The power of trust…

Felicity Evans • February 10, 2015

It’s not easy to gain genuine trust. Sure, if you say casually to someone you’ll email them the details of the great jazzercise class you attend, they’ll probably take you at your word and assume that you’ll do it, when you get round to it. And if you forget, then no real harm done. But to convince someone that you’ll support and look out for them, that they can rely on you, that you’ll always keep promises and meet high standards of behaviour… well, that’s a whole different deal

Trust is fundamental to the way we interact with each other on a personal level, but also on a group level. Without trust, early tribespeople would never have sat down over a juicy mammoth steak together to swap tips on the best hunting grounds and maybe, just maybe, discuss that new-fangled ‘living in a larger group’ idea. But whilst our societies have changed and grown over millennia – and we no longer need to get handy with a spear to obtain our supper – the power of trust remains the same: far more reassuring in an emergency to have the number of someone your friends and neighbours have already used and recommend than a complete stranger culled stone cold from the phone book.

The world of business is no different. Despite its reputation as being ‘cut-throat’ or ‘dog-eat-dog’, the key to a company’s success and the smooth running of organisations large or small, from Bretton to Bombay, is the trust that your suppliers, contractors and clients will keep their promises and treat you well. A bad reputation can all but destroy a business in a matter of weeks – just ask Gerald Ratner, the head of a national jewellery firm who famously described his products as ‘crap’ in a business-to-business speech at the Institute of Directors. After his quote was leaked, the value of the Ratner group plunged by around £500 million, which almost resulted in the firm’s collapse. Ratner had insulted his customers, and he had betrayed them. They no longer trusted him, and deserted his shops in their thousands.

So, to get ahead and to stay ahead, invest in trust, in goodwill, in good relationships and honesty. They will feed into your brand, do the job of an expensive marketing campaign at a fraction of the cost, maintain customer loyalty and shore up your business when times are economically tough. In short, they are utterly essential. Trust me: I know what I’m talking about…

Recruit Mint works with Trustpilot, an independent review site on which clients can write reviews based on their experiences with the firm. Recruit Mint has no access to the reviews. We can’t change them or remove them, we can only respond to them. So far, we have a 91.9% four- or five-out-of-five star rating.

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