Pledges not kept can badly damage a work relationship, writes Val Leveson
KEY POINTS:
Trust is one of the most important aspects of the employment relationship - and one of the best ways to lose trust is to ignore promises that have been made to employees.
"A couple of years ago I worked for a company where the employer had given me all sorts of promises when he offered me employment.
"He seemed so enthusiastic and said I should move to his company because I would be promoted to a managerial position within six months," said Jackie (not her real name), who works in the finance industry in Auckland.
"He said my salary would almost double within a year and that I'd have a review within three months. I asked about flexibility in the workplace, as I have children, and he said the company was happy to give me all the flexibility I needed as long as I pulled my weight and did the job well.
"Well, none of the promises were kept. I was expected to work long, hard hours and a promotion was never in sight. If I said I needed to fetch my kids from somewhere, I'd get dirty looks from other staff members and even from my manager. Also the review never came.
"To cut a long story short - I didn't stay in that company for much over a year. They didn't walk their talk and that was unacceptable to me. I felt I had been recruited under false pretences and it made me very bitter.
"Whenever I went to the manager to point out these problems, he smiled and told me exactly what I wanted to hear - he made more promises. But they too were not adhered to. In the end I had had enough. I left."
Auckland's Dr Stress, John McEwan, says a major part of stress management is being in an environment that you feel you can trust.
"More often than not, when people feel confidence in their team and environment they do better work."
Being trustworthy is a part of good leadership, he says. "It's crucial to keep promises.
"Think in terms of the military - if soldiers do not trust their commanders, what does it do to morale? Morale is very important for productivity in the workplace.
"Companies that exceed expectations do this through trustworthy leaders. Lack of trust is difficult to take or to market.
"An employer not keeping to promises does not necessarily cause anger - he causes fear. Employees find they cannot depend on what's been said. They become fearful of where things can go. It's cumulative."
Basically, says McEwan, when promises aren't kept, employees start asking: "Who gives a damn? Management doesn't!"
From a stress perspective it can be very damaging.
Ingrid Waugh, manager human capital solutions for HR Consulting Pohlen Kean, agrees. Managers need to realise that employment is not just a written legal contract. "It's also a psychological contract and it's vital to build up relationships."
It starts from recruitment and the job offer. "Statements made by a manager are usually perceived as a form of commitment or promise. It leads to expectations."
Waugh says sometimes there is no intention to deceive. "Sometimes a statement may be made for positive reasons, but the manager gets sidetracked or doesn't see the importance of it. However, whatever is set up through statements affects trust in the relationship.
"When promises are met, the employee is satisfied and tends to show increased commitment to the company. It's more likely that this person will want to stay.
"Statements lead to actions which lead to perceptions. Promises lead to expectations in an employee's mind. If the manager is not aware of the importance of this, it leads to distrust and resentment and is likely to lead to the employee leaving."
Waugh says it operates on two levels. "There's the individual level - promises that are made by one manager to one employee. It's problematic if these promises aren't kept - but if this behaviour is widespread in an organisation and if it is seen as acceptable, it affects performance, morale and ultimately profitability of the brand. This has been shown in research."
She says trustworthiness is a core element of leadership, particularly at the beginning of the employment relationship. "It's vital to building the relationships. Promises can be broken to an extent if trust has already been established. If the relationship is new, it's more fragile.
"This does not mean that repeatedly not keeping promises won't damage an established relationship - it's just that the first year is critical. The manager reflects the behaviour that's acceptable in an organisation. Leaders should demonstrate the behaviours they want their staff to adhere to. It's about the employer brand and affects productivity and retention."
John McGill, chairman of Strategic Pay, agrees. "The classic reason for people leaving an organisation is the breakdown of relationships. Each company has to have good processes for establishing trust and getting the job done.
"If a performance review is promised, it must happen on time and it must be prepared for well. Too often the review happens, but the manager has prepared poorly, cuts it short and messes about.
"This is sending mixed messages to employees about what matters. A good performance review is well structured. It provides good feedback and tells employees exactly where they stand.
"What managers need to realise is staff are not their friends. The employment relationship is formal and things need to be adhered to."
McGill says if a manager misses an appointment with an employee, it increases the level of scepticism and distrust.
In New Zealand particularly, employers give out mixed messages.
If the manager does not honour commitments, but still expects the employee to, that person is saying there is one set of rules for management and another for employees.
