In a world where negative views can circulate rapidly across social media, there are many unique, nuanced and complex challenges that many public sector professionals face. One of the biggest issues is often that communities just don’t trust what’s being said by their local NHS trust, their local police force or their local government. So, how do we begin to create connections with our citizens and rebuild trust, especially when recent studies suggest that the level of trust is on the floor?

Results from a study that Ipsos conducted in 2024 show that a mere 11% of Britons trust politicians to tell the truth. Even more concerning is that 32% of people in England now view the loss of trust as the single biggest threat to democracy itself. This widespread skepticism is reflected in a national voter turnout of just 60%, the lowest in over two decades. And, even worse, this isn’t just about central government. This decline in trust trickles down directly into our local communities, leading to disengagement, apathy, and a reluctance to interact with public services. This is precisely the challenge we’re here to help you overcome.

Our mission at Orlo is all about empowering the public sector to build trust at an organisational level to create stronger, more resilient communities through brilliant, authentic conversations. Effective engagement isn’t just about getting a campaign out there, it’s about having real conversations and making sure your strategic outcomes align with those discussions. Once these conversations are had, you’ll be well on your way to building genuine connections, increasing understanding and ultimately building trust.

Trust isn’t just something that’s nice to have. It’s the foundation upon which effective collaboration is built. Without it, even the most well thought out plans, strategies and initiatives can fail. It’s really important to understand that building trust isn’t a ‘one and done’ achievement, it’s a continuous, cyclical process that requires a lot of commitment. 

To help make this more manageable, we’ve taken the best bits from our 400+ strong customer base and turned their most successful practices into a clear, actionable ‘Trust Pyramid’.

Embrace open and honest communications:

At the bottom of the pyramid is openness and honesty. Transparency is not just a buzzword, it’s a necessity, and in an age where information travels at lightning speed, any attempt by an organisation to obscure facts or mislead the public can lead to an instant and irreversible erosion of trust. 

Even when the news is difficult, we see the best levels of trust in organisations who consistently demonstrate unwavering openness and honesty in all their communications. This commitment to truthfulness builds a foundation of credibility that is hard to shake. Remember that communities and people don’t expect perfection all the time, they expect honesty and if you’re not controlling the narrative, someone else will.

Active and empathetic listening: 

As the old saying goes; ‘we have two ears and one mouth for a good reason’. The most successful public sector organisations are those that don’t just speak, but truly listen and go out of their way to actively seek out feedback. They make an effort to deeply understand their communities by hearing their thoughts, feelings and everyday frustrations. How can you effectively set meaningful organisational objectives without genuinely understanding the people you serve? To help with this, there are social listening tools available to listen, gauge sentiment and engage meaningfully with your citizens. 

Genuine and meaningful engagement: 

When you master the first two steps, you will see a significant increase in engagement. The most effective organisations aren’t just broadcasting messages, they are organically growing their social media presence and creating co-dependent relationships with their communities across multiple channels including face to face conversations and consultations. 

This journey transforms citizens from passive recipients of information into active participants. When people feel heard and respected, they are far more likely to use the services you provide, participate in community initiatives, and become advocates. This level of engagement is an incredibly rewarding outcome, especially for leadership teams and can help build strategies that are based on data. A good example of this is Surrey County Council who use the data they collect from social listening to ensure their services align with the needs of their community. 

Deliver a high quality experience: 

This step is often a challenge. Trust is incredibly fragile and can be shattered when the positive messages you’re sharing don’t align with the actual lived experience of your services. This disconnect rapidly ruins any credibility you’ve built up, so it’s important to ask if your services live up to the promises you’ve made. If not, it’s time to change that and most importantly, to communicate that to your citizens. When citizens have an experience that aligns with their expectations and their feedback, trust will begin to grow.

Achieving trust: 

We want to be clear: there is no magic formula or quick fix for building trust. It’s a continuous, consistent journey of nurturing and maintaining relationships. When you’ve achieved a high level of trust, your community is far more likely to stand by you during difficult times, offering understanding, patience, and even public support for your organisation. This model can be effectively applied at both the individual departmental level and across your entire organisation.

Creating trust is all about humanising, communicating with empathy and making sure that your community believes you when you say you’ll do something. This can sometimes be a difficult concept for some senior leaders to fully embrace, so here are some ways you can allow your citizens to see the real ‘you’.

• Authenticity: Do people genuinely feel that they are connecting with the people, the values, and the true spirit behind the organisation? Is your communication sincere and genuine?
• Empathy: This crucial driver links directly to the question, ‘Do I believe that my public service provider genuinely has my best interests at heart?’ Are you simply delivering corporate messaging that you want to convey, or do your communications demonstrate a deep understanding and compassion for your audience’s circumstances?
• Logic: This is more closely tied to the ‘experience’ level of our Trust Pyramid. It addresses the fundamental question: ‘Do I believe that you are going to do the things you say you’re going to do?’ Can you consistently and effectively convey that your actions will match your words?

Equipping your organisation and individual teams to build trust is a collective effort and a continuous journey that can and should be championed at every level of your organisation. Here are some key takeaways to bring to your next team meeting:

• Make trust measurable: Begin by developing a robust way to measure trust within your community. Establish a clear benchmark to understand your starting point, and then build your strategy from there. This allows you to track progress and demonstrate impact.
• Be human: Actively shape your communications around the core pillars of authenticity, empathy, and logic. These should be the guiding principles for all your messaging.
• Prioritise real issues, not organisational objectives: Listen to your residents and communities. Focus your efforts and resources on the issues that matter most to them, rather than solely on your organisation’s internal priorities.
• Champion audience voices: Share the stories of your residents. Be human, be relatable, and be authentic in your approach. Let their experiences speak.
• Embrace a resident-centric approach: Shift your focus from being service centric to prioritise the overall experiences of your residents and foster a unified, consistent approach to resident engagement.

By embracing these principles and committing to this continuous journey, public sector professionals can play an absolutely pivotal role in rebuilding the vital trust that is so essential for creating strong, resilient, and deeply engaged communities.

What steps will you take today to start building more trust in your community?