Board's Guide to Trust: The Trusted Employer

The New Mandate for Business: Becoming the Trusted Employer

Boards have a new challenge ahead of them. As they seek to oversee, guide and advise company management, they now do so as businesses grapple with a new mandate: research shows that the Employer is the most trusted institution and global employees look to their employers to take responsibility for rebuilding trust in our society.

In a post-truth world, trust in nearly every institution, including governments and the media, is down. According to 33,000 Trust Barometer respondents who represent the general population in 28 countries, across all types of organizations, their employer is the new source of truth and trust.

In this report, we examine why this is happening and what boards and management must consider as they plan their approach to governance for the coming future.

The Employer as Trusted Information Source

The nexus of trust is now more local. As trust in government leaders, media and even religious leaders has waned, both employees and the general population are more likely to trust what is closest to them. The employer, in its role as the new town square, has emerged as a trusted source of leadership and guidance.

Due to low levels of trust in the media and other traditional sources of information, Edelman’s latest Trust data declares an “infodemic,” a broad crisis of trust in information, intensified by the rise of social media-fueled disinformation. The infodemic has expanded the mandate for business into unfamiliar areas; the top trust-building action for business is now guarding information quality. CEOs are expected to lead the charge on upskilling workers, sustainability and racial justice.

What does this mean for the employer?

For corporate leaders, this means they must take more action on critical issues both inside and outside their organizations, and do so by providing high-quality information and communication, through a variety of mediums. For boards, this also means keeping leaders more accountable than ever before. If the mandate is a call to action, this means consumers and employees will increasingly demand action over statements.

What To Do

• Internal communications is a newly powerful tool that can act as both shield and sword for your organization. Re-consider how leaders’ internal messages radiate confidence and trust from inside the workplace to outside in the marketplace.
• Provide high quality, trustworthy information on critical topics such as vaccines. There is not only a new societal expectation that companies lead such messaging, it also contributes to the recovery of a healthy, fully-functioning economy.
• Empower employees—an increasingly powerful group—to participate as advocates for your company’s actions. New technologies can measure and track employee advocacy and any progress made.