Trust as a KPI: The Most Overlooked Metric in Business

4 days ago
2 min read

When was the last time you saw “trust” on a performance dashboard? Probably never. And yet, trust might be the most important KPI in leadership.

Why Trust Matters

Trust is the glue that holds organisations together. It’s what makes people follow leaders, commit to change, and speak up with ideas. Without trust, even the best strategies stall.

Research backs this up. Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows that trust directly impacts not only employee engagement but also customer loyalty and brand strength. Gallup found that high-trust cultures see significantly higher profitability and retention.

If trust drives all these outcomes, why aren’t we measuring it?

What Happens Without Trust

I’ve worked with organisations where trust was low. Leaders pushed hard, but staff held back. They kept their heads down, avoided risk, and disengaged from big initiatives. The cost wasn’t just cultural, it was financial. Projects slowed, innovation dried up, and turnover spiked.

Trust isn’t a “soft” issue. It’s a performance issue.

How to Measure Trust

Trust can be quantified. Here’s how:

Engagement surveys. Include questions like “I trust my leaders to do what’s right.”
Retention metrics. Exit interviews often reveal whether trust was lost.
Feedback loops. How willing are employees to share honest input? Silence is a trust issue.
Customer sentiment. External trust reflects internal trust, unhappy staff often mean unhappy customers.

A Story of Trust as a KPI

A professional services firm I worked with included trust scores in their leadership dashboard for the first time. Leaders were evaluated not just on revenue, but also on how much their teams trusted them. At first, some resisted. But over time, it drove powerful changes, leaders prioritised transparency, accountability, and listening. Within a year, engagement and profitability both rose.

Final Thought

Trust isn’t intangible, it’s measurable. And when leaders know they’re being measured on trust, they lead differently.

In 2026, the organisations that put trust on the scoreboard will be the ones that outperform, because they’ll have the one thing AI can’t automate: belief in leadership.

If you would like to book in a time to speak with Ally: CLICK HERE.

Ally Nitschke is a best-selling Author, an award-winning Thought Leader and Speaker. She has been working with leaders and as a Leader for over 20 years.

She is on a mission to change the way we communicate at work, to lean into those uncomfortable conversations and lead with courage.

Ally is a Keynote Speaker at conferences, delivers Transformational Programs & highly engaging workshops as well as provides Executive Coaching.