Do Your Employees Trust You?

5 Steps to Earn Your Employees Trust and Respect

Most managers would say their employees trust and respect them, but the question becomes is that reality? Managers are at a disadvantage when trying to answer this question. Only they know the intentions behind various actions. Meanwhile, their employees must judge a manager by how they perceive the managers behavior and style.

So how can a manager show employees their good intentions to earn their trust? There are five things even good manager must do:

1) Managers Must Have Consistent Follow Through. Employees want to know what to expect from their boss in different situations. When a manager is inconsistent in reactions, employees feel the need to be constantly protecting themselves in playing defense. This may sound like an easy concept, but can take an enormous amount of discipline for some managers.

2) Communicate Through Clear and Open Lines. Employees do not like when they feel a boss is keeping important information from them. In fact, this can demoralize some employees and leads them into a state of permanent second guessing. Your employees do not want to feel like you are spinning a message in order to make yourself and/or the company look better.

3) Even Managers Need Work. Never think that there is nothing you need to learn and/or improve because there is. Employees who see their managers trying to improve their skills will be more likely to improve theirs.

4) Your Values Should Not Be Shaded In Gray. Managers must make their values and priorities as clear as possible so employees have a guideline. Also, you need to consistently state your values.

5) Support Your Team When Necessary. Employees do not trust managers who routinely ‘throw them under the bus’ when it becomes inconvenient for them. Stand up for your staff in defense whenever possible. Few things will garner the amount of trust and respect of a manager as when they support their staff through the difficult times.

Being a trustworthy manager is one of the first steps in creating an engaged and productive workforce for your company. It all starts with your leadership!

Lowden & Associates, Inc. Certified as a Woman Business Enterprise

Lowden & Associates, Inc. has been certified as a business owned and controlled by a woman by the National Woman Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC), the first national certifier of Woman Business Enterprises. Over 700 public and private sector individuals participated in establishing the Standards and Procedures of this rigid certification review. The goal of the certification program is to streamline the certification process and increase the ability of women business owners to compete for contracts at a national level.

“Certification provides a marketing opportunity for women business enterprises to participate in outreach programs,” says Sheila Lowden Dramis, Owner and CEO of Lowden & Associates, Inc. “In addition, this program will enable us to develop relationships with larger companies and create opportunities for future partnerships with them and public and private companies.”

“NWBOC seeks to increase the ability of women business owners to compete for corporate and government contracts,” says Janet Harris-Lange, President of NWBOC. “At the same time, NWBOC also hopes to decrease the number of front operations participating in corporate and government outreach programs.”

NWBOC, a national 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, was created in response to needs identified by the Procurement Special Interest Group of the National Association of Women Business Owners. The study revealed that the public and private sector had not received nor recognized the benefits of contracting with women suppliers. This has prevented purchasers from obtaining the best value in their procurement and it has limited women business owners from penetrating these markets, which has stymied their growth. NWBOC seeks to provide more corporations with the opportunity to better their procurement practices and to women suppliers the opportunity to compete.

Lowden & Associates, Inc. (LAI) is a full service human resource outsourcing and consulting firm that helps companies reclaim time, save money and stay compliant with government regulations. LAI is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, established in 1998. It has a strong commitment to personalized customer service and a portfolio of services that cover the four major areas of employee management: compliance, benefits, worker’s compensation and payroll. The website is www.laihr.com and phone number is 770-248-0401.