As your organization pursues digital transformation and other strategic initiatives, trust represents a key success factor. According to a PwC survey, a vast majority—91%—of CEOs acknowledge the pivotal role trust plays in achieving success. The problem is this: Trust can be hard to establish, and even tougher to sustain.
If trust is lacking in your organization, your data may be the best place to start.
In the digitally transforming enterprise, data is at the source of key decisions and workflows. When data is manually consolidated and collected, it is more likely to be out of date or erroneous. This erodes decision making accuracy and efficiency—and it undermines trust. This can also present a vicious cycle; if teams don't trust leaders or stakeholders, it gets more difficult to collect valid data.
On the other hand, when teams are relying on real-time, automatically sourced, and unified data, trust continues to be strengthened.
Within today’s enterprises, there are three key strategies for cultivating trust. The following sections offer an overview of each.
In the absence of clear visibility into plans and progress, inefficiency and mistrust proliferate. By connecting value definition to work efforts and then measuring value delivery, teams can make big strides in boosting transparency and trust.
Here are some key requirements for improving transparency in the organization:
When data is scattered across multiple systems, databases, spreadsheets, and departments, it becomes fragmented. This makes it challenging to compile a comprehensive and cohesive view of progress. When teams are unable to chart progress across intricate digital transformation initiatives, and can’t objectively measure the value delivered to customers, trust suffers.
Here are some key requirements for tracking progress in your organization:
When data is spread across multiple sources and systems, it’s common for discrepancies and inconsistencies to arise. Different departments or teams maintain their own datasets, definitions, and methodologies for data collection and reporting. This data inconsistency leads to confusion and disagreements about the true status of work, making it difficult to align on the nature and scope of issues.
Here are some key requirements for enhancing alignment:
Before implementing ValueOps, teams at Unum, a Fortune 500 life-insurance firm, had a breakdown in trust. There was neither transparency nor visibility, so questions could not be answered quickly. This delayed people’s ability to make quick decisions and led to mistrust in the organization.
With ValueOps by Broadcom, teams at Unum managed to remove organizational silos and create a flow of data through their value streams. A single, consistent source of data helped the company build trust between departments where little had existed before. Staff used the data to put new processes in place. For example, now leaders can see a range of data, including the status of value streams, which teams are affected, and what work is slowing down. Unum leveraged ValueOps to track data, manage trends, and connect teams, work, and funding across the enterprise.
ValueOps offers differentiated solutions that help foster trust across organizations. ValueOps provides a single, holistic view of the flow of value throughout the organization. Synchronization of data between systems ensures key insights are aggregated and rolled up in near real time. To learn more, be sure to review our in-depth white paper, Improve Organizational Trust. This paper takes a detailed look at the challenges confronting leaders as they seek to build trust, and it offers practical strategies and solutions for addressing these challenges.