We all trust ‘big data' these days, correct? Let’s have a look at some of the data from Edelman’s 2014 Trust Barometer Survey. Examination of reliable big data (and Edelman’s data set is both broad and deep, rigorously researched and meticulously reported), is the best way to ascertain trends and take the pulse of the current environment. In this case, the data communicates how much the public, or general populace trust the institutions they deal and do business with on a day to day basis in life. The data driven headlines from Edelman’s report are set out below.
The Four Major Factors That Shape Trust in Business
1. Industry or Sector
The top three, most trusted industries / sectors globally are:
- Technology (79%)
- Automotive (70%)
- Food and beverage (66%)
The bottom three, least trusted industries / sectors globally are:
- Banks (51%)
- Media (51%)
- Pharmaceuticals (59%)
Edelman’s commentary on trust related to industry or sector is outlined as follows:
‘The technology industry continues to lead as the most trusted sector. After changes in sourcing and management and a stronger focus on higher quality products, automotive, food & beverage and consumer packaged goods are showing strong trust rebounds over 2009. Media companies and banks continue to trail, seeing little movement since 2009 and, with additional incidents this year, are facing continued public and regulatory reprimand over ethics, business practices and malfeasance.’
2. Country of Origin (where a company is headquartered)
The top three, most trusted companies based on country of origin they are headquartered in:
- Germany (80%)
- Sweden (79%)
- Switzerland (79%)
The bottom three, least trusted companies based on country of origin they are headquartered in:
- Mexico (34%)
- India (35%)
- China (36%)
Edelman’s commentary on trust related to country of origin is outlined as follows:
‘Companies headquartered in BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) continue to suffer a trust discount, not just compared to global perception of western-based companies but also among respondents in western markets. Globally, respondents rated companies based in Germany, a market known for efficiency and productivity, highest followed closely by Sweden, Switzerland and Canada, all of which are known to have strong policies aimed at protecting employees, communities and the environment. China, Russia and India came in at some of the lowest ratings, with no improvement over the past five years.’
3. Enterprise Type (private vs. public companies, or business size)
The top three, most trusted business types are:
- Family-owned (75%)
- Small & medium sized (72%)
- Privately held (64%)
The bottom three, least trusted business types are:
- Publicly traded (51%)
- Big business (59%)
- State-owned (63%)
Edelman’s commentary on trust related to enterprise type / size is outlined as follows:
'Family-owned and small & medium-sized business outperformed big business in all regions but Asia where publicly-traded and big business companies received the highest trust scores. A stronger distrust of state-owned companies exists globally. Comparatively, private companies are seen as more entrepreneurial and innovative than public companies; however, both types face perceived lack of transparency and being responsive to employee needs.'
4. Leadership / CEO
The top three, most trusted individuals in a business context are:
- Academic or expert (67%)
- Technical expert (66%)
- In individual like you (62%)
The bottom three, least trusted individuals in a business context are:
- Government official or regulator (36%)
- CEO (43%)
- Regular employee (52%)
Edelman’s commentary on trust related to role / role seniority is outlined as follows:
'Overall, trust in leadership has plateaued. Academics and experts remain the most trusted source of information about companies, followed closely by technical experts and “a person like yourself,” which has increased significantly since 2009. CEOs and government leaders remain at the bottom of the list for both Informed and General Publics, with extremely low trust levels on key metrics. Only one in four General Public respondents trust business leaders to correct issues and even fewer – one in five – to tell the truth and make ethical and moral decisions.'
It is interesting to note the results on how different stakeholders are trusted on different topics. The most trusted influencer for communicating business related topics (operations, purpose, products and services, integrity and engagement) are set out below:
- Company employee (36%)
- Company CEO (27%)
- Activist consumer (25%)
- Academic (21%)
- Media Spokeperson (16%)
What these results make clear are two things:
- In the changing business landscape, CEOs have a lot of work to do to build trust; both internally and externally.
- Your employees are a fantastic asses to harness for building trust and generating social proof. This makes hiring and retaining excellent talent whose values are aligned with yours, offering them a fantastic employee value proposition, and giving them the type of training, freedom and responsibility to become exemplary, happy employees, will generate enormous currency in the context of building trust.
- Based on the above results, your employees currently carry much more weight in the context of generating trust than your CEO does.
This is further cause for HR Professionals to pause and reframe their strategies moving forward. In order to really offer significant contribution with maximum benefit to the overall performance of the organisation, HR now has the opportunity to lead from the front in finding new ways to build a foundation of trust that underpins all organisational activities.
The last data that is of note, and serves to reinforce the results regarding the trust level of CEOs versus employees versus customers and other external stakeholders, is the data on what Edelman calls ‘the growing power of search.’
Public levels of trust in different sources of information is also shifting. In 2014, trust in the integrity of the information sourced via different channels is as follows:
- Online search engines (76%)
- Traditional media (65%)
- Hybrid media (53%)
- Social media (45%)
- Owned media (44%)
Here’s a breakdown of where people tend to go in search of validating information about business.
First source for general business information:
- Online search (35%)
- Newspapers (26%)
- Television (21%)
First source for breaking news about business:
- Online search (28%)
- Television (25%)
- Newspapers (20%)
First source to confirm / validate breaking news about business:
- Online search (36%)
- Television (20%)
- Newspapers (19%)
The data paints a somewhat surprising picture about how quickly business is evolving, particularly in light of Human Era values. Online search is now the most trusted source for finding valid and reliable information about business (and online search retrieves information across multiple channels, including social media et al). Your employees and 'people like you' (customers, other stakeholders) are the most trusted source of honest information about your business. Your CEOs are currently lacking in trust based on public perception of them.
As HR Professionals, there is a lot of scope for creating and implementing strategies to harness the power of the ‘voice’ of your employees, your customers and other stakeholders in generating social proof and credibility for your organisation. It is also clear that HR needs to step up to the challenge of lifting the game of how CEOs interact with the world at large.
We’ve created a great little guide for you called ‘Essential HR Strategies for Building Trust,' including the top habits that CEOs can cultivate to build trust. To download this free document, simply click on the button below.
Enjoy!
Credit: The image used in this blog is taken from the Edelman Employee Engagement findings from the 2014 Trust Barometer Presentation on the Edelman website.
