Talking Trust

Louanne: Hi and welcome to Talking Trust, PwC Canada's new podcast series on the trust agenda. I'm Louanne Buckley, a partner here at PwC Canada and the firm's chief marketing and communications officer. We know we're in an era like never before where trust has become a critical business imperative and lever for value creation. In this podcast series, we're exploring some of the key elements of trust. We'll talk about why trust matters so much today, some of the actions we've taken at PwC Canada as part of our own journey and what it means for your people, as well as your brand and reputation. Today, we're going to have some fun. I'm turning the tables on our podcast host James Temple, PwC Canada's chief corporate responsibility officer, to get his perspectives on how our firm is looking at the trust agenda and to share more about what we've heard from our stakeholders. So James, welcome and thanks for letting me put you in the hot seat. 

James: Thanks, Louanne. I'm ready for the tough questions. 

Louanne: OK, so let's kick things off. Let's build on what you and Nicolas talked about in our first episode. Can you share some more background on what our trust roadmap is and why we did it? 

James: You know, Nicolas really emphasized that trust is at the core of our purpose at PwC Canada. And for us to help others build trust, we need to be trusted ourselves. Now, for us, it's all about acknowledging that trust begins with each of us as individuals across the firm because it's critical and ongoing to every aspect of every relationship that we steward. So from that acknowledgment, we built a trust roadmap that takes a unique approach to the concept of trust. We wanted to go beyond current reporting through things like traditional corporate responsibility reports. Now these are important documents, but they tend to talk more about how a business is performing against material issues that matter most to stakeholders. The reports often talk a lot about what's going well, and let's face it, we need to dig more into where a business has gaps and blind spots based on how its stakeholders feel about its performance, how well its people and their actions and behaviors match the commitments that they make every day. It's this sentiment, this feeling that that's fundamentally different and it's tough to measure. I like to say that there's no end game to trust but that's why having a trust roadmap is so important, and that's why this will be a critical component of our strategy forward. 

Louanne: So as someone who's charged with bringing our purpose to life every day, I really love how this roadmap centers around our stakeholders, what's most important when it comes to them putting their trust in us. Not only that, I like how it outlines the actions that we need to take to meet their expectations and the fact that it defines behavioral based metrics to track how we're doing. I think that's really unique. So with that, said James, maybe you can share more about what was involved in the journey and really a little bit more about how it's fundamentally different. 

James: It really came down to focusing on the critical success factors to address today's challenges. So big picture things like business resilience, accountability and sustainable impact and like you've said, Louanne, understanding trust from the perspective of our stakeholders and what's foundational to getting it right is at the center. Now to make sure that we're gathering and analyzing the data and the right data and identifying and measuring KPIs that will help us change individual and institutional behaviors was critical. Now I recognize we've got a very diverse stakeholder landscape from those closest to like our people and our clients to those we work with and that are affected by our actions every day. So educational institutions, marginalized communities, not for profit organizations, all of these stakeholders and many more will have unique relationships with PwC. So we drilled down and we surveyed more than 3000 stakeholders and asked them why, why they put their trust in us and how their actions are either helping or hindering our ability to really be resilient, accountable and drive sustainable impact. So it's this kind of thinking that was key as trust comes back to individual and collective thoughts and feelings about our intentions and a need to focus on making sure that our actions and our behaviours match those commitments as a firm. 

Louanne: These things that you mentioned resilience, accountability, sustainable impact, they're pretty broad and more directional in nature, I would say. So how did you get to the specific trust drivers below these themes? 

James: It's a great question. I mean, we continue to drill down and put a big focus on demonstrating our values as part of making sure we're living up to our purpose, as part of making sure that we're living our purpose of building trust in society and solving important problems. So we dug into how our values drive how we show up every day. So it comes back to embodying things like integrity, the difference we make as a firm to those we serve in our broader stakeholders and competence and the quality and the consistency of our work. So we looked inside our own PwC house and we worked with our analytics team. We looked at a long list of drivers that were connected to these areas, and we asked our stakeholders to pinpoint what's most important to them for them to put their trust in us. We were able to identify a handful of key trust drivers that our stakeholders feel are critical to ensuring each interaction, experience, relationship and outcome delivered really earns their trust. 

