How to capitalise on trust: ReGenerate reviews the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer
Trust is a valuable asset to institutions when forecasting and planning growth. Affected by shifting political, social and economic environments, the consequences of trust are reflected acutely in key business performance indicators. For businesses, these effects can be felt in the loss or gain of customers and income, where a high level of trust correlates with greater sales and revenues. For politicians, the public’s trust will be reflected by voter numbers falling or rising, performance in popularity polls, and even in public calls for elections.
The Edelman Trust Barometer has been running annually for 21 years. It measures public trust in four institutions (the media, business, NGOs and government), and provides data that can form the basis of strategic reviews and management of trust capital.
Business is now seen as competent AND ethical
Compared to 2020, business is now the only institution that is seen as both competent AND ethical globally, putting businesses in a strong position for maintenance and growth of public trust. Positively capitalising on this trust must form a key part of planning for purpose-driven businesses and will align with their intentions to produce profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet, not to profit from producing problems for people or planet.
Business leaders must lead change
Those holding business leadership roles occupy a prominent position in society, with 68 percent of respondents expressing an expectation on those individuals to step in when governments are perceived to have failed the public. 66 percent of respondents said that business leaders should lead on change, rather than wait for change to be imposed by the government. This is a more significant number than ReGenerate found when we asked a similar question in June last year.
Source: 2021 Edelman Trust barometer
Very significantly, 86 percent of respondents felt that CEOs should be publicly vocal about societal challenges. This year, the greatest societal issue recognised in the survey relates to the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had, however general societal and community issues remain important.
Source: 2021 Edelman Trust barometer
What does this mean on a practical level? There is an opportunity for CEOs to actively and openly engage and lead on societal issues with the same energy as they invest in the pursuit of profit. A reactive stance will not bolster public trust but proactivity and transparency will reinforce it.
Trust in UK Business increases
Businesses in the UK have gained three points towards a trusted status, which follows the overall global trend of trust in businesses increasing. However, this increase does not yet result in a trusted position: businesses in the UK hold a neutral position compared to the UK media, NGOs and the government’s distrusted position.
Trust can be lost, as well as earned. Globally, trust in employers has increased in 18 out of 27 nations, but on a national level, trust in UK employers has fallen by 8 points in the last 12 months, with only Chinese employers lower at -12 points. Therefore, complacency will not serve businesses well. There is still work to be done.
Closing thoughts
UK businesses have the opportunity to review and reshape business practice by expressing intent for positive change and the development of a purpose-driven business model. This will go a long way towards reinforcing public and employee trust, but, those intentions must be followed up with transparency in reporting and honest accountability for areas of improvement. Without this openness, intentions for positive change will be regarded as green-washing and trust will falter. Businesses that are caught out can face exposure on social media or in the press, quickly losing public trust and with it, revenue.
While businesses improve their practices, it is important that the government recognises the power that businesses will have on economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic, and the position that business leaders hold in society. Visibly supporting and enabling businesses to develop purpose-driven business models will increase public confidence in the government’s intentions for positive change.
Attribution: The data used throughout this article is from the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer presentation. To explore the full 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, visit https://www.edelman.com/trust/2021-trust-barometer.
