What we can learn from PwC about trust, by a former PwC advisor

Companies need to have more respect for the fact that their reputation can be severely affected by those that work for them.

There’s an invaluable lesson in the PwC tax leak scandal and that is your workforce is your brand.

How quickly a company recovers and how a business retains its customers in the aftermath of a scandal is determinant upon how the company works with them and how well they execute a trust recovery process. 

Customers want to do business with companies they trust and like, so when this trust is breached, it immediately raises questions about corporate governance, accountability, and culture.

Customers want to work with companies that are led by trustworthy leaders but they also want to know they can trust the people within the business.  

You can’t put a value on this trust – it’s your everything.

Even if a product is cheaper or a service is better than a competitor, if your customer doesn’t trust your company, or isn’t invested in the relationship with your staff, the likelihood of maintaining that relationship or winning that customer’s business is low.

Company scandals will test your workforce, but they also test the resolve of your customers and the trust you have built up with them.

To restore trust after a company scandal, companies must focus on the connection and not the ‘corporate messaging’. In fact, using the ‘company statement’ strategy can be detrimental if not backed up by a genuine trust-building strategy.

Likewise, meeting with your customer and ‘vomiting’ your greatness all over them or apportioning blame is a losing strategy. In the aftermath of the scandal, 60% of your customer conversation should be dedicated to asking questions about how ‘they’ feel. 

Companies need to steer their staff towards a higher purpose, one that shows genuine empathy and understanding of the impact the scandal may have on their customers. 

It all boils down to the ‘trust equation’, a leadership blueprint, and it is applicable to any company that finds itself embroiled in public controversy.

The needle mover here is intimacy and it’s where companies can rise to the top again.

When you make a mistake, own it

The apparent failure by PwC to take responsibility for its mistake and clumsily fumble its way through the mess is a lesson for all businesses. Commercial relationships are based on trust. Any mistake, big or small must be owned and immediately corrected.

Apologise

Don’t tough it out when your business makes a mistake. Refusing to acknowledge the issue may do further damage to the reputation that was caused by the initial mistake. Saying ‘sorry’ is an opportunity to build trust. Corporate history is littered with the ruins of companies that have not owned up to their own mistakes.

Address what went wrong

Communicate to your customers — explain the reasons for the mistake. Blaming a person, board or an executive team is a short-term solution. Your customers want to know and want to be reassured that there are new processes in place to ensure the problem is addressed and the mistake won’t happen again

Put your leader in front of your customers

 CEOs and managing directors are the faces of your company. Their reputation can help inspire confidence and steer their business out of the crisis to win back the trust and loyalty of customers.

Touch base with customers and solicit their response 

Be real, transparent, and honest, and know that every customer interaction may either build or break that trust. Customers want to be assured of two things during the conversation: “How does this affect us?” and, “Can I trust the people and services from this company?”

Don’t chase the sale, chase the trust and the relationship

The conversations need to show customers you care more about them than any associated lost revenue because the slightest suggestion of sales and your company runs the risk of sounding disingenuous, desperate, and self-serving — the worst strategy possible.

If companies follow this trust recovery process, they can come back from corporate mistakes and scandals to grow a better workforce and build stronger customer relationships.

Julia Ewert is a former PwC advisor. She is a sales strategist and negotiator.