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To study how much employees trust leaders at their companies, the Institute of Internal Communications teamed up with Ipsos to survey 4,000 UK workers ages 18-64 from March 6-20, 2024.
What they found: the better a company’s internal communications, the more trust employees have in their company’s leadership. Employees who thought their company’s internal communications were “excellent” had the most trust in their direct manager (88% trust), their organization’s leadership team (80% trust), and their company’s CEO (76% trust). However, stark differences emerged among employees who rated their company’s internal comms as “very poor” – just 34% of that group trusted their direct managers, and a mere 6% said they trusted their organization’s leadership team and CEO.
What this means: the more open and honest your communications are, the more your employees will trust you… even, and especially, in turbulent times for your business. Take, for example, company restructuring – a stressful time for most employees. When employees whose company had restructured were asked if the communications from their employer were open and honest, the importance of effective internal communications was clear: There was a 55-point gap between those who rated their org’s communications as “excellent” and those who said their internal comms were “good.” Those who highly approved of their company’s internal communications were MUCH more likely to think their employer was being open and honest with them (which cultivates trust) than those who thought their company’s communications were just “good.” This means that “good” internal communications practices often aren’t good enough – especially in more turbulent times for your business.
Business leaders, if you want your company communications to better meet the moment, Seven Letter Insight can help you craft winning messages and strategies that cultivate trust among those that matter most: your employees.
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