The influence of trust dimensions on employee performance in the relationship between employees and other departments

Abstract

Trust and its impact on employee performance within an organisational context is topical. The recent events of the global financial crisis have not only led to the erosion of trust between employees and organisations, but also in the trust between employees and other departments.This research set out to investigate whether the trust that an employee places in another department has an impact on their performance. Through a review of literature, the study identified five dimensions of trust which were considered to be important within this context. Using non probability sampling, respondents were surveyed through a web based, self-completed questionnaire. Only respondents which had been involved in a business relationship with other departments in the organisation were considered in the final data. Using 140 responses, all of the trust dimensions were tested in terms of the influence they had on the performance of employees. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression modelling were used to determine the relationship between the relevant trust dimensions and the performance of employee from other departments.All of the trust dimensions were found to have a statistically significant and positive correlation with the performance of the employee. The two strongest predictors were found to be the dimensions of Leadership trust and Systems, Policies and Processes trust. The findings of the study saw the need to formulate a model that would assist departments in building trust which possibly may enhance the performance of employees from other departments.