Building Trust with your Co-workers

A productive workforce is one that feels valued by its employers and has built bonds between its members.  Creating the right environment is essential to ensuring that your team is happy and productive. But team building is one thing; how do you build trust with your co-workers?

There are several steps you can take to encourage co-workers to interact and build trust; it’s not as difficult as it sounds and can be extremely beneficial for everyone; including the company.

Be Consistent

It doesn’t matter what activity you are doing. You need to adopt a consistent approach. This means always putting in your best effort and always responding well to the requests of your co-workers.

This doesn’t mean you need to be walked over and always say yes even if you don’t have the time or the skills. You need to be able to listen and justify your response. This will let your co-workers know that you are being genuine and will help whenever you can.

Plan Group Activities

The boss may plan team building events but there is no reason why workers can’t organize these types of events themselves. The secret to these being successful is to try to select something that everyone will be able to do.

Whitewater rafting will allow you to create teams, build rapport and even add some healthy competition between workers. But, it is unlikely to appeal to everyone n your workplace.

However, if you take a slightly less adrenaline-fuelled approach and try something like a scavenger hunt you’ll find that every member of the tea can be involved.

Every person has their own strengths which can be used and will help co-workers get to know each other better. This will build trust very effectively.

Communication

Of course, it is essential that good communication is enabled between all members of the team at all times. This means internal phones, emails or even the use of an app to allow co-workers to communicate quickly and effectively.

This will allow everyone to benefit from the skills of others in the team and the workplace will benefit from the trust that is built.

Make Time

Perhaps most important is the ability of workers to make time for each other. This can be difficult when the working day is full from start to finish.

That’s why it is important to give adequate break times and provide a good level of facilities. This will encourage staff to stay on site and communicate with each other.

This simple act of making time for co-workers to talk will help them to build relationships. The better people know each other the higher the level of trust.

Praise Where Praise Is Due

If an employee or co-worker has done well then it’s a good idea to praise them and let others know you are doing this. Not only will the worker feel good it will foster an attitude of goodwill towards others; helping to inspire trust and get the best from all the team.

Building trust is not always easy although it can be damaged with a moment’s thoughtless actions. That’s why you need to work on it every day; your colleagues will appreciate and thank you for it.

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How Freelance Artists Can Avoid Getting Stiffed

It would be nice to live in a world where everyone was honest and paid artists as they should. Sadly, that is not a reality. An artist should accept that some people may try to stiff you. You do not want to be in that position, and the following should help ensure that you get paid for your work.

Draft a Contract

One thing you need to do as an artist is draft a contract. This may seem like you are going too far, especially when you are dealing with someone you know but it is a necessary step. It is even possible that family may stiff you for the work you do.

You want to make sure that you include a clear breakdown of what the other party is paying for. The contract should also include a statement of rights, which is a fancy way of stating who own’s what. It is important to discuss consequences of non-payment, such as interest fees or revoked ownership. Those who do not feel comfortable drafting a contract can look up a freelance contract template or contact a lawyer.

Make Partial Payment a Requirement

Another step you should take is making sure that no contract is initiated until partial payment is paid. It may be harder to get clients when you ask them to pay a specific amount before you begin working, but you are taking a chance on each other. This is a simple way of building trust.

Make sure you include your required partial payment in the contract and specify what the client can expect from you after paying that initial amount. Being as clear as you can about this payment makes it easier to trust you. Try to remember that you are doing this to avoid getting stiffed, which is a lot more detrimental to your life than missing out on a potential client and wasting your time.

Do an Extensive Online Search

Another tool that might be helpful to you is an online people search site that allows you to find out more about a person’s background. All you need is some basic information from a potential client in order to search online. You can find out information on this person’s professional affiliations or assets.

You can also get police arrest records, criminal history, and any liens. All of this information should help you evaluate a potential client before you do business with him or her. Be sure to use more than just a free site to ensure you get all the information rather than just partial information. Hopefully, this information helps you deal with a more trustworthy client.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

You may still work for a client who will try to stiff you, no matter how much you try to avoid it. You probably already know to employ tactics like sending an invoice or emailing the client about payment. You might have even called a few times to politely inquire about payment without seeing a positive result. At this point, you might want to consider turning your attention online.

Everything online is recorded, and every action has the potential of reaching a number of people at a time. This is something all businesses and individuals are aware of, which you can use to your advantage. What you want to do is post a comment inquiring about payment. Make sure your comment is clear but as professional as possible. Online reputation is vital for business owners and individuals, so this step may help get you paid.

 

These are just some steps you can take to ensure you get paid as a freelance artist. You should find out more about the laws regarding freelance work in your state because they are different from state to state.

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