The Trust Pulse measures the culture of Trust within an organisation and reveals whether the organization is operating in one of the following zones:

• Trust Dividend – increasing in value and impact.

• Stability – creates the foundation to begin to increase in value and impact.

• Trust Tax – decreasing in value and impact.

Three core areas are measured - communication, processes, and culture.

At an individual level, it reveals what the individual is thinking, sensing, and feeling about the organization at that given moment.

Engagement surveys typically focus on how employees feel about their work, well-being, and performance. Culture surveys explore shared values, behaviours, and experiences to understand what it’s like to work in the organization and how to improve the environment.

A trust assessment, like the Trust Pulse, specifically measures the level of trust within an organization at a given time. Trust plays a critical role in shaping culture - when trust is high, teams are more collaborative, innovative, and engaged. When trust is low, the culture can become fearful, blaming, and toxic.

In today’s environment of rapid change and uncertainty, trust is essential for long-term success. The Trust Pulse categorizes trust levels into three states:

• Stable

• Increasing (trust dividend)

• Decreasing (trust tax)

This helps leaders understand where the organization stands and decide what actions are needed to address the perception of how trust is viewed within the organization.

Yes — the Trust Pulse™ is grounded in proven research and rigorous practitioner insight.

Research reveals that organizational trust is not a single construct. The strongest research distinguishes between: 

• Trustworthiness beliefs (capability, fairness, integrity)  

• Trust itself (willingness to be vulnerable)  

• Trust behaviours (collaboration, disclosure, reliance)  

A major issue in traditional measurement is the blurring of these layers, which limits actionability. 

In applied settings, trust measurement is most valuable when it: 

• Identifies where trust breaks down  

• Links to observable behaviours  

• Enables targeted intervention and tracking over time

Trust Pulse is designed as an applied organizational diagnostic that measures trust as a behavioural operating environment.

It assesses patterns across three interdependent domains:

• Processes – how work is structured and executed

• Communication – how information flows and decisions are made

• Culture – how people behave and interact

These domains were defined through applied research and practice to reflect how trust is built and experienced in real operating systems, not just how it is perceived.

Trust Pulse measures behaviours, not beliefs or sentiment. 

Alignment with Evidence-Based Practice

Trust Pulse aligns with the strongest applied measurement principles:

• Multi-dimensional measurement improves diagnostic accuracy

• Behaviour-based data is more actionable than sentiment

• System-level measurement enables accountability

• Repeat measurement supports transformation over time

Its strength lies in linking trust to operational performance and implementation outcomes  

Practitioner Evidence

Trust Pulse has been

• Field-tested across 60 organizations, it combines real-world feedback with academic rigor.

• Designed by Bjorn Ezelund, an Oslo-based organizational psychologist and trust specialist, in collaboration with Dorothy Spence and Suki Laniado, co-creators of CBOS™. It integrates research, design, and hands-on business experience.

• Embedded within the framework is the Barrett Model from Barrett Values Centre, which draws on over two decades of global practice. This model explores seven levels of psychological development—from basic safety and belonging through to self-expression and service—offering a structured map to assess organizational culture and values.

• The Barrett Model itself is inspired by Maslow’s hierarchy but extends into deeper aspects of ego-soul alignment and collective consciousness—making it a powerful foundation for Trust Pulse’s assessment of trust, cohesion, and cultural alignment.

In summary, Trust Pulse blends validated psychological theory, cross-industry testing, and trusted practitioner wisdom. It is a robust, credible applied diagnostic and implementation tool for measuring how an environment of trust supports transformation and operational improvement.

The Trust Pulse gives leaders a clear picture of how trust is being experienced across three key areas: Processes, Communication, and Culture.

Responses from employees are combined to show an overall view of trust in the organization.

This information helps leaders understand where the organization stands and how they might respond.

Results are presented as follows

1. Overall Trust Level – Shows whether the organization is in a Trust Dividend, Stability, or Trust Tax.

2. Insights – Key findings that highlight where trust is strong or weak, helping leaders decide on next steps.

We don’t give fixed or one-size-fits-all solutions. Final decisions on what actions to take and when are

left to the organization’s leaders, giving them full control.

Customization of the Trust Pulse is not currently available.

It’s important to clearly and openly explain why the Trust Pulse is being done. We suggest including the following points in your communication:

• Why the Trust Pulse is being run – what the purpose is.

• What the outcome could look like – how the results will help improve the organization.

• How each person contributes – the role everyone plays in achieving the goal.

• What will happen with the results – how leaders plan to use the feedback.

Also, make it clear that all responses are completely anonymous. No individual answers can be seen by leaders. Final reports will only show combined results at the team or organizational level.

The Trust Pulse can be run as frequently as you think is appropriate. Some organizations run them on a quarterly basis, others after they have completed actions to address the insights received the last time it was run.

The frequency can be built into the implementation plan created to address the feedback from the Trust Pulse.

The main red flags are if the overall organization result is sitting within the Trust Tax zone or if any of the three dimensions, culture, communication, or processes is sitting in one of the Trust Tax levels. These would be the first and most critical areas to address.

If any statements are classified within the Critical Perception Gap, they should be examined closely, as they reveal differences in perception that may need to be addressed.

Studies have revealed there is a direct correlation between businesses that have high levels of Trust and their commercial returns.

“All companies that make the Best Workplaces list, internationally, have one key element in common: high-trust cultures. Great Place to Work® global research shows that both in the U.S. and internationally, these trust-based cultures lead to impressive performance records.

“Great Place to Work has consistently found that companies with the highest levels of trust outperform industry peers on metrics including employee cooperation, productivity, retention and growth.

“The 100 Best Companies to Work For in America delivered stock returns that beat their peers by two to three percent per year over a 26-year period. Simply put: companies that treat their workers better do better. And this fundamentally changes the way that managers should be thinking about their workers.”” Alex Edmans, Professor Finance, London Business School.”

More information can be obtained in this report How High-Trust Culture Drives Business Success | Great Place To Work®

Comparative results across industries or against other organizations are not available.

The Trust Pulse is an applied diagnostic and implementation tool, and its strength lies in linking trust to operational performance and implementation outcomes. It is therefore suited to organizations focused on transformation and operational improvement.

Rather than external benchmarking, what matters most is internal comparison over time, repeatedly measuring to assess transformation and operational improvement.

Organizations are able to compare results from previous assessment results to determine progress being made.

Yes. The purpose of the Trust Pulse is to provide consultants and coaches with a diagnostic tool to use with their clients. 

Consultants and coaches are able to create individual accounts for each of their clients to easily manage the distribution of Trust Pulses, monitor responses, and share the reports with their clients.

Please contact us to discuss.

A How to Guide which covers how to use the platform and the Trust Pulse Reports is available for all administrators.

A virtual live training session is available to Enterprise Administrators.