By Dr. Tim Currie, Author, Swift Trust: Mastering Relationships in The Remote Work Revolution
It is often said that trust is earned by the penny and spent by the pound.
In today’s remote work era, trust has become more than a soft value. It is a strategic asset. In fact, it now functions as a key performance indicator, directly tied to productivity, employee well-being, and organizational identity.
Trust influences nearly every business outcome, from revenue and efficiency to retention and customer satisfaction.
Trust was once built naturally through face-to-face moments and spontaneous interactions. But as teams have become distributed, it has quietly eroded. With cameras off, messages replacing meetings, and hallway conversations disappearing, the workplace has become less personal. And yet, trust has never been more essential.
The Hidden Cost of Eroded Trust
When trust is high, people are more engaged. They speak up, take risks, and contribute more fully. When trust breaks down, performance suffers.
Remote work has stripped away many of the everyday moments that helped teams feel connected, such as impromptu check-ins, casual lunches, or shared body language cues. In their absence, miscommunication, ambiguity, and digital overreach have crept in.
In response, some organizations have doubled down on control. Meetings fill every available hour. Monitoring tools track activity. Employees are asked to prove they are working instead of being trusted to deliver. These approaches may create the illusion of productivity, but in reality, they drain morale. People feel watched, not supported. They perform to be seen, not to succeed.
Why Trust Needs to Be Measured
Key performance indicators are meant to reflect what truly matters. Trust belongs on that list. Yet many companies are still relying on outdated engagement surveys that miss the mark. Measuring trust provides a real-time view into team health and long-term sustainability. It is not a luxury. It is a necessity.
Two Layers of Trust: Organizational and Interpersonal
To rebuild trust, leaders must act at two levels.
Organizational Trust
This is trust in the system. Do employees believe that policies are fair, that leadership is transparent, and that the organization has their best interest at heart?
In the remote world, this comes down to clear and consistent communication, transparent decision-making, vulnerability from leaders who are willing to admit mistakes and ask for help, empathy for personal contexts, and accountability at all levels, especially at the top.
Interpersonal Trust
This is the day-to-day trust between teammates, managers, and peers.
It is built through reliability, by following through on commitments. It comes from competence, by knowing your role and securing the resources to deliver. And it is reinforced by character, by showing good intent and being someone others can count on.
Measuring What Matters
Organizations must treat trust like any other KPI. While it may seem intangible, trust can be measured as both a predictor and an indicator of several traditional business outcomes.
Employee pulse surveys can be designed to focus on trust and psychological safety.
Leadership metrics should reflect availability and authentic engagement. Retention and satisfaction scores offer valuable signals. Peer recognition systems can reinforce reliability and collaboration across teams.
Even better, organizations can link trust-building behaviors to actual performance outcomes. Teams should be empowered to define how trust shows up in their context and make it part of the performance conversation.
Trust Is Culture
Culture is not what is written in the handbook or on the website. It is what happens when no one is watching. In a remote world, no one is watching most of the time. That means trust is the culture.
When trust is positioned as a business strategy rather than a soft skill, it becomes something leaders can model, reinforce, and reward. Organizations that prioritize trust stop focusing on appearances and start focusing on outcomes.
The Trust Dividend
Trust is no longer just a human resources issue. It is a business imperative.
In a decentralized and digital-first world, trust is what holds teams together. It drives innovation, loyalty, and lasting performance.
The companies that invest in building and sustaining trust will not only adapt to the new world of work. They will lead it.
Dr. Tim Currie
Dr. Tim Currie is the author of Swift Trust and a leadership expert who has personally generated over $100 million in revenue and guided teams to more than $1 billion. Blending real-world experience with doctoral research, he offers a proven framework for building speed, cohesion, and accountability inside today’s remote and hybrid teams.