On Trust and Turds
Waves PR: July 30, 2009
Well done to Edelman for their mid-year trust barometer.
The numbers for the UK, however, make depressing reading. The report unfortunately points to the media being trusted even less than government and only 13% of large businesses being rated as good or excellent.
Few UK companies score well on trust.
The institutions in which we once had faith no longer inspire our trust.
This must count as an epic PR failure. It appears to finally be dawning upon us that all that glitters is not simply not gold, but quite possibly made of something far less salubrious altogether.
Whether UK PR professionals and companies are failing to understand the true meaning of CSR (corporate social responsibility), or whether companies’ boards are simply failing to consider the PR implications of their activities, there needs to be a sea change.
According to the Edelman report, the four key factors that establish the UK’s trust are treating employees well, producing quality goods and services, having transparent and honest business practises, and communicating frequently and – let’s labour a point here – honestly.
Openness and transparency take centre stage – in the middle ground, not as a public figure or humble achiever
It goes a long way to explaining why social enterprises and NGOs score well on the trust stakes. There’s an important CSR element built into their DNA.
A good CSR campaign will be aligned to good corporate governance and consequently tick each of these four key boxes.
The ease with which staff and customers can express and spread their dissatisfaction with a company means that their needs and concerns have to be taken seriously, and responded to, as part of routine operations. And more power to them.
Even if you have to make unpleasant decisions, like making redundancies, you can do them in a way that minimises damage to those involved.
Let’s face it, if you’re not knocking down huge tracts of jungle, no-one can run a campaign again against you on this basis. But if you have to knock it down, what can you do to make reparation? Can you replant, protect species, translocate, help local communities, research alternatives? It’s not just about fluff, it’s about delivering something sustainable and COMMUNICATING it – honestly.
Otherwise, to use an unpleasant but apt expression, you’re simply using your PR to ‘polish a turd’.
Tags: CSR, PR, public relations, social media
PR practise | claireatwaves | 
July 30, 2009 7:55 pm
Subscribe