Change how your business runs with cloud: Understand the role you can play to grow, innovate, and build trust.
For your business to be successful, you need to win and retain trust. This is one of the biggest struggles companies face. Trust and security—of data, privacy, and the risk levels of partners in your ecosystem—go hand in hand.
Consumers, employees, and business leaders agree on foundational elements of trust
Q: When you think about trust, which of the following comes to mind?
Source: PwC’s Trust in US Business Survey, September 16, 2021: base of 1,001 consumers, 873 employees, and 503 business executives
From the CEO and board member to the CFO and risk management leader, how to collectively maximize cloud ROI, according to Jenny Koehler and Vikram Panjwani of PwC US.
1. Protect data and fortify cybersecurity.
Consumers want the companies they do business with to provide oversight and accountability of customer information. When things go wrong, they also want companies to take responsibility for data-related failures and breaches—and address those failures promptly.
It’s a company’s responsibility to secure customer data throughout the supply chain, and many are moving in that direction. Leading companies are adopting a privacy-first business strategy, which is markedly different from the traditional compliance-centric approach to privacy.
In fact, to deal with a growing number of cybercrimes, 65% of the organizations surveyed predicted a rise in cyber spending in 2023, slightly lower than the 69% in 2022 but still higher than 2021’s 55%. PwC also found that numerous companies plan to develop holistic information governance practices to protect their data and systems.
One company that responded to the call for increased security is Schneider Electric, which has approximately 200 factories in 28 nations. The enterprise prioritized its cyber hygiene and managed its worldwide facilities with the same rigorous cybersecurity standards.
Having a third-party risk management program that verifies the security and privacy of companies in your supply chain can help confirm that vendors meet your requirements. So too can independently audited reporting—generally System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 reports—from companies in your supply chain. Health care, financial services, and technology providers are increasingly leveraging these types of reports as a cost-effective way to achieve security goals.
Ecosystem partners are also concerned about the cyber risks that have grown significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To proactively manage these risks, stakeholders urged companies to strengthen their security, resilience, and risk management in all vulnerable areas.
2. Treat both third-party labor and customers well.
Consumers and suppliers have moved from the outer rim of the ecosystem to center stage. Building and maintaining trust with the most important stakeholders means resolving challenges when contracting with third parties. According to PwC’s 2022 Consumer Intelligence Series on Trust, ways to build trusted relationships with these stakeholders include:
© 2022 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the US member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.
©2022 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (Your California Privacy Rights) | CCPA Do Not Sell My Information Fortune may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Quotes delayed at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Interactive Data. ETF and Mutual Fund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Dow Jones Terms & Conditions: S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. | EU Data Subject Requests
Occumquodia sust ipis nonsed magnamcon simus
more from PwC
Estias autevidendem es as aut quicore
For businesses, trust is a must: Tim Ryan in conversation with Sandra Sucher
more from PwC
“Pellam laccuptat”:
Ximil motorer uptatur
neceaque demquiae
Change how your business runs with cloud: Understand the role you can play to grow, innovate, and build trust
more from PwC
Ota quate comniet?:
utem int utesser spedis
eossini sum temprio
Trust is essential to the core of your business: Here’s where to start
more from PwC
Ota quate comniet?:
utem int utesser spedis
eossini sum temprio
Discover More
Note: This article was created by PwC.
Consumer
Employee
Protecting data and cybersecurity
62%
62%
62%
Protecting data and cybersecurity
How to build trust throughout your ecosystem.
Companies need to focus on developing and securing trust with stakeholders and customers in order to profit, says Todd Bialick, U.S. Digital Assurance and Transparency Leader at PwC US.
How to build trust throughout your ecosystem.
Companies need to focus on developing and securing trust with stakeholders and customers in order to profit, says Todd Bialick, U.S. Digital Assurance and Transparency Leader at PwC US.
62%
70%
56%
53%
55%
Treats employees well
53%
52%
52%
Ethical business practices
49%
46%
46%
Admitting to mistakes
70%
Employee
Business
55%
53%
56%
Treats employees well
52%
52%
53%
Ethical business practices
46%
46%
49%
Admitting to mistakes
Offering a variety of affordable products and services
Prioritizing domestic talent and resources for supply chains
Responding to concerns such as stock shortages and delivery delays
For businesses navigating ongoing supply chain disruptions, controlling risk can be the foundation for a trust-based relationship. As more companies reshore business opportunities and ratchet up contracts with domestic suppliers, it’s vital to consider potential third-party risks across the ecosystem. New suppliers should be vetted to assess risks that could affect trust, such as cybersecurity attacks, solvency issues, or unfair labor practices.
Suppliers also have needs and wants, so it’s important to build trusted relationships based on transparent, mutual expectations. This could mean the difference between getting critical supplies delivered on time or facing fallout from a backlog that resonates across your ecosystem.
Supplier accountability is also important: They should provide a holistic description of their systems and processes to determine how vulnerable your company may be to breaches at third-party and fourth-party service providers. That means evaluating the security of your vendors and your vendors’ vendors—an evaluation that details production, manufacturing, and distribution.
Third- and nth-party providers in your ecosystem want to be recognized as trustworthy. Including details on controls within the system can help these suppliers provide reasonable assurance that their system objectives are on target. When Agtegra, a farmer-owned grain and agronomy cooperative, wanted to reestablish trust with its 6,300 members, it redesigned its supply chain systems and streamlined its financial operations. These changes enabled the company to improve service, make operations more efficient, and help its members be more successful.
3. Adopt ethical business practices in your ecosystem.
A growing number of employees, customers, and other business stakeholders want companies and their ecosystems to add purpose to their corporate missions by advocating for ethical practices, such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In fact, in a 2021 PwC survey on ESG, 83% of respondents said companies should actively shape ESG strategies, and 76% said they would discontinue relations with companies that treat employees, communities, and the environment poorly.
One way to promote ethical practices is by including ESG information in various reports, such as corporate sustainability reports. Although current ESG data need not be audited by a third party, future regulations may require companies to include this information in financial reports. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) proposed climate change disclosure rule will likely accelerate ESG reporting.
Once climate information reporting gains more traction, human capital information, including DEI, likely won’t be far behind. Companies can build loyalty and trust with employees—and make better business decisions—by focusing on demographics, compensation, and retention.
One company that has made DEI plans part of its ethical practices is Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). In 2021, the company produced an inclusive, transparent report that detailed its DEI initiatives. This report has inspired employee inclusion and helped position BMS as a diversity leader in the biopharma industry.
By creating a culture of belonging within their organizations, business leaders can demonstrate inclusive behavior across the ecosystem in how they hire, train, reward, and promote employees. Companies that don’t treat their employees as key stakeholders may find they don’t have the people required to meet their customers’ needs.
4. Admit both company and ecosystem mistakes quickly to stakeholders.
Leaders should quickly acknowledge missteps and commit to correcting them. When people turn to social media to complain that a company has treated them unfairly, many businesses quickly admit errors and attempt to fix them.
Transparency and accountability are crucial to maintaining trust within an ecosystem. Slightly more than one-half of consumers surveyed by PwC said they often or very often consider a company’s values and its commitment to doing the right thing before making a purchase.
With today’s widespread inflation, companies can also win trust with customers by promising to limit price increases on some products or services or by frankly explaining why certain increases are vital to the firm’s survival. The same level of honesty, trust, and transparency is needed when dealing with employees and partners across the supply chain.
Closing the gap: Make building trust across the ecosystem a priority
Can businesses get essential stakeholders—customers, employees, and suppliers, as well as the larger community—to trust them? To increase trust with all stakeholders, it’s vital for business leaders to:
1. Build on the initiatives they’ve already developed
2. Review existing trust-based efforts
3. Evaluate the progress they’ve made
4. Correct any missteps
5. Develop plans to accelerate progress
There’s definitely a trust gap today, so businesses need to strengthen trust with all their stakeholders across the ecosystem.
Business
62%
62%
Protecting data and cybersecurity
Taking 4 key steps to build trust
Consumers and companies generally agree that there are four actions that can help build trust.
Taking 4 key steps to build trust
Consumers and companies generally agree that there are four actions that can help build trust.
1. Protect data and fortify cybersecurity.
Consumers want the companies they do business with to provide oversight and accountability of customer information. When things go wrong, they also want companies to take responsibility for data-related failures and breaches—and address those failures promptly.
It’s a company’s responsibility to secure customer data throughout the supply chain, and many are moving in that direction. Leading companies are adopting a privacy-first business strategy, which is markedly different from the traditional compliance-centric approach to privacy.
In fact, to deal with a growing number of cybercrimes, 65% of the organizations surveyed predicted a rise in cyber spending in 2023, slightly lower than the 69% in 2022 but still higher than 2021’s 55%. PwC also found that numerous companies plan to develop holistic information governance practices to protect their data and systems.
One company that responded to the call for increased security is Schneider Electric, which has approximately 200 factories in 28 nations. The enterprise prioritized its cyber hygiene and managed its worldwide facilities with the same rigorous cybersecurity standards.
Having a third-party risk management program that verifies the security and privacy of companies in your supply chain can help confirm that vendors meet your requirements. So too can independently audited reporting—generally System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 reports—from companies in your supply chain. Health care, financial services, and technology providers are increasingly leveraging these types of reports as a cost-effective way to achieve security goals.
Ecosystem partners are also concerned about the cyber risks that have grown significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To proactively manage these risks, stakeholders urged companies to strengthen their security, resilience, and risk management in all vulnerable areas.