5 Ways to boost employee confidence (for real!)

What happens when employees lose confidence in their company?

😮 Productivity drops.

😟 Turnover spikes.

😨 Innovation stalls.

Right now, we’re seeing this play out at scale—employee confidence in company outlook has hit a record low, according to the latest Glassdoor report.

The recent data from Glassdoor reveals that employee confidence in company outlook plummeted to a record low of 44.4% in February 2025. This decline underscores the urgent need for organizations to bolster trust and engagement within their teams.

Employee confidence in their company outlook crashed because of market uncertainty, fear of layoffs, and concern about their ability to land a new job if they get laid off.

Companies would benefit from understanding their employees. Employee confidence is pivotal for several reasons:​

• Productivity: Confident employees are more engaged and motivated, leading to higher productivity.​

• Retention: When employees trust in their company's direction, they're more likely to stay, reducing turnover costs.​

• Innovation: A confident workforce is more inclined to share ideas and take calculated risks, driving innovation.​

A recent CNBC article advises companies to be open and honest with employees but didn’t offer any specifics. So, please allow VCG to offer some specific actions leaders can take to boost the confidence employees have in their employers’ future.

Here are five strategies and actions that can increase employee confidence:

1. Foster Open Communication: Encourage transparency by sharing company goals, challenges, and successes. This builds trust and aligns everyone with the organization's vision and current outlook. ​Leaders resist being transparent because they don’t want to worry their teams; however, people know when their leaders are worried, so hiding challenges is inferred as dishonest. Trust your people and be open and honest with them.
   

2. Provide Continuous Development: Offer training and growth opportunities to help employees build skills and confidence in their roles. Continuous development also helps ensure people stay relevant and are competent to handle current challenges that could sabotage goals.
   

3. Empower Decision-Making: Delegate responsibilities and trust employees to make decisions, enhancing their sense of ownership and confidence. ​When faced with challenges, seek solutions as close to the affected stakeholders as possible. Making decisions from a disconnected ivory tower does more harm than good.

   Hilton has been recognized for its commitment to involving employees in decisions that affect them. Through initiatives like the "My Voice Matters" campaign, Hilton gathered feedback from over 5,000 team members, fostering a culture of trust. The result? Hilton’s approach has contributed to high levels of employee confidence and satisfaction. ​
   

4. Recognize and Reward Achievements and Contributions: Regularly acknowledge individual and team accomplishments to reinforce their value and boost morale. To boost employee confidence in the company, recognize contributions and link them to the vision and long-term goals. Recognizing contributions can be a simple email thanking someone or a team—key is being specific about the impact of the contribution. Now is not the time for generic, general, trite recognition.

5. Lead by Example: Demonstrate resilience and optimism, especially during challenging times, to inspire the same in your team. ​When you talk about challenges, be sure to share optimism for the company at the same time. Give your people hope—that’s what they need from you right now. If you have no hope, then you have more serious reflection to do.

By implementing these strategies, leaders can cultivate a more confident, engaged, and high-performing workforce, even in uncertain times.​ After all, the best cultures are built, not wished for. Let’s go!

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If you're a leader with the courage to fuel a healthy company—where people and profit prosper—let’s talk. We help leaders rebuild trust, restore confidence, and re-energize their teams. A confident culture isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic advantage.

Get in touch to explore how we can help you strengthen your culture from the inside out.

The best cultures are built, not wished for. Let’s go!