The past year brought us many pivotal events – a pandemic, social change, the election, and more. Companies and organizations everywhere used this moment to assess their reputations and determine if there is alignment between their beliefs and cultures and their statements about unfolding events.
Our CEO Peter Stanton recently sat down for a discussion of these circumstances and their impact on the ways organizational leaders communicate in times of dramatic change. The conversation, via Zoom of course, with Simon Locke for a Communicators-to-Communicators video is now available online.
“Words matter, but actions matter more.” Stanton said. “You cannot just say things. You have to live your principles.”
“In the past, corporate reputation was about product quality, service excellence, or a track record of business success,” he shared. “Today, reputation includes social responsibility, stakeholder engagement, enlightened business practices, and sensitive communication.”
Stanton calls this “Social Credibility.” “Corporate leaders were prompt in making statements of position about a host of events in the recent past,” Stanton said. Ensuring their words match their organizational behavior, has never been more important.”
With company reputations on the line in a more public way, in part due to the rise of social media and 24/7 online news, businesses and organizations will need to be prepared to manage reputational issues that are part of the new societal landscape.
You can read a short summary of the interview on CommunicationsMatch or watch the full video here.
