<p>Among the biggest challenges for communications and <a href=”https://www.saltshein.com.au/pr-agency-recruitment.aspx”>corporate affairs professionals</a> is building a level of trust between a brand and the general public. This task may be becoming harder in the future, at least based on the most recent Edelman Trust Barometer.</p><p>According to the study,&nbsp;the public&#39;s trust in business is declining, with Australia seeing one of the largest drop of any of the countries included in the survey. Overall public confidence in corporations has declined to only 48 per cent, dropping 11 points since the last survey.</p><p>Other countries that saw a similar decrease included Canada and Germany, which recorded 15 and 12 per cent decreases in&nbsp;public confidence respectively.</p><p>The study suggested there were a number of events in 2014 that led to this decline in overall trust including developments like data breaches and the disappearance&nbsp;of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. Importantly, this highlights how single acts in one industry can reverberate and drag down the trust people place in corporations in general.</p><p>What&#39;s more, the Edelman&nbsp;barometer&nbsp;also departed from earlier iterations to look at how innovation is linked to trust. The research revealed that the public is increasingly concerned about the motives behind new product developments. In fact, only 14 per cent believe new innovation is being driven by a desire to improve the world, while 74 per cent believe it is business growth imperatives that are driving innovation.&nbsp;</p><p>A further 52 per cent of Australian respondents believe that innovation and change is occurring too quickly.</p><p>According to Richard Edelman, president and CEO of&nbsp;Edelman, this shift is likely to place greater demand on corporate communication efforts.</p><p>&quot;Innovation should be a trust accelerator, but today it is not. To&nbsp;invent is no longer enough,&quot;&nbsp;he said.</p><p>&quot;There must be a new compact between company and individual, where&nbsp;companies demonstrate that innovations are safe based on independent research, provide both&nbsp;societal and personal benefit and are committed to the protection of customer data.&quot;</p><p>For communications professionals, especially those working in very innovative sectors, finding ways to build this trust will be increasingly important for individuals to navigate.</p>