HR Professional - December 2007/January 2008 - (Page 37)

RESEARCH BY DANA L. KNOLL AND HARJINDER GILL BUILDING TRUST AT WORK T ‘‘ rust is critical for an organization’s success, yet we know surprisingly little about how to effectively build trust among colleagues. Existing research focuses almost exclusively on trust in supervisors or managers but there isn’t much on trust in upward, downward and lateral work relationships. A better understanding is important to enable HR professionals to effectively and efficiently build confidence among colleagues. The Integrative Model of Organizational Trust, developed by Mayer, Davis and Schoorman, suggests that individuals consider three characteristics about their colleagues when deciding whether or not to trust them: Ability: their skills, competencies and characteristics that enable them to perform their job; Benevolence: their intentions of kindness and/or goodwill; and Integrity: their adherence to moral and ethical principles. More than 70 per cent of the trust ratings for supervisors, peers and subordinates were positive. To determine which components of trust are most important, HRPAO members were asked their opinions of, and interactions with, a supervisor, subordinate and a peer in a survey conducted in the spring of 2006. According to the findings, respondents were very trusting of their workmates. In fact, more than 70 per cent of the trust ratings for supervisors, peers and subordinates were positive. The results suggest that those who trusted their supervisor were more satisfied with their jobs, felt more empowered in their work and experienced less role ambiguity, indicating that interpersonal trust is an essential ingredient for organizational success. w w w . H RT houghtLeader. c om A key finding was that the relative importance of ability, benevolence and integrity differed depending on who the respondent was judging. Behaving consistently, honestly and sensitively to the needs of others is critical for the development of trust, regardless of whether the individual is a supervisor, a subordinate or a peer. Moreover, ability was just as important to trust as benevolence and integrity when the individual was making a downward or lateral trust judgment. Contrary to propositions from the Integrative Model of Organizational Trust, these findings indicate that having a generally trusting predisposition does not predict trust in one’s peer or subordinate. For upward trust judgments, the relationships among trust and its predictors were somewhat different. In particular, ability was not as important to trust as benevolence and integrity. The lesser importance of ability in upward relationships may be attributable to the fact that subordinates tend to have little information about their supervisors’ technical skills and qualifications. These judgments rely on perceptions of integrity and benevolence. Interestingly, the lesser importance of ability in upward relationships also appears to be related to the finding that having a generally trusting disposition predicted trust in supervisors, but not in peers and subordinates. Because subordinates have relatively little information about their supervisor’s ability, their supervisor’s disposition becomes much more critical to establishing trust. The significance of ability for trust-building has several HR implications. Organizations must put care into recruiting, selecting, training and retaining employees with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for performance on the job. Trust can also be facilitated through employee development and succession-planning strategies, which ensure that available positions are filled with the most qualified individuals. ’’ Dana L. Knoll, MA (dknoll@uoguelph.ca) is a graduate of the industrial/organizational psychology program at the University of Guelph. Harjinder Gill, Ph.D is an assistant professor in the same program. D e ce mb e r 2 007/J a n u a ry 2 008 37 http://www.HRThoughtLeader.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - December 2007/January 2008

HR Professional - December 2007/January 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters Website Did You Know By the Numbers Technology Study News: Ontario Regulatory Enforcement Compensation News: Postponing Retirement Legal Compensation On Message Public Image Ltd. Building Brand Equity Research Strategy HR 101 Interview with Marshall Goldsmith Off the Shelf The Last Word

HR Professional - December 2007/January 2008

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