Trust me, it's important

Trust me, it’s a fact. Summer television scheduling and content is rubbish.

According to mediaQX (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/decline-tv-viewing-during-summer-reasons-r8n3f/), this is due to usual audiences being on holiday, the long days and light evenings, increased outdoor activities and seasonal programme changes. Across the summer months, audience volumes are down, and advertising revenues are harder to come by. That is, if you exclude some small broadcast events like The Olympics, The Euros, a general election, Britain’s Got Talent and the two versions of Race Across the World. Don’t always trust the facts.

Anyway, sticking to the truth, it has meant that in our household we’ve been revisiting some family classic movies to fill the programming void. One such motion picture was Meet the Parents. The 2000 American romantic comedy starring Ben Stiller as Greg Focker and Robert De Niro as Jack Byrnes. Much of the film hasn’t aged well, in fact, De Niro may be the exception. But jokes about Greg’s real name being ‘Gaylord Focker’ certainly haven’t. Despite this, it provided nearly 2 hours of entertainment and helped contain the excitement before the start of the Olympics 20km race walk.

There’s one key takeout from the film for me that has endured the test of time and remains hugely relevant. In an exchange between Jack and Greg about the Byrnes’ family ‘circle of trust’, De Niro says to Stiller, “If I can’t trust you Greg, then I have no choice to put you right back outside the circle. And once you’re out, you’re out. There’s no coming back.”

Trust is the foundation on which relationships are built. According to Ashley Reichheld (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/ashleyreichheld/) and Amelia Dunlop (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/ameliadunlop/) in their excellent book, The Four Factors of Trust, trust is the promise of a meaningful, mutually beneficial relationship between two or more people. They go on to identify that trust over the last 20 years has been in decline towards businesses, governments, brands and their products and services.

So, what of the trust between employers and employees? Is that on the decline too? In PwC’s recent Trust Survey, when asked how much executives trust their workforce, 86% reported a high level of trust toward employees. However, the survey revealed only 60% of workers feel that their employers trust them. This trust gap is potentially hugely damaging; negatively impacting on employee engagement and retention, workplace culture, the emotional environment and overall business performance.

In our opinion, trust is the currency on which reputation is built. Mutual trust between employers and employees is the sweet spot where promises are delivered on, rewarding experiences are created and remembered and discretionary effort is evident, not just expected. Establishing that trust takes time and once it’s established needs to be protected and cherished. Underestimate its value at your peril. Remember, once you’re outside the circle of trust, it’s a Focker to get back in.

According to Dunlop and Reichfiled, trusted companies outperform their peers by up to 400%. Customers who trust a brand are 88% more likely to buy again. And 79% of employees who trust their employer are more motivated to work and significantly less likely to want to leave.

If you’re not measuring the level of trust you have in your organisation, then your reputation as an employer is at risk. It may just bring you down and according to Jack Byrnes, it “will bring you down to Chinatown”.