--- title: Engagement Report Shows Growing Trust Gap in Leadership description: Velocity's 2025 EX Trends Report, based on 13,000 employees across nine organizations, reveals a growing gap in employee trust in leadership. image: https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Growing-Gap-in-Trust-in-Leadership-1.jpg --- [![Velocity Advisory Group](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Velocity-Logo-2023-Wide-1.png)](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/) ☰ Menu - About - [Meet Our Team](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/about/) - [Meet Our Coaches](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/coaches/) - [Careers](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/careers/) - [Speaking Engagements](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/velocity-speakers/) - Solutions - [Culture & Engagement](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/culture-engagement/) - [DISC Assessments & Training](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/disc-assessments-training/) - [Employee Experience](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/employee-experience/) - [Executive Coaching](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/executive-coaching/) - [Family Business](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/family-business/) - [Leadership Development](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/leadership-development/) - [Sales Training](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/5cs-of-selling/) - [Strategy & Implementation](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/strategy-implementation/) - Resources - [Activating Greatness Podcast](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/podcast/) - [Blog](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/blog/) - [Case Studies](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/case-studies/) - [News and Announcements](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/news-and-events/) - [OrderDisc](https://orderdisc.com/) - [Upcoming Events](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/upcoming-events/) - Industries - [Construction](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/construction/) - [Financial Services](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/financial-services/) - [Life Sciences](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/lifesciences/) - [Contact](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/contact/) Insights & NewsNews January 28, 2025 # Employee Engagement Report Shows Growing Gap in Trust in Leadership Employee engagement surveys offer employees an outlet and an opportunity to be heard. After surveying 13,000 employees across nine diverse organizations, [Velocity Advisory Group](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/) found commonalities in workforce dynamics that transcend industry and company size. In the consulting firm’s *2025 EX Trends Report: Insights into Employee Experience and Workforce Trends*, six items consistently ranked at the bottom across all organizations: - Processes Enable Productivity - Experience vs. Expectations - Open and Honest Communication - Leadership Responsiveness - Communicate Change Reasons - Belief in Survey Change While these metrics indicate areas of concern, they are often symptoms of larger behavioral and structural challenges. For instance, “Open and Honest Communication” frequently reflects frustrations stemming from lack of opportunities for employees to provide feedback or engage in meaningful dialogue with leadership. Similarly, “Leadership Responsiveness” is less about timeliness and more about leaders’ ability to address issues effectively. Findings also indicate that it’s essential for employees to feel heard and that their feedback matters, as “Belief in Survey Change” is often among the lowest-scoring items in employee surveys. While communication has been a sticking point for employees for years, a striking finding is the growing disparity in trust and communication between senior leadership and frontline managers. The survey results showed that while 88% of organizations rank trust in managers among their top 10 strengths, confidence in senior leadership ranks in the bottom 10 for 71% of companies. In the report, Velocity experts explore why this gap continues to grow  (hint: middle managers are often the lynchpin for closing this gap), plus other insights including: - The three factors that actually drive employee engagement - Why employee engagement and customer/client satisfaction are interdependent - 3 workplace predictions to keep an eye on in 2025 - 6 considerations for your next survey **[Download the full report](https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4349441-1&h=2637454172&u=https%3A%2F%2Fshare.hsforms.com%2F1eYQCW2VmTQekljvgcGSrfQqwjos&a=Download+the+full+report) for access to all of the insights.** If you have any questions about the study or would like Velocity Advisory Group to support your next survey, please reach out to Amanda Nichols, Data & Analytics Advisor, at [anichols@velocityadvisorygroup.com](mailto:anichols@velocityadvisorygroup.com). **About Velocity Advisory Group**   Velocity Advisory Group is an experienced advisory firm committed to helping clients accelerate organizational success through leadership development, executive coaching, cultural alignment, and strategic execution. Having led 900+ organizations in more than 25 industries through transformation and strategic change since 2009, the experts at Velocity excel at supporting clients to achieve clarity, confidence, and better decision-making.    By emphasizing personalized consulting and building trusted partnerships, Velocity delivers tailored solutions for each clients’ unique needs that unleash the untapped potential within their organization. Learn more at [www.velocityadvisorygroup.com](https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4349441-1&h=2296622820&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.velocityadvisorygroup.com%2F&a=www.velocityadvisorygroup.com).  Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/employee-engagement-report-shows-growing-gap-in-trust-in-leadership) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/employee-engagement-report-shows-growing-gap-in-trust-in-leadership) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/employee-engagement-report-shows-growing-gap-in-trust-in-leadership) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/employee-engagement-report-shows-growing-gap-in-trust-in-leadership) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/employee-engagement-report-shows-growing-gap-in-trust-in-leadership) [Employee Engagement](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/tag/employee-engagement) [News](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/tag/news) [Leadership & Coaching](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/tag/leadership-coaching) ## Ready to activate greatness on your team? 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[Read more](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/velocity-advisory-group-joins-qualtrics-partner-network-to-deliver-employee-experience-solutions) --- [![](https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png?width=1025&height=267&name=Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png)](http://velocityadvisorygroup.com) Copyright © 2026, Velocity Advisory Group ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Admin", "url" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/author/admin" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-09T20:34:02.143Z", "datePublished" : "2025-01-28T16:59:32.000Z", "headline" : "Engagement Report Shows Growing Trust Gap in Leadership", "image" : [ "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Growing-Gap-in-Trust-in-Leadership-1.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/insights/employee-engagement-report-shows-growing-gap-in-trust-in-leadership", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Velocity%20Logo%202023%20Wide-2.png" }, "name" : "Velocity Advisory Group" } } ```