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:

• 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—offering a robust, credible tool for measuring and elevating trust and culture in organizations.

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. These results are measured across seven trust levels:

• If most responses are in the top three levels, the organization is enjoying a Trust Dividend.

• If they fall in the middle level, the organization is considered Stable.

• If most responses are in the bottom three levels, the organization is facing a Trust Tax.

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

The results are presented in three parts:

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.

3. Recommendations – Suggestions on where leaders can focus to improve trust.

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 seven levels of the Trust Pulse enable leaders to quickly see where breakdowns have occurred. 

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.

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 other industries is not currently available. However, we expect to be able to do so within the next six to 12 months as more organizations implement the Trust Pulse.

It is possible to compare results from previous assessment results to see 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.