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PUBLIC RELATIONS
Monday 1st June 2020
Three quarters of FTSE250 CEOs don’t understand value of corporate reputation
By Dee Cayhill, Director, Cayhill Partners.
According to corporate communications directors, almost three quarters (73%) of FTSE250 CEOs don’t understand the value of corporate reputation management nor appreciate the crucial role it plays in delivering their organisation’s objectives.
This was the findings of new research we published this week.
It appears that there’s a clear reputational gap.
Too many CEOs are focusing solely on managing the tangible assets on their balance sheet and overlooking the constituent parts of corporate reputation that ultimately impact value. That’s illustrated by the numbers; nearly two thirds (68%) of firms employ inhouse investor relations capability compared with just over half (54%) that have a dedicated group inhouse communications resource.
In many organisations, investor sentiment is being allowed to prevail as a proxy for reputation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised why reputation matters. 62% of interviewees confirmed to me that public perception is now based as much on how a company and its people behave as the returns it makes.
This is a worry for some of the CEOs I spoke to; their personal reputation may be won or lost, alongside those of their companies. They, and their communications directors, also raised concerns about employee activism, plummeting trust in big business, increased regulation, and the impact of Brexit.
Managing reputation in this new age is not for the faint hearted.
Our research reveals that almost half of FTSE250 companies outsource management of their corporate reputation capability completely, relying entirely on PR consultancies. For those FTSE250 companies that have group communications directors, the responsibilities, seniority and extent of roles vary hugely, often heavily dependent on the CEO’s understanding of, or support for the corporate communications discipline.
During the research, I was struck by the levels of frustration amongst some FTSE250 communications leaders.
It would beggar belief to report that three quarters of CFOs, or HRDs, thought that their CEO didn’t understand the value of their function, yet that’s exactly what corporate communications directors told me.
It may just be that COVID-19 is the necessary wake-up call for companies to understand the importance – and fragility – of their reputational whole. Business reputations are being won and lost as companies respond to the crisis. There has probably never been a more important moment for the C-suite to reflect on who and what is now driving their corporate reputation and how they can take control. In unchartered waters, it should pay to look to an experienced navigator.
The full report, ‘What price reputation? An investigation into corporate reputation management in the FTSE250’ is available here.
Dee Cayhill is Director at Cayhill Partners a specialist executive search, capability building and research consultancy that focuses on the corporate reputation management disciplines.
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
According to corporate communications directors, almost three quarters (73%) of FTSE250 CEOs don’t understand the value of corporate reputation management nor appreciate the crucial role it plays in delivering their organisation’s objectives.
This was the findings of new research we published this week.
It appears that there’s a clear reputational gap.
Too many CEOs are focusing solely on managing the tangible assets on their balance sheet and overlooking the constituent parts of corporate reputation that ultimately impact value. That’s illustrated by the numbers; nearly two thirds (68%) of firms employ inhouse investor relations capability compared with just over half (54%) that have a dedicated group inhouse communications resource.
In many organisations, investor sentiment is being allowed to prevail as a proxy for reputation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised why reputation matters. 62% of interviewees confirmed to me that public perception is now based as much on how a company and its people behave as the returns it makes.
This is a worry for some of the CEOs I spoke to; their personal reputation may be won or lost, alongside those of their companies. They, and their communications directors, also raised concerns about employee activism, plummeting trust in big business, increased regulation, and the impact of Brexit.
Managing reputation in this new age is not for the faint hearted.
Our research reveals that almost half of FTSE250 companies outsource management of their corporate reputation capability completely, relying entirely on PR consultancies. For those FTSE250 companies that have group communications directors, the responsibilities, seniority and extent of roles vary hugely, often heavily dependent on the CEO’s understanding of, or support for the corporate communications discipline.
During the research, I was struck by the levels of frustration amongst some FTSE250 communications leaders.
It would beggar belief to report that three quarters of CFOs, or HRDs, thought that their CEO didn’t understand the value of their function, yet that’s exactly what corporate communications directors told me.
It may just be that COVID-19 is the necessary wake-up call for companies to understand the importance – and fragility – of their reputational whole. Business reputations are being won and lost as companies respond to the crisis. There has probably never been a more important moment for the C-suite to reflect on who and what is now driving their corporate reputation and how they can take control. In unchartered waters, it should pay to look to an experienced navigator.
The full report, ‘What price reputation? An investigation into corporate reputation management in the FTSE250’ is available here.
Dee Cayhill is Director at Cayhill Partners a specialist executive search, capability building and research consultancy that focuses on the corporate reputation management disciplines.
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash