Unleashing the Power of Trust: Jeff Raider, Co-Founder of Harry's on Fostering Strong Employee & Customer Connections

How often do you think about building trust with employees and customers?

For Jeff Raider, co-founder and co-CEO of Harry’s, it’s a daily occurrence. He believes trust is built through small decisions every day that either reinforce or diminish trust with customers and employees. Leaders have small daily moments that are opportunities to create trust. And while Raider realizes that building trust is a journey with ups and downs, building trust through small, everyday moments can create a strong and lasting relationship between leaders and their employees and customers.

Trust is especially important for Harry’s as it sells razors customers use daily on their faces. As customers realize the value and quality of Harry’s products, they trust the brand to expand to new products and know the quality will still be there.?

For employees, trust comes from knowing the company is making decisions with their best interests in mind and working with a purpose. Employees trust a brand they can understand and leaders who stay connected and authentic.?

Building trust means putting people first and making decisions to support customers and employees, not just increase revenue. Raider shared one example of Harry’s new razor, which a partner said should be made in chrome so it could charge more. Everyone was on board to build a great product that would also earn the company more money. But then Raider saw the new chrome razor with another prototype that looked very similar and would be less expensive for customers without sacrificing quality. He decided to go with the less expensive razor instead of charging customers $5 more for a nearly identical razor. That small decision makes a difference for customers and shows them that Harry’s has their best interest in mind.

Similarly, Harry’s keeps its prices consistent instead of constantly promoting and discounting products. Customers know that the price is consistent and trust that they can make a purchase and not have the price go up or down the next day.

Building and maintaining trust is a journey that requires continual effort. Raider says the most challenging part is balancing the long-term growth and success of the business with customer and employee trust. He says the best approach to striking a balance and making trust-based decisions is to use common sense and put himself in the customers’ shoes. If he was a customer, how would he feel about the decision? Would he feel he could trust the brand or that he was getting nickel and dimed?

When questions arise and he has to re-evaluate his decisions, Raider uses it as a learning moment for himself and his employees to think through their choices and how to put people first.

Trust isn’t built overnight. But with daily decisions that focus on people instead of profits, Raider has built a strong foundation of loyal customers and employees. Trust requires empathy and humility but is a requirement for modern leaders and organizations.

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