An Post tops the Ireland RepTrak® 2022 study of 100 organisations

Study reveals consumers in Ireland have higher expectation of how organisations should conduct themselves than global counterparts

Energy Retail sector sees most significant reputational decline due to price hikes

Dublin, Friday 6^th May – The Reputations Agency has today announced the results of the Ireland RepTrak® 2022 study, the largest and longest running study of reputation in Ireland. The results have been revealed ahead of a breakfast briefing for C-suite executives at The Merrion Hotel centred on the theme of “Reputational Leadership and  Stakeholder Capitalism”. A larger virtual event will also take place at 12pm today, attended by a further 150 people.                                                  

The thirteenth annual Ireland RepTrak® 2022 study is based on the perceptions of over 6,500 members of the public. It measures the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem the public has for 100 organisations in Ireland, alongside 100 other Reputation, Brand, Purpose and ESG indicators. The study was completed between the 3^rd January and 14^th March 2022, capturing public sentiment in the midst of an ever-changing world with the war in Ukraine, a cost-of-living crisis, an energy shortage and the fallout from a global pandemic.

The study found stakeholder expectations are rapidly increasing, and stakeholders are becoming more vocal in their expectations and their demands. Society in Ireland expects organisations to play their part in the community, economy, environment, dealing with the big issues that we face today, in Ireland and globally. The study found that it is less acceptable to the public for organisations not to consider the needs of their stakeholders when running their businesses.

Speaking on the theme of this year’s event, Reputational Leadership and Stakeholder Capitalism, Niamh Boyle, Managing Director, The Reputations Agency, will stress the importance of leaders as important conduits to communicate and build reputation:

“To deliver long-term returns for their shareholders, organisations must serve the interests of all their stakeholders. To achieve this, leaders must unite their stakeholders behind an inspirational long-term vision with a clearly defined sense of Purpose. They need to build a strategy for achieving the vision, attracting the best possible talent to implement the strategy, relentlessly focusing on results, and creating innovation that will help reinvent their vision.

“In our strategic reputation building process, we work with leaders on their communications strategies, advising them to communicate openly and authentically, to help win the hearts and minds of their stakeholders while communicating a compelling corporate vision and the progress they are making in achieving this vision.

“A powerful trifecta of a clear sense of Purpose, a compelling brand and a strong reputation will drive support across stakeholders, helping organisations to meet their commercial goals. This trifecta is key to the success of the top performers in this year’s Reptrak® study such as An Post, The Credit Unions and Lidl Ireland. We bring our clients through a strategic process that links these parts together, to build a sustainable, profitable, and valuable business, for all stakeholders.”

 

An Post took the top spot overall as the most reputable organisation in Ireland with an Excellent Reputation Pulse score of 83.5. An Post’s core purpose is to act for the common good, improving the lives of people in Ireland, now and for generations to come. They recognise that their operations impact every county, community, household, and business in Ireland, and they utilised their network to support all their stakeholders throughout the pandemic.

The Irish League of Credit Unions was recognised as the second most reputable organisation with an excellent score of 83.4, credited with being a cornerstone of local communities with over 3.6 million members. The public acknowledged the trust that members place in their local credit union and their friendly people focused approach.

Lidl’s vision to make life better by providing quality food at market leading value and deliver outstanding customer satisfaction is creating value for all stakeholders and resulted in their third place ranking with an excellent reputation score of 81.2. Lidl takes its responsibilities to its stakeholders seriously, working to make a better tomorrow for communities, colleagues, suppliers, and the environment. 

Most highly reputed Irish organisations:

Chart: The top 10 most reputed Irish organisations in the Ireland RepTrak® 2022 study

Rank	Organisation	Reputational Pulse Score	Rank	Organisation	Reputational Pulse Score
1.	An Post	83.5	6.	Aldi	80.3
2.	Irish league of Credit Unions	83.4	7.	Bord Bia	79.8
3.	Lidl	81.2	8.	Samsung	79.5
4.	Boots Ireland	80.9	9.	Toyota	79.3
5.	Fáilte Ireland	80.4	10.	Blackrock Clinic	78.9

 

The Drivers of Reputation:

The Conduct of organisations – people’s belief in whether they are fair, ethical, open and transparent – is the most heavily weighted driver of reputation accounting for close to 20% (18.9%) of an organisation’s reputation, taking over from Products & Services for just the second time in 13 years of this study. This is attributed to the legacy of the last recession and financial bailout and a unique culture in Ireland where Irish consumers have a higher level of expectation of organisations conduct and how they should treat stakeholders than their global counterparts (14.5%).

The quality and value of Products & Services (18.8%) are always important as a business cannot succeed without this but this year their weighting dropped slightly while Conduct and Citizenship (15.9%) became more important, followed by Leadership (13.1%). Workplace (12.5%) also garnered greater importance than ever before.

The study also highlights significant differences between Indigenous organisations and multinational companies. Taking Reputation Pulse scores, which demonstrate  the emotional bond the public has with a company, into consideration,  both indigenous (69.9) and multinational (70.1) organisations are on a par however, Multinationals have significantly higher scores in Performance (6.6 higher), Innovation (6.5 higher), Leadership (4.1 higher) and Products & Services (3.7 higher). This is an important marker for indigenous firms to consider, particularly  in what is currently a hugely competitive employee market, employees will choose to work for those organisations with the strongest emotional and rational reputations. While multinationals have the advantage of far greater resources and global branding, Irish firms can learn from how multinational communicate and project their brand.

