How To Build Trust With Employees As A HR Leader

34% of employees wouldn’t approach HR out of sheer mistrust (HRD).

Ever wondered why you don’t get many employees confiding in you? Ever thought why people only have awkward small talk when you’re around? Do you feel like it’s a losing battle trying to communicate with employees? This could be because they don’t trust you.

The HR department is traditionally supposed to be the very place where an employee feels the most safe. Safe to express concerns or ask for advice. But due to previous bad experiences, many people don’t feel that same security.

If you want to be a HR Manager who advocates for employees, facilitates a great culture, and creates beneficial policies, you can’t do it without trust. HR Managers lean on feedback from employees to make changes that are relevant and inclusive, but if employees don’t want to communicate with you due to distrust, making a real impact will be difficult.

Here are 4 ways you can begin to build that trust with your employees.

GET TO KNOW YOUR EMPLOYEES

Trust can’t be built when people don’t know you.

Whilst any HR professional has to be, well, professional and ensure they are following high standards, that doesn’t mean that they can’t get to know people in their organisation. Whilst you are a manager and often view people from a bird's eye view – usually as employees – they are still your colleagues who you work alongside every day.

This means getting involved. Got a company social coming up? Get involved and engage with employees. A few people are going to dinner after work? Get involved. It’s not uncommon for HR to sit away from employees and sometimes even rarely interact with them on a personal level which is not doing you any favours when trying to build trust. Getting involved, having general chit-chat, and just being a friendly face in the office will help debunk the myths about how HR can be perceived. 

This is also important for how you, a HR Manager, manage expectations. Whilst you need to remain professional, you don’t want to be seen as a robot. Showing your colleagues your human side will not only build understanding and trust, but it’ll also help them to put themselves in your shoes and appreciate the hard work that goes into managing a HR department.

MANAGE BY WANDERING AROUND

Management by Wandering Around (MBWA) is exactly what it says on the tin – be a manager who wanders around, talks to people and asks questions. As mentioned in the previous point, most HR Managers are known but not seen. 

If an employee needs something Human Resources related, the protocol is to go to HR, but if HR is never around, they won’t feel comfortable to go to them let alone trust them.

Whilst a big chunk of HR is about policies and admin, another big chunk is about being caring and curious about how employees are getting on and how you (and your team) can be of support. Because if you’re never wandering around, you’re expecting people to wander to you – something they’re unlikely to do if you don’t make them feel comfortable too.

This means problems and feelings can slip through the cracks, or if the problems or feelings get to you eventually, it’s far more complex than it would’ve been if you noticed earlier. Wandering doesn’t just help you have certain conversations, it helps you to see the culture and management from the eyes of the employee.

This will also help leaps and bounds with the psychological safety that you want your employees to feel. The psychological safety that says that you have their best interests at heart, that you're approachable, that you’ll listen, and that you’ll take action.

KEEP EMPLOYEES IN THE LOOP

A transparent HR Manager is a trusted HR Manager. You can display your transparency by keeping employees updated on company and policy changes, as well as communicating the reasons behind making those decisions. 

Because sometimes updating isn’t enough. As stated earlier, you want your employees to know that you have their best interests at heart so explaining will hopefully get that across.

Some policies need to be changed and some decisions need to be made regardless of employee contribution, but some would benefit from it. The culture and environment you’re trying to impact are being experienced every day by the people who work in it, which means they have insight that you otherwise might be blind to.

You could get employees involved by conducting anonymous surveys on engagement, management styles, and company culture. The survey in itself will instil in people’s minds that you value them and their judgement, but it’ll also let them know that if they flag something concerning, you will action it.

- Written by Oliver Howson

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