In any relationship, trust is a critical part of the foundation. For Workshifters and the companies that employ them, working arrangements must be based on mutual trust to be successful.

Businesses need to trust their telecommuting employees aren't slacking off and are actually working when they say they're working. Workshifters, on the other hand, need to be able to trust that their physical absence from the office doesn't isolate them from the team and negatively impact their chances for growth within the company.

So what builds trust? Here are some tips from a Workshifter's perspective that may help:

For Managers:

• Maintain a sense of teamwork. Feeling as though they're part of the team can often be one of the most challenging aspects from Workshifters. Find ways to create and sustain a sense of camaraderie among your employees. One way to do this is to schedule regular team meetings, by phone, video conference or other methods.
  
  
• Assess the needs of your remote workers to determine the tools they need to succeed. This isn't going to be the same for everyone, so I recommend addressing these needs on an individual basis. If you demonstrate that you're invested in their success it will go a long way in establishing trust.
   
• Share organizational knowledge. Develop tools to keep your Workshifters plugged in. Whether it's Google Docs, a server that's accessible via a VPN client or other applications, remote workers need to be able to access organizational knowledge anytime and anywhere to be successful.
   
• Finally, be accessible to your remote team and make it a point to connect on a regular basis. This will go a long way in building the relationship with your Workshifters and building mutual trust.
  

For Workshifters:

• Establish a consistent routine so coworkers know when and where to reach you. Being predictable in your actions will build trust with the people who aren't able to observe you work every day.
  
  
• Be responsive. This is even more important for Workshifters than our office counterparts. After all, your colleagues will probably begin to wonder what you're up to if you haven't returned phone calls or checked your email all day.
   
• Deliver as promised. Although this is a bit of a no brainer, I feel it's still worth mentioning. One of the quickest ways to build trust, after all, is to deliver quality work when promised and on a consistent basis.
   
  
• Finally, go beyond emails when you're communicating with your coworkers. We all send and receive hundreds of emails a day. Go out of your way to build stronger relationships with the people you work with by picking up the phone or making time to stop in the office, if possible.
  

What are some of the tactics you've used to build trust?

Photo Credit: vagawi