The Business of Trust: Better business trusted by society

A Message from the Lord Mayor

I am delighted to have launched the City of London Corporation’s Business of Trust initiative, which seeks to increase the trustworthiness of the UK financial and professional services sector to create a lasting legacy of better business trusted by society.

As part of this programme, we have developed the guiding CIVIC principles as foundations of trustworthiness. We want to hear a range of different views on how these principles, and the practical actions that individuals and organisations can take, can help to increase trustworthiness. We want to understand how these views may differ across communities and sectors, and to use this insight to raise awareness and create a call to action.

Your responses will be invaluable, and I thank you and your colleagues in advance for taking a few moments to answer the seven questions below.

Please stay in touch and follow our progress via:

Twitter - @citylordmayor / @RB_City / #BusinessofTrust

Email - Responsible.City@cityoflondon.gov.uk

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* 1. Which of the five CIVIC principles will most help to increase trustworthiness in your organisation/community? Please pick one.

Competence and Skills -
Being capable and doing what you do well.

• Ensuring quality and reliability and acting in accordance with expected standards of conduct, law and regulation.
• Promoting the development of knowledge and skills to enable employees to reach their full potential.
• Responding to change and innovating practices.

Integrity -
Being honest, straightforward and reliable.

• Avoiding conflicts of interest, bias and prejudice.
• Recognising and apologising for mistakes and learning lessons about what went wrong.
• Creating a culture where people feel they can raise concerns and are encouraged to do so.

Value to Society -
Recognising and meeting wider societal needs.

• Acting consistently with a stated purpose at all levels of the organisation.
• Acting in the interests of society and the environment and all those who have an interest in the organisation.
• Contributing to society by paying an appropriate amount of tax.

Interests of Others -
Taking account of and respecting the interests of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders

• Getting input from others including listening and responding to customers’ and clients’ requirements, concerns and priorities.
• Safeguarding information about customers and clients.
• Working in partnership with stakeholders to build lasting relationships.

Clear Communication -
Being transparent, open, responsive and accountable.

• Being clear and honest in communication with all stakeholders including customers, employees and investors.
• Ensuring that information is meaningful, accurate and easy to understand.
• Building a two-way communication process which incoporates listening to others.

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* 2. Which of the following practical actions will have the greatest positive impact on increasing trustworthiness in your organisation/community?

Give staff the time and space to stay up-to-date in their field.

Encourage staff to rotate around departments to build their understanding of how each role contributes to the organisation’s goals.

Develop online rating tools to gather feedback from customers or other stakeholders on individual staff performance.

Have ambitious plans for tackling organisational weaknesses, which you publish and report on publicly.

Use digital platforms to encourage reporting of any staff concerns.

Incorporate organisational values into appraisals, with real consequences for those who don’t demonstrate them.

Use credible responsible business benchmarks to manage and increase your positive impact.

Have a clear purpose beyond profit-making that gives primacy to the product/service you provide.

Plan for tomorrow’s challenges and tell the story of your contribution.

Empower your frontline staff with the tools to resolve customer/client problems.

Create opportunities for executives to meet your customers/clients.

Publish your Chief Executive’s contact details, so that stakeholders can provide direct feedback.

Create a panel of your target audiences to test external-facing communications.

Use multiple channels to be accessible to diverse audiences.

Put in place and publish clear processes stipulating a reasonable timeframe for responding to customer or other stakeholder queries.

The Business of Trust: Better business trusted by society

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* 1. Which of the five CIVIC principles will most help to increase trustworthiness in your organisation/community? Please pick one.

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* 2. Which of the following practical actions will have the greatest positive impact on increasing trustworthiness in your organisation/community?

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* 3. What other actions, if any, would help to increase trustworthiness in your organisation/community?

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* 4. Which well-known individual, living or dead, do you most trust?

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* 5. Can the CIVIC principles help develop trustworthiness?

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* 6. What is your sector / community?

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* 7. Which age group applies to you?