Tomorrow Takes
trust
73%
Customer loyalty
How trust benefits your business
Q: To what extent does building trust in your company, internally and externally, help improve the following? (Response to ‘A lot’)
Source: PwC Trust in US Business Survey, Sept. 16, 2021: base of 503 business executives
—MOHAMED KANDE
VICE CHAIR, CONSULTING SOLUTIONS
CO-LEADER AND GLOBAL ADVISORY LEADER, PwC US
“Each leader in an organization is likely to work with stakeholders with varying definitions and expectations of trust. It is important that leaders consider those different perspectives as they seek to establish and foster trust.”
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58%
Positive reputation
56%
Expanding into new areas/markets
57%
Revenue growth
52%
Employee recruiting/retention
54%
Strong relationships with regulators/policymakers
54%
Brand equity/brand protection
55%
Growing customer base
48%
Strong analyst feedback
50%
Access to capital/financing
Trust is the secret ingredient in tech transformation.
To drive a successful digital transformation, start by investing in employees and communication.
When Tim Ryan, US Chair and Senior Partner at PwC, was asked the biggest issue PwC clients have todeal with today, he answered quickly: “Trust.”
“Our clients want to optimize their bottom line, but they are also very concerned about morality and transparency,” Ryan told Alan Murray, CEO of Fortune Media. “They do ask us to help them achieve business objectives, but they also want help building trust so people want to do business with them and share their data. That involves issues such as who has rights to data, as well as managing its security and privacy. Our clients want to know how they can convince stakeholders that they’re using data not only legally, but also appropriately and ethically.”
Technology plays a big role in that. During a recent talk with Ryan, a CEO acknowledged that he got tech transformation wrong. “I thought choosing the right technology was 80% of the challenge and the people part was 20%,” the CEO said, “but I realized that it was the complete opposite: People are 80%. So, Tim, how do I take my employees on this journey? How do I inspire and train them? How do I get them to adopt transformation?”
The key, Ryan answered, is to get employees to trust that transformation is not just about efficiency. It’s also about helping employees become more skilled and valuable.
“You need employees to trust that you’re not trying to take away their jobs—that you’re actually trying to build a better future for them,” he explained. “You need to build trust with employees, so they’ll willingly go on that transformation journey with you because they know you’re not going to leave them behind. That’s why trust is the secret ingredient to technology transformation.”
“There’s no secret sauce to building trust, but proactively communicating with stakeholders about what you’re doing to build trust—and backing those words with action—is a critical step. Every company has a story, and business leaders need to make sure that the story they are telling is authentic to the company’s actions, operations, and its culture; what we do as organizations isn’t just about numbers—it’s about people, the communities we serve, and making a lasting impact.”
—WES BRICKER
VICE CHAIR - TRUST SOLUTIONS CO-LEADER, PwC US
Note: This article was created by PwC.
Stay tuned for more discussion on this topic in our three-part series.