Valuing trust in a world of fakes

There is a huge challenge for governments, organisations and businesses evident every day and that is the lack of trust that exists in society. It can often be overlooked as the damage to trust is not as tangible as the failure of an operational system, product or as has been seen this week an IT outage. But it is the most important asset an organisation can have.

If there is no trust then how can governments give people life saving advice when a disaster or emergency happens? How can the police expect that people will come forward with information about criminal activity? How will local authorities connect with residents and encourage them to change behaviour? How can health professionals get people to improve their lifestyles? 

Public sector organisations rely on trust if they are going to be able to operate effectively. And when a disaster or emergency takes place trust is the one thing that is essential. People are less likely to listen and act on warnings that they don’t believe, or are concerned may be motivated by things other than preserving and protecting lives. The past few weeks have shown the significant challenge that this brings. 

The trust deficit

When I am running crisis communication training I now start it with a consideration of the impact of the trust deficit, and what it means to how we operate when the worst happens. There is no way we can achieve what we need to without understanding what people think of the organisation and how trustworthy it is. This is also an essential part of understanding what the reputation of an organisation is and how it is viewed. Trust is worth more than gold.

Conspiracy theories, concern, confusion and criticism will always be shared where there is a perception of a lack of trust. If an organisation felt to have misled, lied or manipulated the truth or the reality of a situation there will be a long road back. The same can be said of organisations that are in denial of the crisis that they may be facing. If you don’t see it the views will be as critical. 

The trust deficit and concern about fake information is not going away. In fact, it is a situation that is only likely to become more entrenched as the use of artificial intelligence grows. My three top tips: 

1. Value your trust rating and protect it as much as you can. It takes years to gain and seconds to lose. 
2. Ensure you are building trust, tackling fake news and the impact of AI in your crisis response and communication plans.
3. Educate others about the importance of trust to the reputation of an organisation and what it is worth.

Amanda Coleman is a crisis communication expert and consultant, founder of Amanda Coleman Communication and the author of Crisis Communication Strategies. Read the original post.