Sometimes we forget that many of the things which happen every day in business rely upon a basic trust in the performance of those around us. It could be colleagues and others from our team, suppliers and their ability to get us the products we use, in the basic infrastructure around us that facilitates our activities or it could be customers who are consistent in their requests for us to perform.
At times when we look at the popular news it would appear that there is not much out there you can trust. Not the weather (at least sometimes). Not the general political climate as things sometimes seem to go from crisis to crisis. Not world events as we see natural disasters, conflicts, extreme weather events, volcano eruptions, massive changes in political structures and of course the major shifts in world environments.
If we all focused on these kinds of things all of the time we would probably never accomplish very much. Luckily each day there are lots of things which you can control and which make it possible to carry on a 'normal' workday. 
Interestingly, it is just this kind of event which seems to be of critical importance to many people around the world.
At the latest World Economic Forum in Davos an international Public Relations firm, Edelman, released the results of their latest survey of trust in institutions. This Trust Barometer as they call it has been done annually since 2000 and this time around they have found that given all the unrest, especially in government structures, a large percentage of people say that it is a trust in their employer as the most trusted institution on their lives.
This material deals with large employers and larger institutions but if we look at smaller organizations much can be found to be similar. In fact it may be that smaller organizations can engender stronger trust among their employees and often with their customers as well.
At Leppert we have found that sometimes it is the clients that have been with us for many years that we can often count on for more regular business, fair practices and reliable dealings with our employees. The same can be true for suppliers as well and trust in how they will deal fairly and equitably with a company is an important measure often well beyond specific products or services.
For employees being able to see the whole picture of the business as well as understand what the direction is it is taking is a critical part of building and maintaining trust. Leppert has been serving clients in the Greater Hamilton, Halton and Toronto areas for over 41 years as of this spring. It is a proud fact that two of the current staff have been with the company for 40 years, two more for just over 30 years and others for multiple decades. Personally I have been associated with the company for over 20 plus and enjoyed almost a decade as a customer prior.
A result of this longevity of service is that clients have become familiar with the people they deal with and internally the members of the team know how to back up and reinforce the efforts of each other.
On a global scale as outlined in the Edelman survey people look to employers to contribute and provide trustworthy actions. The same can be true on a local scale and seeking this kind of trustworthy relationship is good business.
In times of rapid change, upheaval and turmoil, finding places where trust is evident can the the difference between success and failure. Congratulations to those who are able to make the grade, the effort is worthwhile.
Lee K
Video Credit: 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer: Trust at Work
