Case Study: How a Unified Trust Strategy Transformed Culture Across Multiple Acquired Businesses

Denice Diaz
Nov 19
2 min read

The Challenge

A large FMCG organisation had acquired several businesses over a short period, creating ongoing restructuring and integration challenges. Each business retained its own identity and culture rather than aligning with the wider organisation, resulting in fragmentation, low engagement, and a lack of unified direction.

To move forward, the leadership team needed clarity on what would build trust across all teams, cities, and countries, and a way to bring everyone together under one shared identity.

Our Approach

Using the TrustLogic® framework, we analysed trust inhibitors, trust equity, and trust drivers across every part of the organisation. The insights revealed the cultural gaps, behavioral barriers, and trust expectations that employees needed met before they could fully commit to a single, unified brand.

Step 1: Define

We conducted trust analysis across all business divisions and geographies, mapping the organisation’s trust profile and identifying the requirements employees needed fulfilled to feel aligned and confident in the new entity.

Step 2: Design

We developed a unified corporate brand based on what the organisation wanted to be trusted for and aligned this with the trust needs of its people. This shaped a full trust-led change strategy that included:

Culture change program
Leadership development
Staff engagement sessions
Internal communications strategy
SLT messaging and behavior guidelines

All strategies were designed to fulfil the six trust dimensions, with different priorities for different teams.

Step 3: Implement

Working with the leadership team, we rolled out the trust-led culture program across all business units. The program introduced consistent messaging, aligned behaviors, and trust-focused communication that helped employees shift from separate identities to a shared organisational culture.

The Result

Within three months: Employees began identifying with the unified corporate brand.
Within 12 months: Engagement increased significantly and employee churn decreased by 14 percent.
Three years later: The business was successfully sold at a high premium, supported by a stronger culture, clearer identity, and a deeply embedded trust strategy.