Dr. Amy Lyman, the Director of Corporate Research at the Great Place to Work Institute, explains in this penetrating  study how organizations must develop trust as a solid foundation on which a manager, team member, and executive can build an effective long-term relationship.

You can find the abstract below and more information about this topic here.

Abstract:

Creating trust can appear to be a daunting task, especially in the workplace where multiple responsibilities call for significant attention and leaders have a limited amount of time to devote to each of their activities. However if one activity, successfully accomplished, could be proven to make all other tasks significantly easier then it would be worth the effort to focus on that one. Building trust in relationships with employees is that one task.

In this paper we present strong evidence of the positive long-term business success achieved as a direct result of the high levels of trust that have been created in the relationships between employees and management within the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America. Comparisons with a group of companies displaying lower levels of trust affirms the positive contributions that the effort to create a trusting environment makes to the overall financial success of these organizations in which leaders are credible, employees are respected and policies and practices are characterized by fairness.

Employees in high-trust workplaces show higher levels of cooperation within their teams and across departments and divisions, as well as higher levels of commitment to their own work, the work of the organization and to the vision of the organization’s leaders. The quality of the workplace culture that has been created leads to the creation of highly successful organizations that reap multiple benefits.

Download the video transcript.

Lori Lorenz, Human Capital Director at Robert W. Baird, explains the evolution of human capital and Baird’s belief that the intellectual capital of its employees can be utilized to form a robust platform on which to build a more holistic strategy for future growth and creativity.

Pursuant to this revelation that the intellect of each employee must be properly and carefully nurtured, Baird began connecting traditionally organized departments into a fully integrated network.

Dr. Margaret Shaffer, Richard C. Notebaert Distinguished Chair of International Business and Global Studies at UW-Milwaukee, explains how the traditional role of human resource managers is evolving from personnel administration to a more integrated, strategic partnership position. This new focus requires a diverse skill set. HR managers, if they are to communicate and partner with all facets of an organization, must be familiar with accounting, management, sales or any other department.

Dr. Shaffer also stresses the importance of hiring candidates that can adapt to meet the needs of the organization after a particular problem has been solved. Human resource personnel should seek prospective employees – across the organization – that are flexible enough to change and grow with the organization.