This year the Edelman Trust Institute fielded six Trust Barometer studies. In online surveys, we asked more than 85,000 respondents across 28 different countries hundreds of questions about who, what, and why they trust — and what makes it more likely they will trust an institution, its brands, its actions, or its communications.
An analysis of the reports we published this year reveals some clear themes for how institutions and their leaders can make it more likely they will earn trust. Across institutions, whether we are looking at trust in the healthcare system, in climate actions, in brands, or in employers, here are the trust-building principles that showed up in our 2023 reports:
Principle 1: Action Builds Trust
Across the 27 countries we surveyed for our annual Global Report, people are five to six times more likely to say that business should be doing more, not less to address issues such as climate change, economic inequality, energy shortages, or healthcare access. Despite the recent backlash against overly “woke” businesses, less than ten percent said business was overstepping on what it should be doing to address any of these issues.
The same was true when we looked at expectations for brands (people are more likely to buy brands that engage on societal issues, with healthcare and climate change topping the list globally) and for employers (job seekers are more likely to work for companies that commit to issues, with the highest support for human rights and healthcare).
Given today’s polarized culture, how can you act in a way that builds trust?
- Engage where it matters to your stakeholders. As one example, even in the highly politicized U.S. market, both Republicans and Democrats are more likely to buy brands that invest in retraining for workers.
- To make a difference, partner across institutions. Across issues such as climate change and immigration, people agree that government and business working in partnership to address societal issues is four times more likely to yield results than business acting alone.
- Build optimism. Many actions that respondents view as obligatory for CEOs this year related to increasing economic optimism: paying fair wages, ensuring local communities are safe and thriving, and retraining employees. Our climate report clearly showed that outcomes build optimism: People need to see promises kept, progress made, and benefits both personal and beyond.
- Show me how you will hold yourself accountable. When we asked people the most effective way a brand can keep or earn their trust, the theme was accountability. People trust brands that own their mistakes, are transparent about their impact, supply chain, or employee diversity, and partner with government on developing regulations.
Continue reading on the Edelman Trust Institute website.
.png?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Wef%20date%20(5).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Group%20248%20(4).png)
