You could also use a digital form for a complaints and feedback register.
It is important that when you seek feedback and information, you acknowledge and address the responses. This doesn’t mean you need to implement every suggestion, but you should thank people for their ideas/feedback and discuss the merits or challenges associated with the information. When implementing ideas that have been put forward by a team member, it is an opportunity to reward and recognise their initiative.
Even if the surveys allow anonymous submissions, make sure that your team can see you are taking the feedback seriously.Â
It is also important that your responses are not defensive. Communicate in a way that would encourage further feedback and develop trust.
"I feel like I am being heard and that I can contribute"
Empowerment and Autonomy
Strategy:
Give employees the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work. Provide opportunities for growth and development, delegate responsibilities, and recognise their achievements. Encourage creativity and innovation.
Use the WUZZOO online training platform to ensure employees are confident to perform their roles and understand how what they do impacts on the goals of the business and their team. With this level of understanding, they can make informed decisions about the actions they take.Â
Employee training can be used to provide an understanding of the objectives, mission and values of the organisation, knowledge of how to do their role, professional and personal development.Â
A very cool career development program I have been involved with provides self-driven training programs for employees who want to further their career. Each career pathway has a clear step-by-step process that employees follow. This gives employees the resources, access and information they need to drive their own career development.Â
"My values align with the company. When I see these values being put into action, I know I'm in the right place."
"I can trust my team to do what is needed. This means I can work on the business more"
Recognition and Rewards
Strategy:
Acknowledge and appreciate the efforts and contributions of your employees. Provide regular feedback, both positive and constructive, to help them improve. Implement a fair and effective reward and recognition system that aligns with their performance and accomplishments.
A while ago I was managing a team and I wanted to acknowledge teamwork and encourage people to support each other. I also wanted to bring a bit of fun into the office.Â
I ran a competition for a month, where team members nominated each other for doing something that they felt went above and beyond what was expected of them and to show their appreciation. I called the competition ‘Stars for Starts’, because each nomination was called a ‘star’.
The team had a lot of fun with the completion. One team member made a coffee for all her team mates and stuck a huge star on the cups as a way of asking for a nomination. But the real magic was that people were very keen to nominate and acknowledge the big and little things that they did for each other every day. It was a great team bonding activity.Â
At the end of the month, I announced the winner of the prize, and let them know that for every one point that was accumulated for the people nominated, I also gave a point to the person who did the nominating. This was done to reward the generosity of the nominees.Â
Competitions can bring a lot of fun to the workplace, but are also a good way of recognising and rewarding the behaviours we want to encourage and the outcomes we are striving form.
Use the WUZZOO digital forms platform to make managing these types of activities easy.Â
"When I can see my work colleagues or manager appreciate what I do, I want to give even more"
Support Work-Life Balance
Strategy:
Show understanding and support for your employees’ personal lives. Encourage a healthy work-life balance by promoting flexible work arrangements, providing wellness programs, and offering benefits that cater to their well-being.
WUZZOO digital forms and online training tools are accessed via the internet, so they are available to employees who work remotely or at different times/days to “normal” office hours. This includes the account administrator’s access. Access is via web browsers (no download of software needed).Â
Additionally, online training is a great medium for facilitating wellbeing and personal development training, which we highly encourage organisations share with their employees. This will go a long way to creating a healthy and productive workplace.Â
Since Covid, it is becoming a common workplace activity to do Mental Health check activities in companies. These are usually a digital form that employees are encouraged to complete regularly, which can help managers gauge how their team are coping with pressures.
"One of the benefits of my job is that I can work from home. I can be productive working remotely if I have access to the tools and resources that I need"
Collaboration and Teamwork
Strategy:
Foster a collaborative and inclusive work culture where employees feel valued and included. Encourage teamwork, cooperation, and knowledge sharing. Create opportunities for cross-functional collaboration and encourage diverse perspectives.
People love to contribute, so when we develop training resources, it is a good practice to give people an opportunity to contribute their ideas, feedback and/or knowledge to the project. If team members have contributed to the process, they are more likely to use and promote the training product.
Building training is a very powerful team building activity and it can highlight some opportunities for innovation and best practice development.Â
"The best way to learn is to teach"
Development Opportunities
Strategy:
Invest in your employees’ professional growth and development. Provide training programs, mentorship, and opportunities for skill-building. Help them identify and achieve their career goals within the organisation.
The training and development needs of an employee will change over time, so your training program should cater to this. By having your training programs online, your staff can access the relevant training at the relevant time. This is how a learning culture is established within an organisation. The WUZZOO team can help you develop an employee training and development program which is designed specifically for your organisation.Â
"I'm not interested in doing the same 'refresher' training each year. I want training that will help me grow and develop"
Regular Feedback and Improvement
Strategy:
Conduct regular performance reviews and check-ins to provide feedback on employees’ progress and set goals for improvement. Actively involve employees in decision-making processes and seek their input on matters that affect them.
Use the WUZZOO digital forms platform to develop and manage your formal employee performance review program.Â
If you have several people within the organisation who are in people management roles, provide them with training on how to effectively provide feedback and have difficult conversations. Developing your managers is as important as developing your entry level employees.
Building trust and loyalty takes time and consistent effort – but it is well worth the effort. Talk to the team at WUZZOO about your strategies and how we can help you with the tools to implement.Â