HR leaders must take four strategic actions to strengthen employee trust and stave off negative talent outcomes and decreased productivity in today’s rapidly changing business landscape, according to Gartner.
“Trust is crucial for organisations’ success,” says Ned Feuer, senior director in the Gartner HR practice. “Employees who trust senior leaders at their organisation are significantly more engaged compared to employees who do not. A lack of trust most often stems from senior leaders withholding information, scapegoating, or retracting decisions.”
HR leaders can help their organisation’s leaders avoid these behaviours and build employee trust in four actionable ways:
- Conduct employee trust assessments and address the findings.
- Encourage decision-making transparency.
- Facilitate open dialogue between employees and senior leaders.
- Invest in skills development programmes for senior leaders.
Assess employee trust and address issues
HR leaders should regularly take measures to understand current levels of trust and identify areas for improvement. These assessments can be integrated into existing employee feedback mechanisms such as annual engagement surveys or focus groups.
Once data is collected, HR leaders should transparently communicate findings to all employees, as well as explain what steps the organisation is taking to address trust deficits. Gartner research shows employees are more likely to trust senior leaders if they perceive those leaders as valuing their feedback.
Encourage transparency from leaders
HR leaders should encourage senior leaders to offer transparency and rationale behind their actions and explain the expected implications of actions. Such transparency addresses potential distrust from employees who believe leadership is withholding information and helps employees understand and accept decisions even if they don’t agree with them.
“Communications from senior leadership carry great influence and employees pay attention to them,” says Maggie Mastrogiovanni, principal in the Gartner HR practice. “Gartner research found employees are 4.3 times more likely to trust leaders who explain decisions; boosting trust via transparency is especially important during volatile periods.”
Facilitate open dialogue
HR leaders are best positioned to facilitate open dialogue between employees and senior leaders, which allows both groups to identify shared values. Employees can ask questions and address concerns, and leaders can demonstrate their commitment to accountability. Gartner research shows employees are 6.5 times more likely to trust leaders who genuinely care about their concerns.
Invest in building senior leaders’ skills
Leaders need to enhance their knowledge of trust-breaking behaviours in order to adopt empathy-driven actions that build trust. HR leaders should invest in development programmes for senior leaders that build skills in emotional intelligence, active listening, effective and transparent communication, and ethical decision-making.
By also providing coaching for senior leaders on consistent and authentic leadership practices, HR leaders can help maintain employee trust and mitigate confusion from retracted decisions.
With CEOs hyper-focused on driving growth in 2025, senior leaders need to make sure they are doing their part to build trust and encourage employee effort.