The Biggest Asset in your Business is Trust

By Steve Marsten

I was discussing the need for a business to develop trust this week when I came across an amazing saying. It said “The most expensive thing in business is Trust. It can take years to earn and only a matter of seconds to lose!” This is so true and in our world of business, trust is more important than ever. This is especially so when dealing with clients, customers, employees and directors in your company.

Trust is one of the most critical issues in every relationship. This is due to the fact that a relationship that lacks trust is simply no relationship at all. Business success is dependant on a connection or network of positive relationships and invariably the critical mortar that enhances those relationships is trust. The moment you lose the trust of an individual or team, their chances of success or ongoing business diminish dramatically.

One of the major challenges of business today is the building of trust internally among your employees. Without this trust it is difficult to create a healthy and productive work environment. Many employees also fail to recognise the importance of trust and how it adds to their value. A trusted employee will often get the nod over a productive employee when it comes to hard decisions.

Research shows that trust is the bedrock for creating healthy work environments and effective communications and productivity.

Working relationships built on trust provide a sustainable competitive advantage to an employer that is not only valuable but often rare. Businesses that have good performing, long standing staff are often the businesses where trust prevails. It also highlights the level of ability, honesty and integrity built by the leaders within the business and hence the longevity of the business.

The question that needs to be addressed is how many levels of trust have we established with our staff, our customers and the key stakeholders within our business?

For more information about developing strategies for building trust in your business, give us a call at Sothertons on 4972 1300.