Unpacking the Edelman Trust Barometer: what it means for Internal Comms

Every year, since 2000, the world’s biggest PR and marketing firm, Edelman, has published what its calls its Trust Barometer. Launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, it has, for the last few years at least, consistently shown that a) trust in all institutions is nosediving and b) that business is the only trusted institution left.

Company CEOs, unsurprisingly, often cite it, but what can and should others working in business learn from this year’s report, in particular those working in Internal Comms? 

In this blog, we unpack what the Edelman Trust Barometer is, what its results show and what the key takeaways are for Internal Comms when it comes to considering your own communication strategies.  

The Edelman Trust Barometer briefly explained

The Edelman Trust Barometer is a survey of approximately 32,000 people across 28 countries (that’s around 1,150 people per country), who are representative of the general population. It asks a variety of questions based around trust in the key institutions – government, media, NGOs and business. A score of 60% or over suggests trust, if it’s between 50 and 59% the feeling is neutral and if it’s 49% or below then people are distrustful. Results can be broken down on a country-by-country basis and for some business sectors.  

This year’s results

There is a lot of information in the Edelman survey, so we’ve pulled out the statistics from both the global and UK reports which are most relevant to anyone working in Internal Comms. Here’s what you need to know:

·       Business leaders are not trusted to tell the truth. Perhaps the most sobering statistic to reflect on this year is that even though, globally, business might be the only trusted institution left (by a whisker), 61% believe business leaders are purposefully trying to mislead people. For context, that’s only slightly better than government leaders at 63% and journalists at 64%. Note though that the question was specifically about leaders, not the institutions themselves, so the results are perhaps a reflection of a wider scepticism about whether any established leaders can be trusted to tell the truth.

·       The majority of people continue to be worried about their finances. Eighty-eight percent worry about losing their job and 73% worry about inflation.

·       By nearly two to one, people worry that innovation is being mismanaged. And it is fear over mismanagement that is leading to a lack of enthusiasm for emerging technologies around things like AI and green energy.

·       Business is the institution most trusted to integrate innovation into society with 59% saying they trust it to ensure innovation is safe, understood by the public, beneficial and accessible. Income levels, however, make a big difference here, with low earners significantly more distrustful than those on high incomes. 

·       People want to be listened to and to feel that business is being transparent. In order for people to trust that business will manage innovation well:

o   83% want business to communicate the pluses and minuses.

o   82% want their concerns to be heard and to be allowed to ask questions.

·       People need to feel they have control over the impact of innovations if their acceptance of these innovations is to be earned.

·       There is an expectation that CEOs should manage the changes happening in society, not just in their own business. Employees want their CEOs to speak publicly on issues such as:

o   Job skills of the future - 82%

o   Ethical use of technology - 79%

o   Automation impact on jobs - 78%

·       People might not trust business leaders more generally, but they do trust their own employer. In almost all countries, bar South Korea, employees largely trust their employer, with the figure sitting at 79% globally and 77% in the UK.  Family-owned businesses are the most trusted of all.

·       Sixty-nine percent of people trust their own CEO to do what is right. That’s behind only scientists and teachers and above citizens in their own country, their neighbours, CEOs more widely, journalists and, last of all, government leaders. 

Takeaways for Internal Comms

So, what should we in Internal Comms take from all this?

1.       Having your employees’ trust makes a big difference to how willing they are to embrace innovation and change.  And to achieve and maintain trust you need:

a.       Two-way communication channels which enable the business to listen to employees’ concerns.

b.       Transparency.  A leader who is willing to say they don’t know the answer to everything or who sets out the pros and cons of an initiative is seen as honest and therefore more trustworthy.    

2.       The social context outside the business is important as it has an impact on how willing people are to trust what you say. For example, if a lot of jobs in your industry are going, you can understand why people might be more likely to mistrust any announcement of a new innovation.

3.       Trust in traditional authority figures is declining. Now everyone can do their own research established institutions are no longer the gatekeepers to information they once were, and there are a lot of competing voices out there. It means you have to work harder than ever to develop and maintain trust. 

4.       And finally, on that note, it’s vital your actions always mirror your words. Why are we mentioning this? Well, because last year, The Guardian newspaper, among others, exposed what many felt to be the hypocrisy of Edelman advocating for the importance of trust. The PR company has long worked with fossil fuel companies, oppressive government regimes and climate change deniers, all of whom are contributing towards some of the world’s most urgent challenges. And at the heart of the accusation was this question: how can we trust Edelman’s stance on trust when it has been less than forthcoming about working with these organisations? The key thing for any communicator to take from this is that if you don’t practice what you preach, you will be found out and people’s trust in you will suffer.

And that, in a nutshell, is this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer. While some of it may be depressing reading, its statistics do at least back up what a lot of Internal Comms already know: that consistent, clear and honest leadership and communication is the best way to increase employees’ trust in their place of work. What do you think? We’d love to hear, so drop us a line!