Building Trust With an Authentic Voice

Klaus Kunz

20 years: Head of ESG Strategy

What makes you listen to somebody? What catches your interest? What do you perceive as convincing? Join Klaus Kunz and he explores how to communicate authentically and build trust.

Sector and Region Transition

What makes you listen to somebody? What catches your interest? What do you perceive as convincing? Join Klaus Kunz and he explores how to communicate authentically and build trust.

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Building Trust With an Authentic Voice

7 mins 54 secs

Key learning objectives:

Identify the 3 recommendations for a good conversation
Outline the benefits for each recommendation
Understand the importance of trust internally and externally

Overview:

When communicating authentically to build bridges you should acknowledge your imperfections, show appreciation for different opinions and demonstrate willingness to change. By doing this you can build trust externally with consumers and internally with employees. 81% of consumers said that trust was a deciding factor in purchasing decisions and employees report 73% less stress in high trust companies.

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Summary

What are the three recommendations for a good conversation?

1. Acknowledge your imperfections

2. Show true appreciation for different opinions

3. Demonstrate willingness to change

What are the benefits of acknowledging your imperfections?

Failure is a certainty - nobody wants to hear endless success stories. If failure is integral to success then it’s better to connect with your audience by starting with the challenges and failures you have faced. You will have the attention of the audience in seconds. You should give some personal examples of your struggles and learnings.

What are the benefits of showing appreciation for different opinions?

Cognitive diversity typically comes from people with different backgrounds, skills and experiences. And higher cognitive diversity has demonstrable benefits. It can enhance innovation by 20% and reduce risks by 30%. One study found that when it came to problem solving, there was a noticeable correlation between the teams with higher cognitive diversity and higher performance.

What are the benefits of being willing to change or evolve?

Ongoing dialogue between companies and consumers show the consumers that their opinions matter and that the company can be trusted to carry out their concerns. For example, McDonald's introduced paper straws after a public campaign to ditch plastic straws due to concerns about their environmental impact. After listening to feedback on the first batch of paper straws they worked on a second version that was more sturdy but still made of recyclable materials.

Why is customer trust important?

Trust creates the most fertile ground for dialogue. A survey of 1000 customers found that 81% of consumers said that trust was a deciding factor in purchasing decisions. In spite of that, only 34% had trust in the brands they used. According to a report by Adobe, consumers show their trust in a brand by: making more purchases, recommending the brand to friends, joining a loyalty programme and posting positively on social media.

Why is employee trust important?

According to a Harvard Business Review study, people who work in companies with high trust reported: 73% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity

and 40% less burnout.

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Klaus Kunz

Klaus Kunz is Head of Development and member of the executive leadership team at PI Industries since April 2024. He is also founder and managing director of Ephrin GmbH, supporting companies and other organizations in sustainable business transformation with a specific focus on agriculture and ESG. Klaus holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry and an MBA and has gained 22 years of experience at Bayer AG, directing business strategic topics at a global level, taking leadership and executive roles in research, R&D project management, regulatory and public/governmental affairs, sustainability, business stewardship and ESG. Integration of sustainability into business has been at the core of Klaus’ work for many years. Klaus is senior advisor for Climate & Company, member of the advisory board of the Parliamentary Liason Group on ESG (UK), the ESG practitioners of the WEF and other international initiatives. He is passionate about driving innovation and change, cross-cultural collaboration, politics, history and science, also holding a lectureship for chemistry at the University of Aachen. He is married with three children.

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