Who do Canadians trust?

Edelman recently released its Trust Barometer for Canada.  Here are my top 10 takeaways. 

1.     Trust in most institutions is down over the past couple years, including business, government and media.  This could be part of a general trend, or simply because the degree of trust a couple years ago was abnormally high in the early, acute stages of the COVID pandemic. 

2.     Almost half of Canadians surveyed believe capitalism does more harm than good.  This is a strikingly high number for those in business or politics.  It suggests that many people have concerns regarding inequality and other socio-economic issues that they are going unaddressed.

3.     Perhaps related, over half of people think media, business leaders and politicians are trying to mislead them (10%+ since last year alone).  To that end, politicians and CEOs are actually distrusted. 

4.     Scientists are the most trusted institution right now but even that has dropped over the past year.  This is no surprise given their prominence and media focus during the COVID pandemic.  With some growing disharmony and confusing messaging in expert communities, a decrease in trust is not surprising.  Look for this trend to continue somewhat in the short-term.

5.     Trust in all sources of media (including traditional and social) is down significantly from a few years ago.  Overall, social media is simply not a trusted source of information.

6.     More than half of consumers and more than half of people choose who to buy from or where to work based on beliefs and values.  When considering a job, over half of people expect their CEO to speak out about important societal issues.

7.     This is particularly important because business is seen to not be doing enough on a variety of issues like climate change and inequality, as well as bread-and-butter issues like workforce reskilling.  That said, people surveyed expect CEOs and business to stay out of partisan politics and campaigning (i.e., candidates, endorsements, etc.).

8.     People report needing to see things more than once from a source before they believe it’s true.  This suggests a growing skepticism and distraction amongst viewers, readers, consumers, etc.  In fact, many people simply won’t believe certain sources at all if it’s the only place they see it.  The greatest examples, according to the survey, are social media and advertising.

9.     Government and media are increasingly seen is divisive whereas business and NGOs are seen as unifying.  This presents a big opportunity for business to step up and fill a void!  It’s also a message to politicians and media to start finding ties that bind rather than wedges that divide.

10.  All trust is local. There is more trust in community and neighbours, and less trust in those outside of one’s province and country.  So, those who operate only in major centres and don’t have folks on the grounds in others, risk hindering their relationships outside their local community.

What does this all mean?  It means people are tired and feeling the effects of information-overload and a confusing, uncertain world.  Trust is a function of a meaningful, two-way relationship.  Organizations that are still simply blasting out information on social media aren’t really developing a relationship with current and potential customers and stakeholders and will soon start to struggle.  Pure social media campaigns can be effective but are increasingly inefficient. 

Every organization needs to consider not just an omni-channel approach but an omni-source one.  In order to do this, it must actually be in touch with a variety of perspectives and stakeholders.  It must have done the hard work to ensure it has its finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the world around it.  It must be part of the zeitgeist, not just a reactive observer of it.

People want clear, consistent, factual, forward-thinking information and leadership from businesses.  This can rarely be done retroactively.  Organizations that have developed for many years the internal infrastructure to constantly and consistently develop real relationships with stakeholders and integrate cohesive and dynamic communications throughout their operations are probably in front of these trends and have made adjustments to stay ahead.  Those without the infrastructure should be scrambling now to start building it.