South-Western - Management  
How Training Managers "Fix" The Loss of Corporate Trust
Topic Training and Development
Key Words Trust, communication
News Story

Training managers should integrate principles of trust building and trust healing into their programs. Distrust can occur when employees fear top management or feel excessive pressure, sales are low, gossip is rampant, people fear sharing power, or the company vision is unclear. Development Dimensions International (DDI) recommends incorporating the following communication skills into training programs which can build trust:

  • Maintain/enhance employee self-esteem
  • Listen/respond with empathy
  • Encourage involvement
  • Share thoughts/feeling/rationale
  • Support, but hold employees responsible for solving problems
  • Be consistent

When a trust betrayal occurs in the workplace, the training manager can help by observing and acknowledging what happened. It is important to understand the impact on the employees and how they are affected. Allow employees to voice their feelings. By offering support others will not feel alone.

Reframing the experience will help explain what has happened and show a cause-and-effect relationship which others may not have considered or known about. Finally, take responsibility, forgiving and moving on is the best way for the organization to heal.

Questions

1.

What techniques can the training manager use when distrust occurs in the workplace?

2.

What are two consequences of lack of trust in the workplace that are mentioned in the article?
Source "How Training Managers "Fix" The Loss of Corporate Trust," IOMA's Report on Managing Training and Development, April 2004, pp. 5-7.
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