Continue to build trust
Once your culture has taken root and your work force is united around a common set of core values, you need to ensure the culture’s long-term survival. To do that, you need to maintain a high level of trust among yourself, management and employees at every location and every level of the organization.
Building trust means building open lines of communication between management and employees. You do that by seeing to it that you are communicating as much as you possibly can, both good news and bad news.
If you drag your feet, hide information, spin or sugarcoat, employees are going to become suspicious of what is really going on at the top management level, and their confidence in the company could quickly erode.
“First and foremost, if you’re staying visible and keeping your messages in front of employees, it promotes trust,” Maguire says. “There is more of a bond and a trust that is created. If you don’t see management, you’re always wondering if there is trouble brewing, and you start wondering what is really going on. It’s something that can begin to spread if there is a lot of miscommunication. That’s why visibility and clarity is a major part of a successful culture. It works hand-in-hand with trust.”
The need for clarity of a message is as critical with good news as it is with bad news.
“If there is good news, deliver it and don’t exaggerate. If there is bad news, deliver it, and do it accurately and quickly. You don’t want to lie or deceive. It’s just like being in a relationship. You have the same kind of responsibility to your employees.”
