Try These Foolproof Techniques To Keep Trust High At Work

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer was released last month, and a surprising top-line finding was that businesses are now the most trusted institution. That trust puts employers in a position of accountability, and they have a duty of care to be honest and ethical. But in a world rife with misinformation, are they up to the challenge?

Professor Sander van der Linden is the Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab at the University of Cambridge and has pioneered research in the world of combating fake news and misinformation. His upcoming book, Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity, has important lessons for leaders and internal communicators.

How misinformation spreads in the world has parallels to how misinformation spreads at work

Van der Linden likens the spread of misinformation to the spread of a virus. The person posting the misinformation is analogous to someone who is contagious. The mode of transmission, such as social media or word of mouth, impacts the speed of infection from the misinformation. Finally, the contact rate is how many people come into contact with the misinformation. In the age of social media, millions of people can be exposed to misinformation in a matter of minutes. What's more, van der Linden's book cites research showing that falsehoods spread significantly faster and more broadly in all categories of information.

That's how misinformation spreads in the real world, and the fact that misinformation spreads so much faster than the truth is worrying. But how does misinformation spread in the microcosm of a workplace? "How misinformation spreads at work is an interesting question, and I think it depends on the structure of the organization," says van der Linden. "The typical scenario where you see misinformation at work is that it comes from the top. It's very hierarchical. People at the top are disseminating what is essentially misinformation about what's going on in the business all the way down."

An example of this is the pyramid scheme, as van der Linden explains. "The people running these schemes are controlling the information. They're giving people bits of information, or they are trying to manipulate the context. People in the workplace are duped because they have trust in that authoritative relationship. They just have to accept whatever leadership says."

Let's contrast that with flatter hierarchies, such as start-ups and small businesses. Is it easier to spread misinformation in those environments? In some respects, yes. "All it takes is for one person to post a memo and then someone else picks it up and it can organically diffuse if the hierarchies are a bit more flat," says van der Linden.

The intention of our leaders matters

One line between misinformation and full-blown conspiracy theories is intention; specifically, the existence of "nefarious intent." The book points out that there aren't really any positive conspiracy theories. In conspiracies, the main players are all up to no good. This brings us to the intentions of our leaders in the workplace. Do they have their people's best interests at heart?

"The question of intent is important, but it's also difficult to prove. That's why I use the term misinformation most of the time unless it's been proven that it was documented and intentional." Van der Linden then mentions famous examples of bad actors in business and ponders their intention. "Has this person honestly convinced themselves that they are doing the right thing? Or are they aware that it is all fraudulent and that they are duping other people as part of the scheme? That can be hard to disentangle in the workplace."

What makes our leaders credible? Van der Linden thinks it's about demonstrating transparency and trustworthiness. "But trustworthiness is different than trust in an interesting way. It's about trust to do what, exactly? Would you trust a colleague to babysit? Or do you instead trust them to take on a task for you at work? It's very nuanced." To gain trust, leaders need to demonstrate a track record of trustworthy behaviour. This includes traits such as openness, warmth, competence, honesty and transparency.

Be wary of work echo chambers

One key element in the spread of misinformation is social media "echo chambers," where beliefs and opinions are amplified in a closed system. To continue the virus analogy, van der Linden describes echo chambers as the perfect host for the misinformation disease. It creates an environment for selective exposure, attention and retention of information.

The workplace is a prime example of an echo chamber where certain teams and people self-select into groups — which can hamper inclusion efforts, as van der Linden suggests. "You're in a building with people who do similar work. You can be insulated from other perspectives, which can undermine credibility. If you're just thinking about the same stuff that other people like you are thinking about, you might miss out on other perspectives, critiques, and reflections. This could lead to reputational risks because you hadn't been engaging outside of your own echo chamber."

Protecting your employees from misinformation

The longer misinformation sits in our brains, the harder it is to correct. But there are tactics internal communication teams and leaders use to prevent, protect and dispel misinformation.

Tip #1: Make the truth more fluent (and repeat it!)

The more often we hear something, the more likely we are to believe that it is true so be sure to repeat your core messages often. And, keep it simple. The easier it is for us to process information, the more likely it is to stick. The use of images is another way to make information more fluent.

Tip #2: Incentivize accuracy over social motivation

"If you are part of the workplace, you are part of a movement — and you have social incentives to defend people," says van der Linden. But in an atmosphere of psychological safety, hopefully, there won't be a need to defend colleagues, and the conversation can instead focus on accuracy, facts and solutions.

Tip #3: Employ "prebunking"

Prebunking is a misinformation inoculation tactic that arms people in advance with the tools they need to counter-argue their point and resist succumbing to false claims. Van der Linden suggests folding this tactic into a pre-mortem session. "Sit around a table. Think of the worst disinformation campaign someone could launch against you, and then inoculate people using the appropriate strategy."

Tip #4: Get ahead of controversy

In the absence of information, people will make up stories about what they think is going on — and they likely won't be positive. "Whenever there is ambiguity or uncertainty, there is an opportunity for people to fill in the gaps. That could be a breeding ground for false information because people will try to complete the story, and that can be easier with false cues," advises van der Linden. The lesson here is that even if you don't have an answer or full information, sharing what you do know with your employees can help to keep the misinformation rumor mill in check.

Van der Linden leaves businesses with this warning. "A lot of companies underestimate the risk of disinformation for their bottom line. If misinformation about your business goes viral, it can tank your share price." More crucially, it can tank employees' trust in their places of work.

Foolproof is out February 16 in the U.K. and March 21 in the U.S.