We’re often told how much trust matters in business. You could go as far as to say that getting customers to trust you is essential to success. You want them to keep coming back, after all, and to trust that your products are the best on the market. And, the trust exercises don’t stop there. The same rules apply when it comes to employment. Without mutual trust, you’ll never achieve decent morale. Instead, you may find that team members don’t stick around, or that you struggle to get the best results. In short, you could say that trust is the foundation on which we build our businesses.
If trust is so essential, then why is it so difficult to establish? As with anything in business, this isn’t a cut and dry issue. While trust is vital, it’s also important to keep some skepticism as an entrepreneur. Otherwise, you may find yourself falling foul to the following.
Lost Stock
The most common trust-based issue is that of lost stock. If you’re too trusting, you won’t protect your products. You might assume that your customer base is so reliable they would never steal from you. Or, you may never check your cameras. Far from being good business sense, this is naive madness. And, you could bet it would cost you a fortune in stock pretty fast. Don’t let it happen. Expect the best, but prepare the worst as they say. It doesn’t matter how much you trust your customer base, you need to invest in security options like the Remote Eyes surveillance system, and take the time to check them. This is the only way to secure your products and make sure that you don’t lose a mean amount of profit.
Staff Strife
It’s also worth noting that staff can cause a fair amount of strife if you leave them to their own devices. This is difficult because questioning everything your team does is no way to show employee appreciation. Still, you need to do something. Team members can neglect duties if they think they’ll get away with it. Staff is also prime culprits for many cases of workplace theft. The trick to not being too trusting here is to put processes in place. With a morning meeting, for example, you’ll be able to check up without breathing down necks. By implementing monthly bag checks, you can also stop theft without ruffling feathers.
Customer Advantage
Bear in mind, too, that blindly trusting customers can lead to their taking advantage. Again, this is a difficult issue to tackle. The customer is always right, remember. But, if you trust every complaint without question, you could again fall out of pocket. Worse, you’ll gain the reputation of a push over. That’s not to say you should deny refunds after complaints. But, it may be worth offering company credit rather than cash if you have your doubts about any claim.
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