Trust: why anything less than ‘excellent’ IC just doesn’t cut it

We all know poor internal communication is bad for trust within an organisation, but how important is it to be ‘excellent’ at internal communication, rather than simply ‘good’? If this year’s IoIC IC index is anything to go by, the difference in impact is huge. And that’s important not just for knowing how to build trust in your organisation, but because it’s proof of the powerful impact of Internal Comms. We thought its findings were worth delving into a bit more, so this blog is all about the IC Index.

What is the IC Index?

The IC Index is produced by the Institute of Internal Communication and is essentially the findings of a survey of 4,000 UK workers aged 18–64. This year, the focus was on trust and so people were asked about their perceptions of internal communication as well as trust within their organisation.

Levels of trust within UK organisations

To give you an overview of where levels of trust are at the moment, six in ten people (63%) trust their leaders. It’s not quite as simple as that though, because the higher up the management ladder you climb the less likely it is employees will trust you. So, while three quarters (75%) of people trust their direct line manager, only half (55%) trust their CEO. What’s really interesting though is the difference Internal Comms can make here:

·       Where IC is rated as ‘good,’ 62% trust their direct manager, but only 26% trust their CEO.

·       Where IC is rated as ‘excellent,’ 88% trust their direct manager and 76% trust their CEO.

For senior managers, who, by the very nature of their jobs, are less likely to personally interact with employees, that’s a huge 50-point jump between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ comms – and it shows the really important role Internal Comms has in building trust between the senior leadership team and employees. So, what four things do people need to believe if they’re to trust their CEO? In order of importance, it’s this:

1)       Communications are open and honest.

2)      The organisation does things in the best interests of employees.

3)      The strategy is the right one for success.

4)      Leaders understand the challenges employees are facing.

The importance of open communication around change

Good communication in turbulent times can help maintain trust. Again, that’s something we all know in our business. This year, one of the most common changes people have experienced has been a restructure, with it being something four in ten have gone through. As you’d expect, where people rated their internal comms as ‘poor,’ levels of trust were terrible – in the single digits. But, again, what was interesting was the difference between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ comms:  

·       Where internal comms was ‘good,’ 38% believed communication was open and honest and 22% trusted the CEO. 

·       Where internal comms was ‘excellent,’ an amazing 93% believed communication was open and honest and 76% trusted their CEO.

What this means is that a change programme doesn’t have to mean trust inevitably falls through the floor. As these stats show, if you do a great job communicating the why and how, employees will continue to trust your organisation. How, then, can you ensure you do an ‘excellent’ job?

1)       Be clear about the reasons behind the change. 

2)       Be honest about the likely impact.  

3)       Listen – ask employees for their views on the change.

4)       Provide detail – what is happening and when.

5)       Start communicating earlier than you think you need to. (and continue with it)

6)       Provide regular progress updates.

Last but most definitely not least, this year’s IC Index highlighted the impact internal comms has on levels of employee engagement and, perhaps more importantly if you’re looking to prove its value as a function, levels of staff turnover.

Once again, poor internal comms led to poor engagement, with just 14% saying they were engaged at work. Where there was good internal comms things were a bit better, with 34% saying they were engaged. But when internal comms was rated as ‘excellent’ the engagement score jumped nearly forty points, with three quarters (73%) saying they were engaged at work. 

When it comes to turnover – an important factor in any business’s bottom line – people who rated their internal comms as ‘excellent’ were also far more likely to stay for longer; seven in ten (69%), in fact, said they planned to stay long term. This compares to only a quarter (24%) saying the same when the internal comms was rated as just ‘good.’  And where it was poor, only 7% said they planned to stay long term.

As you can see, the difference between being ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ at internal comms is significant. It’s why, at Cosy Meerkat, we love getting a phone call or inquiry from someone who wants to step up what they do, who wants everyone in their organisation to see the difference between good and excellent internal comms. And it’s why we will always be happy to help.