How Trust Impacts Performance – and Why You Measure It

“All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are now getting. If we want different results, we must change the way we do things.”

~ Tom Northup

Welcome to our series, Trust drives growth. In these articles, we’re discussing trust as a force multiplier that underpins worker engagement and productivity, customer loyalty and M&A effectiveness. We’re sharing how companies serious about growth embed trust-building as a strategic, fundamental element of successful leadership, organizational culture, and stakeholder relationships—and why they measure whether they are gaining or losing it.

Trust is foundational to successful relationships. And what else is business but an ecosystem of relationships, inside and out?

As such, by its very nature, trust directly and evidently impacts a company’s financial performance. That’s why measuring the presence and strength of trusted relationships among both internal and external stakeholders can ultimately improve performance and create competitive advantage.

Here’s why. High-trust enterprises enjoy many advantages:

• Higher Profitability and Shareholder Returns – Multiple studies show that high-trust organizations significantly outperform low-trust peers. For example, Edelman research found high-trust companies are 21% more profitable than those with low trust.

• Customer Loyalty and Revenue Growth – Trust is a decisive factor in customer retention and repeat business. Higher customer retention rates—driven by trust—can increase profits by up to 95% over the long term, according to a study by Bain & Co. As noted by Salesforce, 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to repurchase from a trusted vendor.

• Brand Reputation and Market Value – Trust enhances brand reputation, which is strongly correlated with profit margins and market capitalization growth. A PWC analysis found that trust explained 31% of the variance in profit margins and 21% in return on assets across industries.

• Employee Engagement and Productivity – Internally, trust boosts employee engagement, innovation, and discretionary effort, all of which contribute to improved business performance and growth.

• Resilience and Sustainable Growth – Trust lays the foundation for long-term growth by fostering loyalty, advocacy, and adaptability—enabling companies to weather disruptions and capitalize on new opportunities.

Why and How to Measure Trust

Organizations that measure and quantify the level of trusted relationships across teams, reporting lines, and leadership levels—and then compare that data to trust-dependent outcomes—are better positioned to predict success, proactively address existing challenges, and understand future risks.

Organizations can assess trust across three key stakeholder groups:

1. Employees – Do they trust leadership? Do they feel safe speaking up?

2. Customers – Do they believe the company delivers on its promises?

3. Partners & Investors – Do they see the company as credible and ethical?

Historically, companies have used several methods to measure trust:

• Pulse Surveys – Tools like the internal pulse survey assess trust levels among employees and customers.

• Employee Engagement Scores – Low engagement can indicate a breakdown in trust with leadership.

• Customer Retention & Reviews – A decline in repeat business or negative sentiment can reflect trust erosion.

• Sentiment Analysis & Social Listening – AI-driven tools can analyze employee and customer conversations to gauge trust levels in real-time.

And what if you could measure the presence and strength of trusted relationships directly? That’s the power of the Net Trust Score (NTS), a diagnostic that measures the strength of trust at individual, team, and organizational levels. The value of the NTS lies in its ability to equip team leaders and executives with clear qualitative and quantitative insights—providing measurable accountability against their organization’s trust-related KPIs.

Why Continuous Trust Measurement Matters

We are living through a time when trust in institutions, including business, is precariously low. During this Trust Recession™, executives looking to grow well are wise to treat trust as an essential strategic asset to be nurtured and protected. Companies that regularly measure trust can identify trends, pinpoint problem areas, and take proactive steps to rebuild when necessary.

If trust is rising, leaders can analyze what’s working and double down on those efforts. If trust is declining, they can adjust before irreversible damage is done.

The Competitive Advantage of Trust Measurement

Trust is more than a cultural value. It is a quantifiable driver of financial performance and growth. Organizations that track and actively manage trust gain a competitive edge. When employees trust leadership, engagement, and productivity rise. When customers trust a brand, loyalty increases. When investors trust leadership teams, they are more willing to provide support for long-term success. By gathering both qualitative and quantitative data, leaders can spot trends and proactively address potential trust issues before they become crises.

How do you measure trusted relationships within your business?

And look for our next article in this series, “How Trust Boosts Team Effectiveness.”

We are VisiVera LLC, a growth accelerator for the trust recession. To learn more about growing well, please visit our website.