The new year sees the release of numerous reputation / trust reports and countless trends predictions, issue watchlists and an avalanche of wise commentary. And that’s not even including Davos! So, we have taken it upon ourselves to save you the time of having to wade through the reams of copy and have curated this synopsis of all you need to know about reputation in 2020.

Managing reputation more important than ever

According to the ReputationInstitute’s 2020 Global Trends Report, 70.2% of leaders of high reputation companies say that managing the reputation of their company is more important now than it has ever been.  

Which if you consider the depressing findings from the Edelman 2020 Trust Barometer that points out that none of the four main institutions (Media, Governments, Companies and NGOs) are trusted, means that something is wrong. Within this gloomy picture it is worth noting that businesses enjoy a stronger reputation than governments which quite simply means that there is a growing expectation that business must lead on social and environmental challenges before being forced to do so by regulators – and companies that do will reap the benefits:

66% of consumers identify as belief-driven or impact-conscious buyers

73% of employees want the opportunity to impact society

75% expect business leaders to drive change rather than waiting for government



Fear is the order of the day

The majority of respondents in every developed market do not believe they will be better off in five years’ time, and more than half of respondents globally believe that capitalism in its current form is now doing more harm than good in the world. Add to that, 83% of employees are worried about losing their job, attributing it to the gig economy, a looming recession, a lack of skills, cheaper foreign competitors, immigrants who will work for less,automation, or jobs being moved to other countries.

As we know, fear is one of the strongest human emotions and generally drives irrational behaviour. Companies need to work hard to bring a sense of security back to their stakeholders and therefore must focus on integrity,dependability and purpose, the ethical drivers which account for 76% of the trust capital of business, while competence accounts for only 24%.

The Top Ten Lists

Unsurprisingly, there is much overlap between the various published “Top Trends” lists. We know what should be done to build sustainable businesses and economies, but the results show that we need to do – not pontificate - more.



Top 10 Global Reputation Trends

(ReputationInstitute)

Top 10 Global Issues Influencing Trust

(Edelman)

Top 10 Drivers of High Reputation Companies

(WeberShandwick)

Top 5 Trends in Corporate Citizenship

(Hill+ Knowlton)

Top 5 takeaways from Davos

(Genesis Analytics)

Higher purpose

A sense of inequity is undermining trust

Community relations

Transition to

stakeholdercapitalism

and acceleration of ethical investing

Natural disasters and resource scarcity will demand

collective action

Data privacy

Capitalism is underfire

Industry leadership

Heightened focus on climate change and environmental sustainability

Data responsibility and digital safety will take centre stage

Responsible investment

Fears about the future are eclipsing hopes

Ethics and values

Increased employee activism and support for diversity and inclusion

U.S. election season will be a litmus test for climate change

Impact of technology

People are worried about the impact of technology

Corporate culture

Rise of the flexitarian diet and plant-based protein

Supply chain

transparency

will become table stakes

Climate change

Stakeholder engagement

fosters long-term company success

Training and support for employees

Growth in global collaboration and pre-competitive alliances

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will accelerate

sustainability

Influencers

CEOs are expected to lead from the front

Quality of senior leadership other than CEO or Chair

Mistrust of big institutions

Trust is built on competence and ethics

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Responsible sourcing

No institution is seen as both competent and ethical

Governance

CEO activism

Ethics is three times more important to company trust than competence

Environmental responsibility

Inequality, diversity, and inclusiveness

Partnership between business and government on jobs is essential

Philanthropy or charity support

Companies can no longer claim neutrality in the issues of our day… you’re either helping to create a sustainable future, or you’re out.

What’s at Stake

Intuitively we all know that companies with a strong reputation perform better. Exactly what the quantum of this is, depends on who you are asking, but the latest Weber Shandwick survey of global leaders gives the average as 63% of market value is due to reputation. The UK is quite surprisingly at the bottom of the scale, but this is possibly a reflection of a modest culture? The point remains, that it makes a significant bottom-line difference and should be proactively managed at all stages of the business life cycle.

#ReputationWithPurpose

Having seen the writing on the wall years ago, we haveharnessed the science of reputation and sustainability as well as the art ofcommunications and connection and developed a simple model for businesses build their reputationthrough purpose.

Through a series of discovery sessions and workshops we’ll create a strategy and implementation plan that works for you – and we’ll hold your hand all along the way to make sure it makes a difference.

Benefits of #ReputationWithPurpose

Our unique #ReputationWithPurpose model will help you defineyour purpose, embed this in your business, implement the actions required tomake it authentic, and build your reputational capital.

The outcome?

  • Happier, more engaged and innovative employees

  • Enhanced support and understanding from stakeholders

  • More and more loyal customers

  • Increased resilience to business shocks

  • Better bottom-line performance

Get in touch today to start your journey.

Jessica Whitcutt

Accomplished corporate communications and reputation professional with proven history in helping both major multinational firms and high growth businesses deliver bottom line performance through enhanced reputational capital. A highly strategic and insightful approach, balanced with an understanding of the need for executional excellence, team effectiveness, and broad collaboration with all stakeholders.

Proven success leading and managing large projects in matrix organisations, change initiatives, internal and external communications, stakeholder engagement programmes and digital media to maximise reach and engage with culturally and demographically diverse audiences.

Excellent communicator, creative and innovative problem solver, strategic thinker and inspirational leader.

CliftonStrengths / Gallup - Achiever | Connectedness | Strategic | Relator | Command

https://www.itsashovel.com
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