Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

How is it that large public companies, supposedly run by smart experienced leaders get the simple stuff so wrong?

I was completing a purchase at a discount clothing store (think Marshall’s, Target or Kohl’s.) The checker, a store manager, paused my transaction to search the small purse of an employee who was leaving work for the day. The message being sent to that employee from “above” is quite simple, “We don’t trust you not to steal.” I suggested to the manager that employees might be less inclined to steal if they believed that their employer trusted them, to which he replied “It’s the system.” I proposed he do whatever was in his power to change that system. My guess is he won’t for fear of losing his own job.

What does this story tell you about the culture of the organization? How do companies expect any loyalty, any engagement or any longevity from their employees when they treat them like criminals? A few ideas for senior management….

1. Do a better job screening your new hires
2. Pay your employees a decent hourly wage
3. Have a “one and done” policy on theft
4. Keep your employee searches out of sight of your customers.

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Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust, and runs the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

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Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

Ask most Americans which companies they trust and the same names will surface: Apple, Google, Amazon, and maybe even Walmart.

But when pressed as to why, the answer is usually something like this:

• I trust Apple because they have innovative products.
• I trust Google because their search feature is easy to use.
• I trust Amazon to deliver my packages very quickly.
• I trust Walmart to have the lowest prices.

So does this mean these companies should be trusted? Sounds more to me like we are talking about customer loyalty or brand loyalty and not so much about trust.

In fact, many would argue that these four are far from trustworthy.  Just ask Apple’s factory workers, Google’s privacy critics, Amazon’s publishers or Walmart’s suppliers what they think.

So let’s not generalize the word “trust.” If we are going to talk about it, we need to clarify what we really mean!

Earlier today I read the following article about how IBM can help Apple with its trust issues. It sheds a bit more light on the confusion between brand loyalty and trust.

And my friend Charlie Green recently wrote this blog post called If Trust Is So Far Down, How Come– which confirms the need to use the correct terminology.

What do you think? Do we have a definitional issue, and if so, how do we overcome it?

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

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Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.