Each year, Edelman, a global communications firm, conducts a trust survey—the Trust Barometer—to identify and highlight the most trusted organizations, institutions, and individuals, based on the sentiment of thousands of respondents. Their 25th annual survey results will be released in April.
One of the things the survey has consistently—and, perhaps, surprisingly—revealed is the trusted role that employers play with their own employees.
Employers Are a Trusted Source of Information
Business organizations have been consistently and significantly seen as more competent and ethical than the government. CEOs and company technical experts are also trusted more than government leaders—and journalists—to provide truthful information.
MetLife also recently released its 23rd annual Employee Benefit Trends Study, which looked at the issue of trust in the workplace. It found that trust in employers “has a more pronounced role in driving key business/talent outcomes and meeting employee expectations at work. They found that:
- 81% of employees hold their employers accountable for building trust.
- Employees are 1.5x more likely to trust their employers than other institutions.
- Trust amplifies workplace outcomes—employees are more holistically healthy (2.9x) engaged (1.9x) and productive (1.6x) when they trust their employers.
- 82% of employers think their employees trust them—but only 60% of employees do.
- Employees who use and have positive experiences with their benefits are 1.9x more likely to trust their employer.
These results have important implications for employers and their communication efforts.
Implications for Employers
Your employees care what you think about issues of all kinds—from rising healthcare costs to the state of the economy. You can educate and inform them about a wide range of issues, ensuring their understanding and, in many cases, their support for issues most impacting your organization and its success.
There are several things employers can do to help capitalize on the trusted role they play among employees:
- Let employees know where you stand and why. In many cases, your alignment will mirror your mission, vision, and values. But don’t assume employees clearly understand that without your explicit information. Consider issuing “position papers” where important issues arise that have implications for your company and its products and services.
- Get ahead of issues. Companies are often aware of how, when, and where they may be covered in the media. But they don’t often share that information with employees to ensure that they understand key messages and that they can share those messages with others accurately and appropriately.
- Keep lines of communication open. Employees need to know what you believe—and you need to know what they believe. Keep the lines of communication open to ensure that you understand employee opinion on both internal and external issues to help you craft messages and provide support and resources.
It may not always feel this way, but employers hold a position of trust—especially among their own employees. Make sure you’re leveraging that position to inform, educate, and engage employees in alignment with your business needs and strategies.
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