We now know how important trust is to build and grow a healthy business, as studies have confirmed over the years. Then, the pandemic revealed that speed is also a factor–showing how impactful a team, business or sector can be when time is short, and trust is an urgent necessity.

When staffing needs to scale and mobilize quickly, a lack of trust can be catastrophic. Without trust, COVID-19 vaccines might not have been accepted, and struggling businesses might not have survived the economic downturn created in the pandemic’s wake. 

Even on a smaller scale, when a challenge needs a quick solution or new people join a team, trust is tested. Rattled by conflicting or changing instructions from coworkers, a team might lose faith in the feedback or shut down, unsure of what to bring to the table, how it will be received or whether a leader’s praise is real.  

Trust can be earned as people get to know each other through shared challenges and experiences. It can take years—time that many businesses don’t have. According to recent Accenture studies, the rate of change affecting business rose 183% over the past four years, with the race to adapt to technical advancements, such as AI, a major reason. Matching that pace has become vital to companies that want to succeed.

Companies must understand and adapt to such speed with transparency and vulnerability to build trust that will benefit both employees and customers.  

Companies should not create fast or stressful situations for the sole purpose of building trust. However, as change increases, they need processes to preserve and increase trust. 

For example, on the heels of COVID-19, DoorDash launched “Open for Delivery”—a campaign to support the restaurant industry—that it created in 72 hours. The project created trust across teams based on the need to come together for the greater good. It also modeled a framework for speed without breaking down trust.

To be effective quickly, businesses must build trust in three areas: capabilities, motives and actions among team members.

Capabilities means trusting that individual contributors can meet or exceed the needs of a particular challenge. Motives means trusting their collaboration. Actions means allowing team members to move unilaterally to accomplish tasks. 

Building trust in these areas is easier said than done. However, organizations can help things along with a few approaches designed to make trust more integral to everyday company interactions.

Speed will continue to play a bigger part in business operations. And when stress is high, trust is even more essential. Here are some ways that businesses and organizations can formalize a process to foster that trust.

Start early

With new employees, the process of building trust should start before they join the team. That means sharing early in the interview process where your company has been, where it's going and why you need their help. It’s OK to explain that you don't have all the answers—such shared uncertainty is key to making a human connection.

Similarly, when onboarding a new client or integrating a new group into the overall organization, ask what they are most worried about. It’s a disarming question that acknowledges the needs of the company and the human needs of individuals, building trust in the process.

Focus on transparency, faith and grace

Building trust often comes back to transparency—surveying candidly where processes are failing, then discussing openly how to correct and share in that reinforcement.

Everyone needs to be encouraged to show faith in the team to deliver. What’s often is the importance of showing grace when something goes wrong or misses the mark. That’s not to say that poor execution should be rewarded. But without enough grace, fear can fester, causing culture to fall off the rails.

Structure as needed

There are plenty of ways to maintain healthy levels of trust. Workshops, presentations and feedback allow teams to solve problems together in real time. These can be built around actual projects or exercises created with realistic parameters that can create similar bonding without fabricating unnecessary stressors.

When real speed is a requirement, start-of-the-day/end-of-the-day check-ins can help team members trust in the collaborative process. Even in remote work situations, a reliable schedule is surprisingly effective at helping people in different locations feel like they’re in an environment of support and trust—and sharing their day together.

Ultimately, trust is a value that must be nurtured by everyone, from the CEO and leadership team to individual contributors. Especially as the natural speed of business grows, it’ll take more than one-off retreats with trust falls and firewalking to build real connections. So, let’s make trust a priority and give everyone the support they need to do their best work.