Louanne: You know, that's really key to me because there's so many factors that influence trust. So maybe you could tell us a little bit about the ones you identified as being the most important. And then I'm curious to know, were there any surprises? 

James: Well, Louanne, as you know, there's always surprises and I can't wait to get to the details. 

Louanne: I love surprises, by the way. 

James: I've got some good ones for you. You know, the results of our analysis led us to select areas to focus, things we need to prioritize, to build momentum and table stakes. So those that we need to prioritize, it really contains four elements. And these are behavioural based. So first, it's about engaging in courageous conversations in the moment. So this looks at how well do we embody our values by being open, direct and timely, especially when we're having challenging conversations with our clients and with our people. And that's hard but it's really important. Second is showing how we make decisions and how we take actions. So this is all about being transparent, about what's going well and not well when it comes to sensitive issues with our stakeholders and that they really care most about and that they're telling us they care most about. Third is treating stakeholders fairly and well. Now these are connected but different. So while people may feel we have programs or initiatives that make PwC Canada a great place to work, it's those small nuances that impact the perception of fairness during the most difficult conversations that matter. And fourth is about fostering a sense of connection to our firm through approachable leadership and a broader sense of community. So this is all about the humanity of how we lead and making sure that we embody our values and that people can really feel it. 

Louanne: And it's so clear from what you're saying, how much of this comes down to matching action with intention and behaviours with commitments, it's really up to each one of us. So you also talked about building momentum. What does that look like in practical terms? 

James: Building momentum is really about the structural components of our business. Things that we're already doing well but the bar is continuing to rise and the market expects even more. So how do we build on that momentum? So these include core elements of the business that underpin our credibility. So things like ethics, risk and quality. 

Louanne: And then I think the third category was table stakes, is that where ESG reporting fits in? 

James: Bingo. For PwC, most of our existing ESG reporting fits in this area, so our stakeholders had baseline expectations about information we should disclose based on marketplace expectations. But we've got to go a step further. So we've added some new metrics looking at things like pay equity, paying our fair share of tax, showing our economic contributions to the Canadian economy. 

Louanne: This is also interesting. I love that we have three distinct areas to drive progress and that each one is clear about why we chose specific disclosures. But obviously, having a roadmap is one thing, and bringing it to life is altogether different. So holding ourselves accountable is really what's key here. You know me, right? I'm a very firm believer of linking everything we do to our strategy, ensuring that everyone knows what role they play, how they contribute to it, and they really see themselves in it. So take a minute and talk about some of the things that we're doing to ensure we're driving positive change while still remaining agile because our stakeholders will continue to share new insights on what building trust means to them. 

James: You know, I've got to start by saying that I'm really, really proud of our leadership team and Louanne, you're a part of that. It's the partners and staff in our firm that are fully bought into the trust agenda. And you know, this is critical and as a first step in any process. And as you know, we've spent a lot of time socializing and communicating what trust is and why it matters. And it's embedded into the new equation, which is our strategy. So we've really embedded this from the top down at the heart of our organization. 

Louanne: So important. 

James: It really is, right. And and the KPI chart that we've chosen to disclose how we're doing, what we've done is also set five year targets that will help us drive conversations and actions but as a starting point as we're thinking about our strategy forward. So let's make it real. For example, the four key measures I mentioned as part of our prioritized category and these are the tough ones, is how we'll measure behavioural change. So one is tracking partner and staff sentiment around this fairness and wellness gap. So this comes from responses in our trust survey and really looks at how people feel about how we treat them, fairly versus well. So these are two different but connected concepts, and we've currently got a gap. A six percent gap between them. And we want to close that gap to zero while continuing to raise the bar over the next five years. We've got to do better. 

Louanne: James, are we closing the gap in 12 months or five years? What's that? 

James: You know, we've set a five year target. If I had my way, we'd close that gap immediately. But I recognize that corporate culture changes over time. And we've got to get to the heart of the psychological safety around each of these concepts by speaking to our stakeholders and understanding what their motivators are and what matters most. So five years but I want to do it faster. 

