The Role of Trust Perceptions and Propensity to Trust in Applicants' Experience of Recruitment and Selection

The role of organisational trustworthiness, propensity to trust and distrust was examined in the context of recruitment and selection. Specifically this research aimed to explore applicant experiences of selection as a context for trust. Because there has previously been little work looking systematically at the factorial and construct validity of propensity to trust this study also analysed responses to nine previously published propensity-to-trust scales using a combination of factor analytic, regression and content analyses. Findings supported the idea that propensity to trust scales are multidimensional and reflect aspects of both personality and experience of different trust contexts. The implication of this is that while use of propensity to trust is theoretically justified, checks on dimensionality should be carried out to account for different facets of this construct. The second study used the NEO propensity to trust scale (Costa & McCrae, 1985) as part of a survey looking into research degree applicant's experience of the recruitment and selection process during the post application and post interview stage. In addition to propensity to trust and propensity to distrust playing different role during attraction, influencing the decision of applicants to pursue a vacancy, propensity to distrust also appeared to regulate the relationship between selection justice, organisational trustworthiness and outcome intentions. Evidence from template analysis suggested ways in which justice and trust are manifested during the selection process, but based on a triangulated view, questions about what or whom applicants trust may need further examination and consideration in future research

Qualitative meta-analysis of propensity to trust measurement

In a rapidly changing and dynamic world, individuals’ propensity to trust is likely to become an increasingly important facet for understanding human behaviour, yet its measurement has mostly been unexplored. We undertake the first systematic qualitative survey of propensity to trust scales using qualitative meta-analysis methodology to review the literature (1966–2018) and identify 26 measures and their applications in 179 studies. Using content analysis, we thematically organise these scales into six thematic areas and discuss the emerging implications. We find that while most of these scales reflect propensity to trust in terms of a positive belief in human nature, other themes include general trust, role expectations, institutional trust, cautiousness and other personality attributes. We reveal significant methodological concerns regarding several scales and argue for more considered selection of scales for use in research. We examine the case for multidimensionality in measures of propensity to trust used within organisational research. Rather than treating a lack of generalisability of findings in existing organisational studies as purely a problem of measurement design, we instead outline an agenda for further conceptual and empirical study

Recruitment, Retention and Role Slumping in Child Protection: The Evaluation of In-Service Training Initiatives

In response to endemic recruitment and retention problems within social work, the West London Social Work Alliance devised an ambitious initiative across eight local authorities creating a career pathway for child and family social workers through to front line team manager level. We examine the impact and effectiveness of two programmes and reveal a tendency for ‘role slumping’, whereby tasks and decision making are escalated inappropriately to higher levels. The resultant lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities can also have a more pernicious impact on the confidence and competence of those who should be performing these duties. Evidence showed these programmes increased the competence and confidence of delegates, confirmed by their line managers, but delegates also reported high job satisfaction, motivation and employer trust. The design of the training enabled improvements to be more effectively cascaded not just within one authority, but across all. Our evaluation reveals an array of tangible benefits for individuals and employers, but raises concern about the potential longevity of these benefits. The programme needed ongoing engagement and communication with managers and those new to the organisation concerning the programmes' content and there was no concurrent attention towards organisational push factors, which also contribute to staff turnover

Dysfunctional trusting and distrusting: Integrating trust and bias perspectives

This paper offers an integrative review of the concept of dysfunctional trust from a trust and bias research perspective. Trust and cognitive/social biases are isomorphically related concepts in their functions as reducers of cognitive effort and facilitators/inhibitors of action. In the case of dysfunctional trust and distrust, bias perspectives contribute theoretically to a framework for the study of the ‘errors’ in decision-making that lead to dysfunctional outcomes of trusting. By reviewing biases and their role in generating trust and the converse, the biasing role of trust within a trust antecedent framework, the review integrates the conceptual linkages between research on bias and heuristics and research on trust, providing a basis for further research and practical applications in educational, business, political, and media domains. The paper makes recommendations for research and practical applications to mitigate the impacts of misinformation, bias in decision-making and dysfunctional trust. Attending to cognitive and other biases in situations involving trust promises to support greater informational resilience by raising metacognitive awareness of bias and trust in human decision-making

Trusted to care: role of trust in mentoring

Mentoring is a relational process in organizations which shapes the development of employees during different stages in their tenure with their employer (Kram, 1985). Mentors play a variety of roles depending on the stage of the mentee’s career development and the formal mentoring roles they have been assigned by their organization (Noe, 2006). The type of mentoring mentees receive is dependent on the type of organization (e.g. education, health care, management) and its particular concerns in developing future and current employees (Donovan, 1990; Putman, Bradford, & Cleminson, 1993; Yonge, Billay, Myrick, & Luhanga, 2007). There has been a lot of work focussed on what makes a good mentor-mentee relationship, and on the perceptions and experiences of mentors in their work environments, however there has been very little work on the role of trust in mentors experience of mentoring. In this chapter we will examine trust in mentoring relationships with specific attention to a sample of nurses who were interviewed during a period in which they mentored pre-registration nursing students. Trust emerged spontaneously in many of the interviews, suggesting that it is a salient feature of the mentoring context. In the chapter we explore the immersion of mentors within a complex network of overlapping dyadic relationships that manifest at different stages of their mentoring activity. Our chapter contributes to the literature on mentoring and trust. Firstly, we highlight the ways in which mentors use trust to provide students with safe environments in which they learn and develop a capacity for reflective practice, Secondly, recognising that mentors are themselves vulnerable we expose their vulnerabilities that arise from contact with students and the wider collegial network they are part of. Thirdly we draw a link with third party trust (Burt & Knez, 1995, 1996; Ferrin, Dirks, & Shah, 2006) and show how vulnerabilities arise through the actions of third parties, through what we refer to as trust by extension. Finally we highlight a process of amplification which mentors use to enable them to manage multiple high stakes present in their context. The chapter is organised into five sections. We begin by providing a short analysis of the organizational context of nurse mentoring in the UK, before looking at trust as an issue that is central to both the professional and mentoring roles of nurse mentors. Focussing on the data from our interviews we then discuss the use of trust as a tool for developing learning, as well as the implications arising from the role of mentors as learning facilitators and assessors. We then consider the extension of trust by third parties using examples from our interviews to illustrate the idea that threats to perceived trustworthiness in this context originate outside of the respective dyadic relationships that mentors form with students and others. Next we look at strategies that are employed by mentors which involve their sense of trust in a student, that enable them to make difficult assessment decisions. Finally we reflect on the mentoring context and suggest ways in which mentoring practices and workplace assessments could be transformed to take a greater account of trust