The impact of Enterprise Trust
An exploration among communications executives
Understanding the impact of Enterprise Trust
In today's fast-paced business environment, trust has emerged as a critical factor that directly affects an organisation's success. With impactful developments such as globalisation, digitalisation (generative AI) and climate change, building and maintaining trust has become more complex. From enhancing stakeholder relationships to boosting financial performance, the significance of maintaining Enterprise Trust cannot be overstated. But what does Enterprise Trust entail, and how does it influence your business Enterprise Trust is the result of an ongoing relationship between an organisation and its stakeholders focused on capability, reliability, humanity and transparency. It’s the sum of an organisation’s actions executed with a high degree of competence and the right intention. A lack of trust is more detrimental than a tarnished reputation as it affects all of the organisation’s core activities and is crucial for its survival. In other words, while reputation is an opinion, trust is a belief.
Essentially, Enterprise Trust is a key to creating long-term value and ensuring the successful continuity of an organisation. In this context, Communication Executives play a key role. They manage trust-related information, offer strategic communication advice on matters concerning trust and translate both external and internal signals to understand their implications on trust. For these executives, understanding, building, and maintaining trust among stakeholders for strategic business decisions is of paramount importance. Yet, despite the undeniable value of trust, the practice of steering, realizing, and maintaining trust has yet to become common practice.
Our conversations with Communication Executives have highlighted the absence of comprehensive measurement tools that can demonstrate the level of trust within an organisation. Interestingly, while internal performance frequently triggers trust issues among stakeholders, their focus seems to be predominantly on external factors that influence trust.
Navigating the five pillars of trust
As an organisation, earning stakeholder trust revolves around executing activities with a high degree of competence and the right intent. Deloitte makes use of five pillars of trust to measure how well an organisation achieves this. These pillars render trust measurable, providing organisations with insights into areas requiring improvement.
The five pillars include leading by example, delivering with excellence, performing with distinction, securing the foundation, and amplifying core values. By aligning their strategies with these pillars, Communication Executives can effectively translate strategic goals into an integrated and consistent communication strategy. This strategy effectively caters to fostering trust among both internal and external stakeholders.
However, the road to earning and maintaining trust is not without difficulties. Communication Executives have pinpointed ESG developments, the energy transition, and increasing social polarisation as significant challenges for the forthcoming year. Nonetheless, the path to earn and maintain trust is a journey worth pursuing. Organisations that value building trust as a strategic priority during peaceful times significantly outperform their industry peers financially, gaining a competitive advantage.
Get in contact
Do you have any questions about the contents of this report or do you want to discuss the report or the value of trust more in depth? Please do not hesitate to contact Frédérique Demenint or Ede Steen via their contact details below.