Louanne: Got it! 

James: Another KPI is our client net promoter score and this really tracks the quality and the impact of our work. So our goal here is to be in the top quartile and show how we're having courageous conversations in the moment. You know, really talk to our clients and say, can you give us some examples of when we've got it right and when we need to improve? The last point I make is really around workforce representation, and this is all about making sure we reflect the clients and the communities that we serve while we're building culture of inclusion and belonging. So what's key in all of these is really how our metrics focus on building trust by being more open about what is and what isn't working. Showing that vulnerability as a firm and holding ourselves accountable where we have blind spots based on how our stakeholders feel. So it's this sentiment analysis that will be critical and give us an unbiased view of our performance. 

Louanne: Measuring stakeholder sentiment against every day behaviours is really different, and then connecting it to how we hold ourselves accountable through disclosures really is a unique way to drive change. You've also talked about the more structural elements of the business where we can build momentum and then what our stakeholders told us at our table stake disclosures. So what really matters most in these areas? 

James: Within the building momentum category, let's take ethics and psychological safety. We're creating a speak up index to help us understand what it feels like for our people when it comes to raising issues that matter most to them. 

Louanne: So James, is that like I have the confidence that if I raise an issue, you're going to listen and take me seriously. Is it a comfort and confidence level? 

James: That's right. And we include some other proxies around whether you feel like your people managers will listen. And if they do take action, whether you agree or you disagree, you feel comfortable and confident that you're in a safe work environment. That's exactly right. Now, if you look at some of the table stakes expectations. A good example is our net zero commitment. Now, a lot of companies have made these commitments, and we've joined PwC's global network of firms in committing to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. What we've done, though, has gone a step further. We've established a carbon cap to help us mitigate a bounce back specifically around corporate travel because that's a big part of our carbon profile as we come out of COVID 19. So we're not letting ourselves off the hook for some of the tough challenges and conversations ahead. Now you asked me earlier about how we remain agile and I want to pick up on that because it's an important note that our trust roadmap and our goals will always be evolving. So really, this is a living document. We're going to update it. Add to KPIs as needed and continue to learn more about how we can build trust with our stakeholders by talking to them. Now what makes the most sense this year to our stakeholders could fundamentally change over the next 12 months. So we're ready to pivot. We're ready to be agile. This is baked into our business strategy. And the key here is we want to show some vulnerability. 

Louanne: I like that we have five year targets, but we're really revisiting it on an annual basis based on again what's most important to our stakeholders and the agility around that. The other thing you know, in recent conversations we've had with CEOs and directors is some of Canada's top boards. It's come up that they really believe trust has always been a subject of interest but now it's moving from an implicit discussion to a more explicit discussion. So given this, as you're talking to our audience, what would you say to listeners thinking about their own organizations trust journey? 

James: You know, it's five words. This is a significant undertaking. By one way, you know, thinking of this is to start to think about some of the foundational questions involved and think of things like how are market forces impacting stakeholder trust. What are the current drivers of trust that matter most to you and your industry? And which are the trust drivers offer the potential to differentiate your organization? Most importantly, how does this connect and expedite the achievement of your broader ESG agenda? Because trust and ESG are interconnected and different. So I would also encourage listeners to visit trust.ca.PwC.com. So that's our great microsite, where you can explore the trust roadmap in more detail. And we're inviting people to take a look as well as we believe it offers a way forward to those interested in the issue. And perhaps you think about that in the journey for your company. Now lastly, our CEO Nicolas Marcoux made a strong case in the earlier podcast episode for why building trust is so important to organizations and society as a whole. And I know he's done a lot of thinking around some calls of action to other leaders as well. 

Louanne: James, I have to thank you for these great insights and thank you for your time today. To our audience, thank you for listening today. I would encourage you that if you're interested to learn more about trust and explore our journey, please visit PwC.com/ca. Next up in our podcast series is our chief eople officer, Sofia Theodorou. We'll get personal as Sophia talks us through the people aspects of the trust agenda. I really hope you enjoyed our podcast. And I look forward to bringing you further insights on the trust agenda in our next episode. I'm Louanne Buckley and this is Talking Trust.