In Ireland, the three ESG drivers – Citizenship (15.9%), Conduct (18.9%) and Workplace (12.5%)- now account for over 47% of an organisation’s reputation.

Speaking on this Niamh Boyle will add:

“Having a Positive influence on society is deemed to be the most important attribute amongst the 23 attributes that build a reputation across the 100 organisations studied this year. This can mean advancing agendas to move society in a more positive direction, whether that is investing in the economy, encouraging greater diversity and inclusion, advocating for the vulnerable in society, having a strong sense of purpose, or being committed to making our society a better place by leaving a positive impact. 

Our study demonstrates that those organisations who can show that at their core they exist for the betterment of society, will win in the reputation stakes. This is evident with this year’s winner, An Post.”

Speaking on their success in securing first place in the Ireland RepTrak® 2022 study, Debbie Byrne, Managing Director Retail, An Post will say:

“We’re so proud to be Ireland’s most reputable organisation. We have been on a transformation journey to become a sustainable, profitable business, successfully delivering in a new world of eCommerce and financial services for all our stakeholders. Having a positive impact on society has been an important part of this journey. As one of the largest employers in Ireland, we have pushed for greater transparency on equality in the workplace through the publication of our annual gender pay report and supported those in need by providing a fixed address to those without a fixed home through our Address Point initiative.”

Covid Bounce Subsides:

This year’s study saw the bounce many organisations and sectors received during Covid subside with a normalisation of results. Overall, 35 organisations had a fall in reputation. Just six organisations in the top 100 received an overall Excellent score of 80+, while ten organisations have a Weak score, 35 are in the Average/Moderate tier, and 49 have Strong reputations.

Ireland RepTrak® Rankings by Sector:

The Automotive sector topped the sectoral rankings for the first time in nine years. They continue to sprint towards an electric future, reducing carbon emissions, constantly innovating, and skillfully managing their communications to consumers.

The Professional Services sector recorded the strongest increase this year up three points. Emerging from Covid the sector gained respect for their workplace practices as they continued to support their staff and recruit new graduates despite lockdowns. The sector’s scores in Workplace, Citizenship, Innovation, Conduct and Leadership all increased this year.

The Energy Retail sector sees the most significant decline of almost four points, with a consumer perception of price hikes that are not completely justified, despite global increases in energy costs. There is a key role for organisations to build a stronger narrative here and to show what the sector is doing in reducing carbon emissions while protecting the most vulnerable in our society. The biggest score declines this year across the sector were in Conduct and Products & Services, but there were sectoral score declines across the board.

Similarly, the Food & Beverage sector decreased by 3.8 points as food prices increased directly hitting consumer’s pockets and the Retail Food sector, which received a Covid bounce in 2020 and 2021, declined two points this year.

ENDS

 

For more information please contact: Aoife McDonald, The Reputations Agency, 083 3005223

About the Ireland RepTrak® 2022 study

The Ireland RepTrak^® 2022 study surveyed a representative sample of over 6,500 members of the public aged 18-64 throughout the Republic of Ireland between 3^rd January and 14^th March 2022, measuring their perceptions of 100 of the largest, most familiar, and most important organisations in Ireland, across sixteen sectors.  Companies are ranked on a Reputation Pulse score from 0-100 and are grouped as Excellent (80+), Strong (70-79), Average (60-69), Weak (40-59) or Poor (Below 40). 

In this study, we rank organisations by their RepTrak^® Pulse score, which is the basis of the ranking and measures the strength of the emotional bond between an organisation and the public, based on the results of four statements that test the level of esteem, admiration, trust, and good feeling. 

The Ireland RepTrak® study carries out a reputation driver analysis to understand what components of reputation are really driving reputation and what the public expects from the country’s leading organisations. These drivers include Performance, Products & Services, Innovation, Workplace, Conduct, Citizenship and Leadership.

Ireland RepTrak® Rankings by Sector

The sixteen sectors studied in 2022 were ranked as follows:

Strong Reputation Tier

1. Automotive (Reputation Pulse Score 76.7 - up 0.5)
2. Healthcare (76.1 – up 0.3)
3. Retail Food (75.9 – down 1.9 points)
4. Semi State Commercial (72.8 – down 1.1 points)
5. Food & Beverage (72.7 – down 3.8 points)
6. Financial Insurance (71.5 – up 1.1 points)
7. Public Service Bodies (71– down 1.6 points)

Average Reputation Tier

8. Energy – Retail (68.6 – down 3.9 points)
9. Infrastructure (68 – down 2.8 points)
10. Financial – Banks (67.5 – down 0.8 points
11. Retail General (67.5 – down 2.6 points)
12. Professional Services (67.4 – up 3 points)
13. Airlines & Aerospace (66.4 – down 1.9 points)
14. Communications - Technology (66.1 – down 0.1 points)
15. Sporting Bodies (65.2 – up 2.9 points)
16. Communications - Media (62.8 - down 2.4 points)

About The Reputations Agency

The Reputations Agency is a strategic reputation, communications, and public relations agency that audits, builds, and activates brand, purpose, and reputation strategies. The agency is part of the Wunderman Thompson Group of Agencies in Ireland and the exclusive Irish Associate to The RepTrak Company.