Poor trust in line managers has huge implications for the retention of talent, according to Adrian Moorhouse, managing director at performance development consultancy Lane4.

The company’s research shows a wave of redundancies, restructuring and changes in senior leadership in UK companies over the past 12 months has led to 13% of workers actively expressing distrust in their line manager — with 21% trusting them less than last year.

The Olympic medallist Moorhouse told Recruiter: “Damaged trust derails engagement and sends performance on a downward spiral. If you don’t trust your leader, why would you seek their reassurance, opinion or counsel? A lack of trust has huge implications for talent retention. According to our survey, 26% of people would consider leaving the organisation if they did not trust the senior leadership communication. The key to holding onto your best workers is to communicate with them in an effective, meaningful and trustworthy way. And one way to do this is to ensure you are demonstrating behavioural integrity; that your words and actions are aligned to deliver a consistent, clear message.”