Trust in Me: Why trust is the key to organisational growth

Each year, the Edelman Trust Barometer gathers opinions from people around the globe to find out how they feel about institutions such as businesses, governments, media, and NGOs, in order to measure how trust in them is changing over time. Their reports also highlight which organisations are seen as particularly trustworthy, and why. And, in so doing, they hopefully prompt brands and leaders to improve their trustworthiness. 

This year, the recently released 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report, ‘Trust at Work’, revealed trust isn’t just a feelgood goal to strive towards, but a fundamental pillar of organisational health. While the report indicated employers are the most trusted institutions, with 79% of employees expressing confidence in their bosses (compared to lower trust levels in, quelle surprise, governments and the media), these trust levels weren’t uniformly distributed. There was a significant trust gap between executives and lower-level employees, with executives perhaps predictably exhibiting higher levels of trust due to their closer involvement in the decision-making process. 

And this disparity highlights a crucial point: trust in the workplace isn’t just about how well communication is managed – it’s about how involved and empowered employees feel. When teams perceive their voices are heard and their contributions truly valued, trust flourishes. Conversely, when they feel sidelined or distrusted, engagement and morale rapidly go south. 

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Trust Survey reinforces this impact of trust on financial performance and responsibility, with a striking 95% of executives viewing trust as a critical element of their organisational duty, and 93% recognising its influence on financial outcomes. Similarly, responding to a 2024 Newsweek ranking of the World’s Most Trustworthy Companies, industry leaders such as Gabriel Escarrer of Meliá Hotels International, Steve Cahillane of Kellanova (formerly known as Kelloggs) and Mark Kenney of CAPREIT emphasised that it’s that little ‘T’ word that drives guest satisfaction and investor confidence. Companies that embed trust into their culture through ethical practices and transparent communication are also better positioned for sustained success. Simply, Trust isn’t just a soft skill, but a strategic asset, affecting customer loyalty, brand reputation, investor confidence, and, crucially, employee morale. 

Alison Arnot is the Director of Catalyst Communications, and a CIPR trainer specialising in internal communications. For Alison, the Edelman report’s findings tell us is that “if we want to really build trust in organisations, we need to enable the people within them to have greater levels of control, autonomy, and influence, where appropriate.” 

She offers several practical strategies for building trust within an organisation: 

1. Consistency and Transparency: Trust is rooted in consistency. Just as in personal relationships, professional trust is built on being consistent in what we say and do. Alison advises, “We need to think about trust in organisations in exactly the same way we think about it in our personal lives. If you reflect on your trusted relationships, it’s about being about being consistent in what we say and what we do. Likewise, it’s about being open and transparent in our communications. It’s about talking about a shared purpose, shared values, and a shared vision for the future. And it’s about talking about all of these things in a way that matters to the people within the organisation.”
    
2. Visible Leadership: Leaders should model the behaviour they expect from their teams. Says Alison, “Leaders need to be out and about in the organisation. They need to be seen. They need to be talking, they need to be listening, and they need to be seen to be interested and seen to be involved. And that applies not just to your senior leaders, but to all leaders throughout the whole of the organisation.”
    
3. Empowerment and Autonomy: Empowering employees and providing them with autonomy significantly enhances trust. Alison explains, “You’re more likely to trust if you are empowered, have autonomy, involvement, and control. Because then you can see the detail of how decisions are being made, you can see the process. You can understand why somebody might say yes to that and no to that. So, the more that we can do that in our organisations, the better.”
    
4. Celebrate Successes and Acknowledge Mistakes: Recognition is key. “Say thank you. Recognise success within the organisation. Celebrate achievements when good things happen, but also recognise everyone who’s involved, not just the obvious people. However, celebration has to be something you do all the time, because people will know if you’re just rolling out a campaign for a specific short term goal.” Also, when mistakes are made, “own them – and resolve them”. 
    
5. Inclusive Communication: Ensure communications reflect diverse voices within the organisation. “It’s about using as many different voices in your comms and content as you can. It’s also about treating people equally, about breaking down silos, and about celebrating individuals and their differences because differences make us stronger within organisations – that’s 100% true.” 

However, while we know that trust and communication go hand in hand, “we also know that communication can’t do all the work on its own. Trust comes from behaviour. And what we say doesn’t matter if it’s not backed up by what we do.”  

The trust gap the report highlights presents a particular challenge between executives and lower-level employees. To address this gap, organisations should focus on improving career development opportunities and employee involvement in decision-making.  

“Move the conversation away from the corporation, the brand, the organisation, and move it away from the shareholders and the financial stuff,” advises Alison. “Instead, move it further towards the humans inside the organisation and the humans the organisation serves. And make sure that when you’re talking about what’s happening in the organisation, you do this is a meaningful way . Step away from long complicated emails and give people case studies, stories, facts and figures, statistics, images and videos instead. Give people the chance to comment and ask questions, and let them experience content that evidences fair and consistent decision making.” 

As the report also notes, employees who feel trusted by management are significantly more likely to trust their leaders and exceed work expectations. “Put your trust in employees,” says Alison. “Employees who are constantly told off, or who constantly watched are less likely to want to trust the organisation. If we want to have positive relationships, we have to treat people like human beings. And we need to offer common courtesy and common care. We need to establish positive, reciprocal relationships with the people in our organisations. We need to listen to them, understand them, and we need to involve them.” 

Trust isn’t something to be tweaked now and again. Building and maintaining trust in the workplace requires consistent effort, transparent communication, and genuine leadership. As Alison says, “You know you’re in a dodgy relationship if you only focus on the trust when things have gone wrong. It needs to be the bedrock. It needs to be a focus all the time – even when we’re doing well.” 

Learn about internal communications in times of crisis with Alison on 8 November in London and discover the CIPR’s full range of employee engagement and internal communications courses.

Ali Catterall is an award-winning writer, journalist and filmmaker whose writing has featured in the Guardian, Time Out, GQ, Film4, Word magazine and the Big Issue, among many others.