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.”

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“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.

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.”

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