ESTABLISHING TRUST BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND AN ORGANIZATION

Establishing trust is more than simply developing trust in interpersonal

relationships or between individuals and an organization. Organizations have

oftentimes avoided the whole issue of organizational trust because of its

complexity, its abstract nature, a lack of understanding of its importance, and

because the actions to develop trust are generally illusive, vague, and at best,

difficult to operationalize .Organizations, for the most part, are just beginning to recognize the need for ‘attention to trust’ as a fundamental driving force behind organizational climate and, hence, the significant effect on the bottom line. Trust is an important operating force in any enterprise, and the explicit efforts to establish, nurture, and maintain a trust culture can make a considerable difference in business success.

Individuals can develop, nurture, pay attention to, and proactively work

toward enhancing a culture of trust through consistent and trustworthy interactions with one another. The summative effect of individual conscious actions provides a model that influences the organizational culture. But how does an organization begin to institutionalize and habitualize trust behaviors and, more importantly, make the awareness of trust resolute throughout the working environment? One approach is through a strategic reframing of trust as an outcome of organizational processes. This idea of a culture of trust is consistent with the use of any organizational resources that are expended in the routine course of business. Organizations expend significant time, money, and talent to train employees, to provide updated equipment, and to streamline processes, in an attempt to optimize profit. An organization that actively promotes a culture of trust might be viewed as simply deploying yet a different resource to conduct business and develop competitive advantage. While there are some input costs to actively develop and maintain a climate of interpersonal trust, recent research into the effect of trust on the effectiveness and efficiency of business operations suggests that the overall cost is less than the benefit derived from establishing and maintaining a culture of trust .Therefore, trust becomes a central core element of the corporate strategic goals rather than just another factor in the operational formula for organizational success.

In summary, the importance of trust is accepted, encouraged, and discussed through open, repeated, and consistent dialogue. A culture of organizational trust is explicated as a corporate goal. Specific and explicit actions are undertaken to nurture and maintain a climate of trust throughout the organization.

Breaches of trust are handled with well-established and planned policy in a quick and public venue without generalization that could negatively impact the overall internal and external perception and reputation of organizational trust.