Today's boards have a role to play in building employee trust: nearly two-thirds of the Fortune 1000 executives believe that employees' loss of trust in their employers will contribute to increased voluntary turnover in the coming months.

• Author: Allen, Sharon
• Position: Survey

When boards provide independent management oversight and compelling strategic input, the positive impact on business performance can be felt by consumers and investors. Today, in the midst of the most challenging economic environment in decades, the impact of board governance must register with another vital group--employees in general and, specifically, a growing percentage who simply do not trust their employers anymore.

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If there is anyone who thinks that the loss of employee trust doesn't rank as a critical business issue, take just a moment to consider what we discovered from the Deloitte 2010 Ethics and Workplace Survey conducted earlier this year. In this fourth annual survey that I've commissioned since 2007, we interviewed 300 Fortune 1000 executives and more than 750 employees from outside our organization.

Among our key findings, 34 percent of employed Americans plan to look for a new employer when the economy gets better. During a time when unemployment is running at some of the highest levels since the end of World War II, one in three current jobholders say they will eventually seek work elsewhere.

Perhaps more troubling are the reasons these employees are considering a move.

Nearly half--some 48 percent--cited a loss of trust in their employer

as a major factor. Another 46 percent pointed to a lack of transparent communication from company leadership. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of the Fortune 1000 executives we surveyed believe that employees' loss of trust in their employers will contribute to increased voluntary turnover in the coming months.

Trust is a vital aspect of the relationship between employers and their employees that cannot be held but certainly can be felt--and it does carry a bottom line impact. Several studies indicate that replacing employees can range between 25 to 250 percent of their annual salary, depending on industry and job type--costs that include attracting, recruiting, and training them--not to mention the "hidden costs" that come when productivity wanes, institutional knowledge is lost, and your talented employees are hired by a competitor. The cost of replacing a valued employee should be considered just as important as the cost of replacing a valued customer.

Clearly, the loss of employee trust is a situation that calls for decisive leadership--and not just from the C-suite. I believe that the influence of boards can have a positive impact on employee trust. In fact, 83...