Small and medium-sized business owners must create a level of trust with their employees in order to drive their businesses forward, claims leading entrepreneur Nick Ogden.

A recent report by Ceridian revealed that the level of trust between business managers and staff has been seriously damaged by the difficult economic climate.

The survey of over a 1,000 employees revealed that a quarter of respondents felt that the level of trust they have in their manager has deteriorated and 20% are less engaged in their job than previously.

Ogden, the founder of WorldPay, which had a yearly turnover of $2bn and customers in over 70 countries, and Voice Commerce Group stresses the importance of creating an atmosphere of trust in the workplace.

"Businesses survive only on two things: money that you have in the bank and your ability to use that money to pay the staff that you employ. I hope that my epitaph will be that I paid all my team on time, every time," he says.

"Then you have confidence and trust within your business. Once you have that then the sky is the limit and people don't appreciate the intellectual value and the capital that the team creates."