TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

1. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

2. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust as a key dimension to improve the organisational climate is the perception of freedom to communicate openly with members at higher organizational levels and co-workers about sensitive or personal issues with the expectation that the integrity of such communications will not be violated.

3. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE TRUST Figure 1 – Levels of Trust

4. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE TRUST Figure 1 – Levels of Trust

5. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust within organizations • Trust is a primary factor in how people work together, listen to one another, and build effective relationships (Bindra, 2014). And although it seems obvious, business is conducted through relationships, so that trust is the foundation of effective relationships. For employees: Get a sense of purpose and meaning in their work For organisations: Successful cooperation and effectiveness (Nooteboom, 2002) • Figure 2 – Trust as a crucial aggregative force in the workplace

6. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust within organizations • Trust has been found to have a powerful impact: studies show that productivity, income and profits are positively or negatively impacted depending on the level of trust in the work environment. (Bindra, 2014). Figure 3 – Trust Impact on Organisational Level

7. Trust within organizations • Trust is build up gradually and incrementally, reinforced by previous trusting behaviour and previous positive experiences. However, it can also be destroyed through the same type of perceptions (Six, 2007). Figure 4 – Consequences of lack of trust in organisation and leaders/superiors

8. Trust within organizations • Trust is build up gradually and incrementally, reinforced by previous trusting behaviour and previous positive experiences. However, it can also be destroyed through the same type of perceptions (Six, 2007). Figure 5 – Consequences of employees having trust in their leadership

9. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust within organizations • It is beyond doubt that the degree to which employees feel that they can trust in the organization they belong to, has significant dependence on the manner in which the manager or supervisor communicates himself/herself. And consequently, the nature of relationships established and cultivated within the organization.

10. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust within organizations • Leaders must demonstrate: • Voluntary openness towards employees’ vulnerability – openness in helping employees and hearing them when sharing concerns • Candid communication • Care • Less strict hierarchy • Clear social-cultural values: Integrity, character and authenticity Allow employees to report in an honest way the mistakes and errors that eventually occurs which has a positive impact on the performance of the business (Avram; Ionescu; Mincu, 2015).

11. SUPPORT – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE ACTIVITY 1 – HOW TO BUILD TRUST IN YOUR ORGANIZATION – ROUNDTABLE This video explore how leaders/managers can build positive relations in organisational environment regarding open communication and mostly trust. Five ways of building and maintaining trust in the workplace are presented, namely: a) be congruent, b) be reliable, c) take ownership, d) listen for understanding, e) solicit and share feedback. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awpzz-clb_c

12. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE TRUST Figure 6 – Levels of Trust

13. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust among peers and co-workers • Trust is one of the vital variables that should exist between co-workers in order to achieve a common goal or objective (Chahal; Poonam, 2015).

14. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust among peers and co-workers • Mutuality (or collectivity) of views • Trust-building is an interactive process that involves (at least) two individuals learning about each other’s trustworthiness. So, it cannot be seen as a personal decision: there must be an original mutuality (or collectivity) of views. • Here, it is important to stress that there is a direct relationship between the degree of trust (existing within a team) and the team’s capacity to share work/ divide tasks among its members.

15. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust among peers and co-workers • Even with an open and trusty organisational climate… Level of Trust when communicating • Figure 7 – Different levels of trust when communicating

16. TRUST – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE • Trust among peers and co-workers • Consequences Peers and co-workers’ trust • Figure 8 – Consequences of trust among peers and co-workers

17. SUPPORT – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE ACTIVITY 2 – PRISIONERS’ DILEMMA The game unfolds as following: • In case one of the players with information decides to talk, he/she wins a prize and the other gets nothing. • If they both talk, they both loose, but they receive a little consolation prize. • If they both keep their mouth shut and no information is extracted from them, they both win and receive a double prize. • The third player has to convince the other two to disclose their information, players are aware of what is at stake and what they might gain/loose in each possible outcome

18. SUPPORT – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE ACTIVITY 3 – CAN DO COMPANY (GROUP DYNAMIC) • For this exercise, trainees are divided into groups and have to come up with an idea for a company such as candy bars for cats or water bottles for dogs. • After, each member is assigned to specific job functions like designing, marketing, distributing, etc. Each “mini-company” has to collaborate and prepare a presentation on their product and business plan.

19. SUPPORT – A KEY DIMENSION FOR IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE ACTIVITY 4 – CASE STUDY: THE NGO “HEALTHY FAMILIES” IMPROVES ITS WORK CLIMATE After reading, start discussing these 3 questions: What happened to Hewlett-Packard? How did one of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” in 1998 become, essentially, one of the worst companies to work for by 2010? In particular, what happened to employee trust in the company?

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