'We don't trust the boss,' say British Workers:

A survey from MORI on behalf of Smythe Dorward Lambert, the consultancy that puts people at the heart of business change, reveals that, while employees approve of the values of their organisation, they do not trust their leaders.

Only 11% of all workers in the UK strongly agreed with the statement, 'I trust and believe what the directors of my company say.'

Trust in directors is lowest among blue-collar males and highest amongst professional women under the age of 35. The distrust rating is nearly half, 47% , for male blue collar workers, while only 28% of professional women distrust their directors. Staff in the South are twice as likely to have a strong trust in their directors than in the North. Just 9% in the North strongly agree with the statement 'I trust and believe what the directors of my company say' compared to 18% in London.

At the same time, over three quarters of all workers, 77%, endorse the core values of their organisation and seven out of eight workers, 86%, feel they understand what their company is trying to achieve. Employees may not trust their directors but they do sign up to the values the company holds dear.

Smythe Dorward Lambert has worked with many companies to overcome the trust gap. The technique of shadowing the board to review behaviour and performance against the company values helps senior executives 'walk the talk' and be seen to live by the values the employees accept. Organisations as diverse as Microsoft, Scottish Power and Pfizer have used Smythe Dorward Lambert to help their leaders build on their personal strengths and so increase trust and model a new, more constructive way of working.

'British companies' recent enthusiasm for internal communication is already starting pay off. That so many employees understand what their company is trying to achieve is fantastic for business', enthuses Liz Richards, Director, Smythe Dorward Lambert.

"That so few employees believe their leaders is much more distressing, particularly for companies embarking on major change. Trust does not come from the stylised video or slick conference". Liz Richards continued.

"It comes from listening, involving others in decisions, admitting mistakes and personal difficulties and, most importantly, being consistent in the way leaders behave, day in, day out. This can be learnt but the research suggests that there is still a way to go".

Smythe Dorward Lambert's 5 M framework creates a roadmap for adapting behaviour and building trust:

1. Meaning - Define company ethics and behaviours at work that would reflect these ethics. This provides the basis to enable employees to live the values through observable and tangible behaviour. The aim is to create a coherent approach to walking the talk throughout the company, from the CEO to the receptionist.
2. Mastery - Shadowing programme for senior management. Smythe Dorward Lambert consultants observe the behaviours of the senior management team during a during a normal working day and provide feedback reviewing the manager's behaviour against the company values. In order to make the values 'live' for the organisation at large.
3. Motivation - Cascading the values and behaviours through sessions led by senior team. Interactive meetings facilitated rather than dictated enable employees to explore the values in depth, discuss the implications, assess their own performance and agree priorities for improvement.
4. Maintenance - Making sure the values are real in the day to day working environment can be achieved through ensuring that the business processes reflect the values. The whole company is 'on message' whether that is the F&A department or R&D. Integrating individuals performance against values into the incentive scheme also creates 'living values' rather than lip service support.
5. Measurement - Clear milestones and goals are critical to the success of driving values oriented behaviour through the organisation. This will send out a strong signal that facts as well as intuition are being used to charter unknown waters. A combination of measurement techniques can be used to create a factual view of the reality of the company culture rather than relying on the grapevine. Measurement possibilities include cultural mapping, internal and external image research, and regular monthly tracking of employees understanding, attitudes and feelings.

Technical details

The survey was conducted on a nationally representative quota sample of 1,085 full time workers, interviewed between 6-9 November 1999.