Business leaders have plenty to attend to these days. We can now add another task that is to save the world.
In line with the newest Edelman Confidence Measure, an annual study above 36,000 participants in 28 countries measures the trust of people in businesses and non-governmental organizations, governments, and the media. The survey this year is the 22nd edition of Edelman’s Trust Barometer. It consists of online, 30-minute interviews, which were conducted from November. 1 through 24.
Many of the themes that have run through the previous surveys will continue to be prevalent into 2022. For instance, trust in the media is continuing to decline.
Edelman states that trust in all news sources has decreased over the past decade. Social media, which is trusted by just 37% of the respondents, experienced the most drastic fall, falling by eight percent, followed by traditional media, which is charged at 57% by respondents, which dropped five points. Search engines, whose trust is based on 59% of respondents, declined by three percentage points. A record high of 75 percent of respondents expressed concerns regarding “fake news” being used to smear people.
However, another trend has emerged over the past ten years: more trust in businesses. With that comes the expectation that business and business leaders should be leaders and actively engage with social issues. The role of business leaders has increased because faith in other institutions — including the government, has been eroded.
“By average [a] five-to-one margin, respondents in the 28 places interviewed want the business to play a larger role in climate change, economic inequality, workforce reskilling, and addressing racial injustice,” Edelman declared when it released the most recent results of the survey on Tuesday. The survey also found:
About 60% of consumers purchase products “based on their values and beliefs.”
Nearly 6 out of Ten employees “choose a workplace based on shared values and expect their CEO to take a stand on societal issues.”
Sixty-four percent of investors are looking for investment in companies “aligned with their values.”
“Business should today function as stabilizing force delivering real activity and benefits on society’s most crucial issues,” Edelman CEO Richard Edelman said. “Societal leadership is currently a primary function of the business.”
Last week shareholders received their annual letters by Laurence D. Fink, the CEO, and founder of the investment giant BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with a total of $10 trillion in assets under control.
Fink, whose company has stakes in nearly each major, is a publicly-traded company that you can think of. He has been started about his belief that companies must be involved in social issues — that capitalism goes beyond profit and extends into social accountability.
In reality, this signifies that BlackRock has focused on a company’s social, environmental, and corporate governance in the past five or so years while making investment decisions. This has led to rapid shifts. For example, The New York Times put it on Tuesday, “Within weeks of his telling leaders in 2020 that climate change would become a ‘defining factor’ in how BlackRock assessed their companies, many blue-chip businesses announced plans to become carbon-neutral or carbon-negative.”
Fink can see the complete picture of the Edelman survey’s findings. “Personnel is significantly seeking their employer as the most trusted, competent, and ethical source of data than government, the media, and NGOs,” Fink wrote.
Realizing that attracting and keeping employees of high quality is a significant challenge at this moment, Fink makes the case that intelligent CEOs who take a stand on social issues of paramount importance like the environment, race, and equity — can connect with their employees strongly. Furthermore, he believes focusing on these social concerns — issues that many CEOs would have avoided 25 years ago will make companies more effective and profit more. One element contributing to that development is the more significant connection between businesses and their customers, investors, and employees.
“These themes are now center stage for CEOs, who must be thoughtful about using their voice and connect on social issues important to their employees,” Fink wrote in the past week. “Those who show humility and stay grounded in their purpose are more likely to build the kind of bond that endures the span of someone’s career.” He wrote that those who don’t do this are at their own risk.
