Mari Kemp is the SVP of HR for Ease. Mari has 20 years of experience in HR in the tech industry, including her time at Google and Nokia.
Getty
Recently, the phrase “go to HR'' was trending on social media—catching the attention of HR professionals and triggering a discussion around what HR can do to earn employee trust. Over time, the role of HR has been misconstrued such that employees, especially women and minorities, have felt a void in guidance when navigating a myriad of challenging workplace circumstances.
At the same time, HR professionals have historically had to balance being the employee’s advocate and prioritizing business goals. What has since been realized is that prioritizing profits over people is counterproductive, and HR professionals are innovating to bridge the gap. The extent to which HR professionals can effectively establish trust with employees has a significant impact on an organization’s ability to attract and retain talent—and ultimately its overall success.
Here are three ways HR can build and maintain trust with employees.
Lead With Empathy
Now more than ever, leading with empathy is required. In the past, most employees were expected to just “do their job,” however, the line between work and life is narrower than ever before. With this, the first thing HR leaders need to keep in mind is the shift in human sensitivity resulting from the pandemic. As employees continue to navigate their jobs both at work and at home, it’s important to consider each employee’s circumstance individually and, to the extent possible, exercise an empathetic approach when determining policies.
This is especially important with regard to mitigating difficult situations: Each employee's definition of difficult is different. Whether the conversation is about mental health or performance management, it’s imperative that leaders still try to enact a high level of empathy—especially in a hybrid work environment. Increased empathy among leaders leads to employees feeling secure in and trusting of their work environments.
Communicate With Clarity And Agency
Whether it’s Covid-19 protocol updates or new employee benefits offerings, communicating with clarity is key. Changes often happen in a vacuum virtually, leaving an information gap between employees and the business, thus eroding trust. HR has an important role in minimizing this erosion, and employees should be able to rely on HR to deliver any pertinent information.
Consider employees who need to relocate to another state. This could have a number of implications that are unbeknownst to the employee, making this clarity crucial. For example, location is often reflected in salaries, and it’s not uncommon for employers to wait to give increases based on geographic alignment.
Moreover, one of the key reasons for turnover is a lack of career opportunities and development. HR leaders need to analyze their employee base to ensure that there are clear paths for development, promotion and leadership—regardless of when someone joined the business—and collaborate with managers to ensure goals and expectations are clearly communicated. Before communicating these goals, attempt to get a full understanding of the situation, and use that insight to communicate from a place of agency. Taking the time to understand the people you lead and the tasks they manage only adds to the ability to establish understanding and build trust.
It’s also important to document all communications that happen remotely and follow up with employees to ensure an accurate recollection of any conversations. For employers in highly litigious states like California and New York, these tactical steps can help avoid unnecessary confusion in difficult conversations, like a termination. This allows HR to always be a neutral third party.
Prioritize Transparency And Accountability
In my previous piece, I discussed how employees are weighing a number of factors when they consider which jobs they accept. With the bargaining power in employees’ hands, the battle for talent today is unlike anything employers have faced. Employees, especially Millennials and Gen Z, demand a high level of transparency and accountability around a number of issues including hiring practices, remote work policies, pay transparency, DE&I and company culture.
Trends continue to demonstrate that employers that lack transparency run the risk of losing great talent. In fact, recent research from Microsoft revealed that nearly 50% of business leaders already require or are planning to require employees to return to in-person work full-time in the next year. The same report indicated that as a result, 52% of workers said that they are thinking of switching to a full-time remote or hybrid job in 2022.
As more organizations become incentivized to address these issues, HR leaders must always be advocating for transparency and prepared for accountability. Without them, there is no way to establish trust. It starts with listening to the needs of your employees first and then proactively working to be a change agent. This may include initiatives such as distributing employee surveys, investing in compensation analysis, implementing intentional and measurable DE&I practices and devising new benefits offerings. From there, utilize available data and insights gleaned to make informed decisions that promote the well-being and enhanced experience of employees.
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
