Meet people on their own territory
According to HR Zone, the first step when setting up mutual trust is choosing the right location to meet the employee for a dialogue. Either you go to their office or meet on neutral ground. If you meet at your place, it will create a psychological barrier in the employee as if they were being "interrogated".
Realise what your position carries with it
You can never have a conversation with an employee as an equal. This is because of your status. Keep in mind that first and foremost you are representing the interests of the company; that is bound to create a barrier between yourself and the given employee.
Appreciate feedback
Remember that an employee must often overcome a fear of being punished for sharing their ideas and opinions with you, so you should appreciate feedback from employees in an appropriate manner.
Do not be in a rush
Always reserve enough time for your dialogue with an employee so there is no need to rush and you do not force the employee to tell you everything at once. Much information would remain hidden and the employee would not open up as much as they could.
Do not bring your own emotions to the conversation
No matter what your opinions are, if they do not correspond to the opinions of the employee, you should keep them to yourself. You are there to tune into the same wavelength as the employee and thus obtain unbiased feedback from them.
Talk to employees even if nothing negative is happening
For employees to be willing to confide in you if something negative is going on, they must in any event be able to talk to you about their experience and opinions. Set up regular meetings with employees even if at the given moment there seems to be nothing wrong.
-mm-