Sept. 30, 2026 | TRUST Pt. 4
Let’s explore another example from the dregs of Reddit…
Two. lilcroc2 describes a variety of workplace complaints, including bullying, unfair treatment, etc. The primary complaint about HR is that they listen to the concerns but do nothing.
Basically, the idea is that HR listens to concerns merely as a tactic to appease the discontented, with no intention of doing anything about them.
(Remember all the usual caveats about how I have no idea if this really happened, or if the story is being told accurately…)
Do the opposite: To build trust, respond somehow to every complaint.
Clearly, you can’t always do exactly what the employee is suggesting. But I’d argue that you always ought to adjust something.
When people express serious concerns, they may not always be correct about the nature of either the problem or the solution, but they are 100% correct about their feeling of discomfort.
And yes, I recognize this level of responsiveness is far easier when the company is smaller. But I’m not saying you have to be able to respond immediately.
If it will take time to review the complaint and put it into context alongside other complaints from that quarter…then just say that. Say whatever is true about what the process looks like and how you’ll respond (now or later).
And then do follow up later to let people know what happened with the concern they expressed, how it was considered, and what adjustments will be made, if any.
While we’re on this, I also have to point out that you gain a staggering amount of buy-in when you solicit suggestions and then fully implement them. (This applies to HR and all leaders alike.)
This is one of the most powerful ways to gain credibility in the eyes of employees, but it’s shockingly underutilized.
It’s not always fully possible, of course. Often, employees have suggestions that are impractical, usually for reasons that are invisible to them because they can’t see all parts of the organization. (It’s not their job to be able to do that.)
But even a partial implementation or adaptation of a suggestion goes a long way. And then don’t forget to give the employee who suggested it all the credit!
Okay, one final example tomorrow…
