Building Trust with Indigenous Employees: The Role of HR and Leadership

Trust is the foundation of any successful workplace, and for Indigenous employees, it is defined by historical, social, and political realities that organizations must acknowledge and understand. Building trust with Indigenous employees goes beyond basic diversity policies to a more informed and meaningful action plan towards achieving a respectful, equitable workplace and a commitment to reconciliation. 

According to Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS), a commitment to building a trusting relationship between employers and Indigenous employees is not only an ethical responsibility but also creates a strategic business advantage. Human Resources and leadership play a crucial role in building this trust by intentionally integrating inclusion, trust, and accountability into all aspects of the workplace.

Understanding Trust in the Indigenous Workplace Context

Trust for Indigenous employees is influenced by a history of colonization, systemic discrimination, and inequities that affect employment experiences today. Data from Statistics Canada (2022) reveals that Indigenous people are more likely to experience workplace discrimination than non-Indigenous employees (15.2% versus 9.1%), and they are also less likely to remain in roles long-term, with only 32.0% reporting tenures of 10 years or more compared to 37.3% of non-Indigenous workers.

Statistics like these reveal the lower levels of psychological safety that Indigenous employees feel at work. Building psychological safety for this marginalized group therefore requires HR and leadership to move from performative inclusion to more meaningful and relationship-based practices that are centered around trust, respect, and inclusion.

The Role of HR and leadership in Building Trust

Building trust with Indigenous employees is a shared responsibility that requires both HR and leaders to work in sync.  We will discuss the roles of both parties below.

1. Mentorship 

Indigenous employees who are new to the workforce might be unfamiliar with systems, procedures, and expectations. A mentorship program, opportunities for leadership development or training, or a buddy system that pairs them with an employee guide and supports them throughout their first few months or longer can be beneficial for these workers.

An effective mentorship program will require organizational leadership to endorse and prioritize mentorship initiatives while HR works with managers to design and implement mentorship programs that will meet each employee’s development needs. When done right, Indigenous mentorship programs can bridge the cultural gaps and create safe spaces for growth and promote psychological safety.
 

2. Cultural Competency and Awareness Training 

Cultural competency has become a critical skill in managing today’s diverse workforce and the major aim of this training is to create awareness and/or improve the understanding of various cultures and beliefs in the workplace while equipping staff with skills required to seamlessly communicate, collaborate, and respectfully work with people from different backgrounds.
  

Leaders must champion this training and promote a culturally respectful workplace culture. HR must lead the implementation of such training, ensuring it is structured, inclusive, and embedded across the organization and engage the right facilitators.
 

3. Providing Support for Emotional and Mental Well-being 

Supporting Indigenous employee well-being is another critical responsibility. To achieve this, organizational leaders must commit to fostering a culturally safe, trauma-informed workplace that respects Indigenous traditions, prohibits discrimination, and creates environments where Indigenous employees feel safe to speak up.  Clear reporting avenues and prompt action to concerns should be addressed.

HR’s part in this initiative is to provide Indigenous based employee assistance programs like Indigenous-specific counselling resources, elder support, and land-based healing programs where accessible. Also, promoting a supportive workplace culture, fostering inclusive team environments where Indigenous employees feel supported and valued. 

4. Integrating Cultural Inclusion in Workplace Practices 

This is another shared responsibility between HR and leadership. HR plays a key role in designing and formalizing cultural inclusion practices such as starting corporate events with land acknowledgments, creating space for cultural practices like smudging, supporting flexible holidays for cultural celebrations, and ensuring that Indigenous memorial events such as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or Aboriginal Awareness Day are celebrated.
 

The leadership role is to reinforce these commitments to cultural inclusion by openly supporting and participating in these initiatives, which shows that the organization regards cultural inclusion as a priority. 

5.Supporting Career Advancement and Fair Performance Practices
 

Finally, HR plays a vital role in designing clear, transparent paths for advancement and working with managers to implement fair and consistent application of performance standards and employee feedback systems.

Organizational leaders are responsible for supporting employee growth and development, encouraging participation in career advancement pathways, and demonstrating commitment to equity and inclusion.

The following experience report offers a real-world example of how the trust-building principles outlined above can be put into practice through partnership, flexibility, and shared accountability. 

Experience Report: Building Trust Through an Indigenous Employment Partnership by Rike Enss 

In 2024, my HR team attended a career fair at Norquest College where they were approached by leaders of the Indigenous Career Centre, an external facing program of the college located right next to Norquest. The Indigenous Career Centre (ICC) connects Indigenous talents with their employer partners. So, the conversation was two-fold, finding an employer partner that could support employment opportunities. As a company who has Indigenous Partnerships as a strategic pillar and actively connects with Indigenous communities to support each other, we were very open to connecting and hearing how we can engage.

From there, many conversations and meetings were held, where we got to know each other and actively connected on what this partnership could look like, as we are mostly a seasonal employer. Most of our jobs are entry level and all one needs are 3 safety tickets. Even that could be quite a challenge for some Indigenous job seekers. But the Indigenous Career Centre was there to help, and able to financially support job seekers with getting these tickets through funding or other means.

Before the whole partnership could begin, a formal Pipe Ceremony was held in February of 2025, where leaders from both sides came together to ground our relationship and affirm our intention to walk together side by side, helping each other and our job seekers.  As a company, we also knew we needed to be a bit more flexible than our usual approach, and that wasn’t hard to achieve. Partnering with ICC and consistent and open feedback and communication made this possible.

In the spring of 2025, my HR team was actively recruiting from ICC. We started with 6 people entering into our weeklong training that is required to work as a safety watch. Of the 6, we had 1 person remaining who started working with us, but what a shining star! Even though we weren’t successful in having the other 5 start work, we have had great experiences and gained some valuable learnings.

When we started our recruitment approach in the fall, we changed our process to allow for more time to obtain tickets, provide additional support during the process, and make sure expectations were clear and set. As a result, ICC was also able to source better candidates who would be a good fit for the oil and gas industry and potentially available to be away from home. Over time, the 2 partners understood each other's needs better, and both continue to learn the other’s needs. In the fall, we ended up hiring 6 people from the ICC.  This spring 2026, we successfully trained 7 people from the Indigenous Career Centre.

Being able to learn from each other and grow together is a very rewarding experience as an employer.

Conclusion 

Creating a culturally safe and supportive workplace is essential to fostering belonging and well-being for indigenous employees. When leaders and HR create a culture that listens, learns, and acts with respect, trust is achieved. An inclusive environment not only supports Indigenous employees to thrive but also improves engagement, retention, and overall workplace relationships.
 

Trust is built through accountability, and it is important that organizations align workplace practices with Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples strengthens Indigenous inclusion efforts. Organizations should track metrics like retention, engagement, and psychological safety, while incorporating Indigenous voices through lived experiences. Organization should also publish their Indigenous inclusion commitments, report on their progress, and be honest when they fall short. 

Finally, acknowledging the long-term organizational risks of failing to build trust -such as reputational harm, reduced engagement, and limited talent attraction - would emphasize the strategic importance of sustained and accountable action.