1.
Credibility from Within: Harnessing Trust in Employees to
Strengthen Business’s License to Lead
Employee Engagement Insights from the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer

2.
The Edelman Trust Barometer demonstrates the increasingly
important role employees play in building trust
2
14th annual survey and the largest global
exploration of trust, with 33,000+
respondents in 27 countries
This year’s data reveals that business has a
license to lead change for the good of
society….and that employees strengthen
organizations’ credibility to do so

3.
3
Technical experts within the company, people like yourself are also highly credible
2014
36%
43%
52%
52%
53%
62%
66%
67%
GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL / REGULATOR
CEO
REGULAR EMPLOYEE
NGO REPRESENTATIVE
FINANCIAL OR INDUSTRY ANALYST
A PERSON LIKE YOURSELF
TECHNICAL EXPERT
ACADEMIC OR EXPERT
2009 VS. 20142009
29%
31%
32%
41%
49%
47%
62%
GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL / REGULATOR
CEO
REGULAR EMPLOYEE
NGO REPRESENTATIVE
FINANCIAL OR INDUSTRY ANALYST
A PERSON LIKE YOURSELF
TECHNICAL EXPERT*
ACADEMIC OR EXPERT
* Not tested in 2009
+5
+15
+4
+9
+20
+12
+7
In 5 years, the credibility of regular employees has
increased dramatically, ahead of that of the CEO
How credible is information about a company from each source

4.
4
Employees are 3x more credible than the CEO when talking about working conditions
Employees are the most credible voices on multiple topics, including the
company’s work environment, integrity, innovation and business practices
ENGAGEMENT
INTEGRITY
PRODUCTS
OPERATIONS
PURPOSE
Who is Trusted MOST to provide you with
credible and honest information about:
Company’s
CEO
Company’s
Employee
Activist
Consumer
Academic
Media
Spokesperson
A company’semployee programs, benefits & working
conditions
22% 66% 16% 13% 10%
How a companyserves its customers and prioritizes customer
needs ahead of companyprofits
27% 22% 43% 22% 24%
A company’ssituation in a time of crisis 32% 37% 17% 21% 21%
A company’sinnovation efforts and new product development 31% 32% 27% 25% 13%
How a companyuses its resources and influence to support
the environment
20% 29% 33% 28% 12%
How a company supports programs that positively impact the
local community
24% 28% 35% 20% 22%
Partnerships with NGO’s and effort to address societal issues 27% 22% 25% 22% 24%
A company’sfinancial earnings & operational performance 31% 28% 23% 24% 10%
A company’sbusiness practices, both positive & negative 23% 39% 28% 23% 14%
Accomplishments about a company’ssenior leadership 35% 36% 17% 19% 19%

5.
5
Yet companies are perceived as underperforming against this expectation
Treating employees well is one of the most important things
a company can do to build trust
21%
25%
24%
24%
30%
26%
26%
27%
27%
28%
28%
28%
29%
31%
31%
34%
34%
35%
36%
38%
42%
45%
45%
49%
51%
54%
54%
54%
55%
58%
58%
59%
PARTNERS WITH NGOS, GOVERNMENT AND THIRD PARTIES TO ADDRESS SOCIETAL
ISSUES
DELIVERS CONSISTENT FINANCIAL RETURNS TO INVESTORS
RANKS ON A GLOBAL LIST OF TOP COMPANIES, SUCH AS BEST COMPANIES TO WORK
FOR OR MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES
HAS HIGHLY-REGARDED AND WIDELY ADMIRED TOP LEADERSHIP
IS AN INNOVATOR OF NEW PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR IDEAS
ADDRESSES SOCIETY'S NEEDS IN ITS EVERYDAY BUSINESS
CREATES PROGRAMS THAT POSITIVELY IMPACT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY IN WHICH
THE COMPANY OPERATES
WORKS TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT
COMMUNICATES FREQUENTLY AND HONESTLY ON THE STATE OF ITS BUSINESS
HAS TRANSPARENT AND OPEN BUSINESS PRACTICES
PLACES CUSTOMERS AHEAD OF PROFITS
TAKES RESPONSIBLE ACTIONS TO ADDRESS AN ISSUE OR A CRISIS
HAS ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES
LISTENS TO CUSTOMER NEEDS AND FEEDBACK
TREATS EMPLOYEES WELL
OFFERS HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
Importance Performance Gap
-25
-27
-27
-26
-26
-26
-24
-26
-22
-19
-19
-12
-14
-12
-10
-13

