Communicating CR is about expectation management

Communicating CR is about expectation management

Sigurd GryttenSigurd GryttenCorporate Responsibility (CR)Corporate Responsibility (CR)8. September 20098. September 2009

””PR is doing the right thing PR is doing the right thing - and getting credit for it!”- and getting credit for it!”

Harold BursonHarold Burson

””PR is doing the right thing PR is doing the right thing - and getting credit for it!”- and getting credit for it!”

Harold BursonHarold Burson

CR + Communication = Stronger reputation

Warren Buffet

""Lose money for my firm and I Lose money for my firm and I will be understanding; lose a will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless."firm, and I will be ruthless."      

"It takes 20 years to build a "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."you'll do things differently."

What is reputation?

Reputation is the aggregated opinion of the public toward a person, a group of people, or an

organization

Corporate responsibility (CR)

Corporate Responsibility (CR) is a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for

the impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects

of their operations.

Reputation management and Corporate Responsibility

Reputation management is all about expectation management:

The obligation/ expectation of CR is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large.

The core of CR is to go beyond formal the expectations which your organization is facing.

CR is more than just following the law or other formal regulations.

Reputation management is about Under-promise and Over deliver

Different dimensions of reputation

Working with CR and reputation management

Stakeholder &Issues Mapping

Scoping Study

Dialogue 1/understand expectations

Identify gaps &make commitmentsDialogue 2/

discuss commitments

Implement &measureagainst indicators

Report &communicate

Identify Stakeholders for Dialogue

DecideDecide

DeliverDeliver

ListenListen

The core of reputation building

1. Knowledge about your reputation

2. Knowledge about the expectations you meet and management of these expectations trough dialog with stakeholders.

3. Deliver accordingly to own promises

Values: What do I care about?

Subjective benefits: What's in it for me?

Functional meaning: What does it do?

Function: What is it?

Message pyramid: The essence of effective communication

Action

Position

Londons Major– Ken Livingstone

Communicate position

’This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever. That isn’t an ideology, it isn’t even a perverted faith – it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder.’

(Ken Livingstone, right before takeoff from Singapore to London)

Communicate action and position

’When they try to intimidate us, we will not be intimidated. When they seek to to change our country or our way of life by these methods, we will not be changed ... Nor will we let it stop the work of this (G8) summit.’

Prime Minister Tony Blair

Communicate action!

The most powerful messages is always emotional

Expectation managementExpectation managementThe role of expectations…The role of expectations…

Risk of reputation management

External structural expectations(laws and regulations)

Externalvalue based expectations

(demand of CR)

Internal structural expectations(internal routines)

Internal value based expectations

(company culture)

•Working conditions•Ethics•Management•Social responsibility•Environment•Profit

•Tax law•Labour law•Auditing law•Environmental law•Criminal law

•Climate change•Environment•Social responsibility•Fair trade•Product quality

•Audit control•Health and safety•Audit routines•General routines

Expectations and reputation

Your reputation is challenged when your not fulfilling an expectation, or when

gaps between different expectations are revealed

Statoil

Sintef Petroleum Research

The Norwegian wine and spirits monopoly (Vinmonopolet)

Tine

Gerd Liv Valla

Gilde

Terra securities

Norsk Tipping

Reputation management is demanding

Different and often opposite expectations is the core of many reputation crisis's the last years:

The internal culture is in conflict with laws and regulations (Corruption scandal in Statoil or the competition case in Tine)

The general business culture is in conflict with the values and norms of the general society (The Union case)

The culture within the company is in conflict with the values and norms of the society (Terra securities)

The values and norms of the management is in conflict with the company's official values and norms (The Gerd Liv Valla case in LO, and the Nordby case in Norsk Tipping)

Strategies to meet expectations

Working with management of internal expectations: Routines on effective internal control, transparency, openness and

whistleblowing channels Focus on own company culture

Reality orientation of your own management group accordingly to external expectations: Follow the development of the society, identify trends. Ensure that the organization has the right competence on politics and

communication.