You put a foosball table in your dealership’s break room. You stocked the kitchen to the hilt with free food for your employees and bestowed upon them more paid vacation than they could ever possibly use. You probably think you’re nailing the whole “company culture” thing.

So, why can’t you seem to hold onto any good service techs? Why do your salespeople arrive exactly on time -- never a minute earlier than they have to -- and cut out the moment their scheduled shift ends?

The answer: they don’t trust you. Or their supervisors. Or their co-workers. It may sting to hear this, but the reality is that if you’re struggling with engagement, retention, and performance issues, your employees likely aren’t operating in a culture of trust, no matter how many “progressive” perks you’ve thrown at them.

Paul J. Zak, author of Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performing Companies, refers to these types of benefits as “golden handcuffs,” and he’s here to burst your bubble: Without a high-trust culture, such perks may create some sporadic short-term happiness, but they won’t improve performance or increase retention in the long run.

Through years of extensive research on the neuroscience of human connection, trust, and teamwork, Zak has found that:

This may sound like a fluffy chunk of common sense, but the numbers don’t lie -- and they’re eye-opening, to say the least:

 

Stay tuned for the next two installments in this series:

• What High-Trust vs. Low-Trust Cultures Look Like

• How to Create and Manage a Culture of Trust