6.
6
80%
83%
85%
85%
86%
PAYS APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF TAX
RESPONSIBLE SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT
RESPECTS EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
PROTECTS CUSTOMER DATA
ENSURES QUALITY CONTROL IN
PRODUCTS
79%
79%
80%
80%
81%
MISREPRESENTS THE COMPANY
SUB-STANDARD WORK CONDITIONS
IRRESPONSIBLE DURING A CRISIS
FAILS TO KEEP CUSTOMER
INFORMATION SECURE
UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES
Top positive factors impacting trust Top negative factors impacting trust
How a company treats employees can significantly help - or
harm – overall trust in the organization
Respecting employee rights is nearly as important to building trust as quality control and protecting customer data, while
having sub-standard work conditions is among the most detrimental factors

7.
7
Both groups rank treatment of employees equally important as listening to customers; much greater alignment than 2013
Executives and employees both prioritize treating employees
well as critical to trust
1 Listens to customer needs and feedback 55%
1 Treats employees well 55%
3 High quality products or services 54%
4 Has ethical business practices 52%
4 Takes actions to address issue or crisis 52%
6 Has transparent and open business 50%
7 Places customers ahead of profits 49%
8 Communicates frequently and honestly 48%
9 Positively impacts the local community 46%
9 Innovator of new products 46%
9 Works to protect/improve environment 46%
12 Addresses society's needs 44%
12 Highly regarded, top leadership 44%
14 Delivers consistent financial returns 42%
15 Ranks on a global list 41%
16 Partners with third parties 38%
1 Listens to customer needs and feedback 59%
1 Treats employees well 59%
1 High quality products or services 59%
4 Has ethical business practices 56%
5 Takes actions to address issue or crisis 55%
6 Has transparent and open business 53%
6 Places customers ahead of profits 53%
8 Communicates frequently and honestly 50%
9 Works to protect/improve environment 48%
10 Positively impacts the local community 44%
10 Addresses society's needs 44%
12 Innovator of new products 40%
13 Highly regarded, top leadership 35%
14 Ranks on a global list 34%
15 Delivers consistent financial returns 33%
14 Partners with third parties 32%
Executives Employees
Executives = respondents who self-identified as holding a senior leadership position; employees = those below senior leadership

8.
8
Employees have 12% less trust in CEO than executives do
Employees are more skeptical of nearly all information
sources than executives
26%
38%
45%
45%
52%
54%
47%
56%
67%
69%
63%
38%
46%
56%
56%
57%
58%
59%
62%
[VALUE]
68%
[VALUE]
BLOGGER
A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
AN ENTREPRENEUR
NGO REPRESENTATIVE
A REGULAR EMPLOYEE
CEO
A FINANCIAL OR INDUSTRY ANALYST
AN ACADEMIC OR EXPERT
A TECHNICAL EXPERT
A PERSON LIKE YOURSELF
Executives
Employees
Largest gap between
executives and employees
How credible is information about a company from each source

9.
9
Regular employees place greater importance on engaging with the CEO than executives do
Executives and employees agree that CEOs should build trust
by engaging with employees about the business
77% 76% 74% 74%
69%
62%
83% 82% 81% 80%
71%
54%
Communicates clearly and
transparently
Tells the truth, regardless of
how complex or unpopular it
is
Engages with employees
regularly to discuss the state
of the business
Is front and center during
challenging times (product
recalls, lawsuits, etc.)
Is personally involved in
supporting local charities and
good causes
Has an active media presence
Executives Employees
79% 78% 77% 77%
69%
63%
81% 83% 81% 81%
71%
56%
Tells the truth, regardless of
how complex or unpopular it is
Communicates clearly and
transparently
Engages with employees
regularly to discuss the state
of the business
Is front and center during
challenging times (product
recalls, lawsuits, etc.)
Is personally involved in
supporting local charities and
good causes
Has an active media presence
Actions CEOs can take to build trust in themselves…
Actions CEOs can take to build trust in their company…

10.
10
Actions to build trust across key connections types
Engage employees regularly on the state of the business,
with a focus on CEO transparency underpinned by
storytelling that reaffirms personal commitment
Employees with employees
Employees with world
Employees with company
Engage internal technical experts (such as scientists,
engineers and developers) to co-create the company’s
innovation story, particularly as it relates to pursuing new
ideas that benefit society
Foster a culture of “speaking out” and advocating for the
company, especially on topics where employees are
highly credible, such as working conditions, integrity and
business practices, and technical experts on innovation

11.
11
For more information
Edelman Employee Engagement helps companies
create employee connections that deepen
engagement, increase trust and accelerate business
performance.
Email: employee.engagement@edelman.com
Twitter: @EdelmanEE
Web: ee.edelman.com
Complete Trust Barometer info:
Edelman.com/Trust2014