News
UK – Events and live communication have a key role in repairing broken trust of employees
A new report, commissioned by UK based leadership events specialists, Top Banana, has highlighted the extent to which communication technology is destroying trust in business and the vital role of face to face and live communication in building or rebuilding trust in organisations.
Trust in business across the globe has suffered a serious decline since the 2008 global financial crisis, reaching its lowest recorded levels last year. With just one in four members of the public in the UK trusting business leaders to do the right thing, one in five to tell the truth and 54 per cent believing that business greed is the main driver behind innovation, it’s fair to say UK business, like many other territories across Europe, is in the middle of an antitrust epidemic.
The report, commissioned by UK based leadership events specialists, Top Banana, and compiled by London-based Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, draws on recent academic and mainstream research in the areas of leadership, trust and communication and highlights the impact of ‘rich’ communication, that is relevant, insightful, clear and honest, in gaining trust, which is most often achieved through face to face communication. Citing, and rigorously evidencing, the clear disconnect between the ease and frequency of electronic communication and employees’ desire to talk and exchange, the report makes the case like no other has before for the central role of face to face communication to equip business leaders today to address the current trust crisis.
Nick Terry, Managing Director at Top Banana, who commissioned the report, said: “The presence of trust in an organisation has a considerable impact on the performance of that organisation. From better cooperation and more effective problem solving, to a positive work climate and employee engagement, the benefits of a trusting workplace are both well researched and understood by events professionals, as is the continued role of face to face communication in the corporate environment.
“Research tells us that employees still prefer to share ideas via face to face communication, therefore it’s vital that leaders and managers make themselves visible for both formal and informal conversations. This is everything from the more structured regional roadshow or company wide event to working from a place of visibility with an open door policy to walking the floor and making a conscious effort to interact with employees at every opportunity. This research provides further evidence for the compelling business case for increased levels of live and face to communication in business.”