Many C-suite Executives Say Their Organizations Want to Build Trust in Year Ahead, Yet Few Have Leadership and Tracking Capabilities in Place

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2022 — In the next year, 61.3% of C-suite executives say that their organizations will work to improve trust levels with key stakeholders — including customers, employees, third parties and shareholders — yet few report having a C-suite-level leader in place to manage efforts (19%) and fewer still have a way to track stakeholder trust levels (13.8%), according to a new Deloitte poll.

“There’s quite a range of leader and organizational sentiment around the concept of enterprise trust. The continuum seems to start with those who think of the concept anecdotally — if at all — and ends with others who are advancing aggressively and strategically,” said Michael Bondar. Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory’s enterprise trust leader and a principal, Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP. “Trust should be managed as any other organizational asset with strong leadership support and thoughtful assessment.”

Tracking trust in the enterprise
While the majority of polled C-suite executives say their organizations have no current trust-tracking in place (55%), nearly half of those respondents (19.6%) say plans are underway to implement trust tracking measures in the next 12 months. Many more have no near-term plans to do so (35.4%).

“While some may be unsure where to begin in measuring and managing trust, there are three steps organizations can take to advance their efforts. First, determine what trust means to your organization. Then, identify gaps between your organization’s desired trust levels and the behaviors and perceptions you can observe. Finally, work to address the gaps meaningfully,” said Bondar.

C-suite leadership for enterprise trust
Some organizations are implementing creative approaches to establishing an enterprise trust strategy by expanding their C-suite benches to create dedicated management positions.

In fact, a small contingent of responding C-suite executives (6.1%) say that their organization either already has a chief trust officer (CTrO; 2.7%) or plans to establish the role in the next year (3.4%). Beyond the few respondents whose organizations have CTrOs, others either currently have a C-suite executive overseeing trust efforts (16.3%) or plan to assign a leader — C-suite or otherwise — in the year ahead (8%).

C-suite respondents most typically indicate that their organizations have no one person in charge of trust efforts, nor do they plan to (41.4%).

Ashley Reichheld, Deloitte Consulting LLP’s enterprise trust leader and a principal, added, “Building trust is among the most powerful ways brands can earn loyalty, drive differentiation and create competitive advantage.”

About the online poll
Over 260 C-suite executives were polled during a Deloitte webcast, titled “Quantifying customer trust,” on Sept. 15, 2022. Answer rates differed by question.

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500^® and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today’s marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 415,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.