A global study conducted in 2006 by Interbrand and Business Week magazine showed that the value of "intangibles" - a company's trademark, brand, etc. - can account for up to 70% of its market capitalization. A decrease in the reputation index by just 1% causes a drop in its market value by 3%...
Today, a company’s position in the market no longer depends only on the volume of products produced or trade turnover, but also on the perception of its activities by consumers, the media, representatives of state and municipal authorities, shareholders, employees, etc. Every year, the need for communication with these groups is recognized by business as an increasingly important management task. These changes are reflected in the new concept of “stakeholder management” ( Stakeholder Management) - management of relations with interested groups.

Over the past 20 years, the interest of managers in the issue of influence on interest groups has been increasing; tools for measuring reputation, methods for studying the influence of interest groups on the company, and ways to manage relations with them have been developed. Some experts believe that the time of dividing corporate communications with the outside world into advertising and PR has already passed: today, market leaders are those organizations that pursue a policy of unified systemic communication with all interested groups.

Creating new value for customers is not enough; you need to be able to show them how important new services are. This requires creating a mechanism through which value will be transferred from the company to the client. Such a mechanism is a certain system of work with interested groups ( rice. 3).

Rice. 3. The importance of managing stakeholder trust

Financial institutions, companies operating in the service sector and large financial and industrial groups show particular interest in problems related to reputation. There are still very few specialists in this field in Ukraine, so the example of a company TNS, which has accumulated extensive experience in this area since 1990, will be of interest to domestic business.

First of all, I would like to clarify: the company TNS believes that stakeholder management is the responsibility of top managers, since it is closely related to such concepts as mission And strategy companies. TNS works with senior management to identify what the main factors influence the reputation of that particular company and the extent to which managers influence it.

Companies spend a lot of time and effort trying to attract and retain their employees. clients, which are by far the most important target group for them. But the reputational value of a company is primarily created by its employees. Their commitment to their organization's core values ​​(such as customer focus) is a result of good management. That's why ordinary employees and managers We also include them among the main interest groups. They also need to be worked systematically.

To understand why an organization’s reputation index is high or low, you need to consider the organization’s relationship with all stakeholder groups, identifying their interests and expectations in relation to the company. But to change the situation, just measuring and observing is not enough - you need to act in accordance with the results obtained during the study.

In many countries they use the company's developed TNS reputation rating system TRI*M. Among its tools, for example, there is a reputation index ( TRI*M Index). This is a tool developed and standardized by us that allows you to compare the attitude towards the company of different groups. Methodology TRI*M allows you to identify and evaluate the factors that influence the reputation of a given organization, to see its strengths and weaknesses. The results of such an analysis can be presented visually - in the form of a “grid” graph. TRI*M (rice. 4). This data helps the company’s management to navigate where, in fact, to begin “treating” the reputation.

Rice. 4. "Grid" TRI*M. “Grid” analysis determines the levers of reputation management

The Y-axis shows the importance of communication for the company at the moment; here are the aspects that typical representatives of customers, employees, investors, journalists, etc. talk about. (But, unfortunately, very often what influences people's behavior is not what they talk about.) The X-axis shows the influence of the indicators in question on reputation. We summarize the final results in a graph, where symbols indicate how successful/unsuccessful the company is in each direction. The upper right quadrant is the motivation zone; motivating factors are located here. They are most important for influencing reputation. Accordingly, it is these that the company needs to pay attention to first of all: improving strengths and eliminating dangerous weaknesses. The lower right quadrant shows hidden opportunities, and attributes here can help retain customers. In the upper left quadrant there are “hygienic” factors, necessary conditions for presence in the market. The attributes it contains are what consumers expect from the company (it is better not to lower the achieved level of quality). The bottom left quadrant shows potential savings/opportunities. Here are the attributes that could become competitive advantages in the future.

We compare the attitude of all interested groups towards the company, find out to what extent the organization’s philosophy “works” for them, what it gives them (all these aspects affect the success of the business as a whole). At the same time, we summarize the internal information that the client provides us with and the data obtained on the basis of our research (for example, we compare the reputation index and the average number of transactions between the client and the bank - “wallet size”). Next, we analyze the data obtained and develop recommendations.

Our company guarantees the quality of the information provided; we pay great attention to its validation. If necessary, we predict the future: what could happen to the business if the company’s reputation index increases or decreases.

The two most important steps in working with interest groups are listen And analyze. But what's really difficult is act. Nevertheless, the general cycle of our work is exactly this: listen - analyze - act. Every year we tell our clients: our analytics and advice alone will not correct the situation; it is necessary to implement the recommended measures in practice. Unfortunately, many companies do nothing in this direction...

Such a concept as reputation, of course, is important for all companies, but it is especially valuable for the financial sector. Company TNS has already conducted more than nine thousand studies of banks and insurance companies in 90 countries of the world, we have huge databases, we maintain the so-called Benchmark Numbers(index indicators that can be used for comparative competitive analysis). Thanks to these databases, when working with each client, we can evaluate their performance over time or compare it with regional, industry and other indicators.

For example, we can compare and analyze the results of numerous banking studies that have been conducted around the world ( rice. 5, 6). What did the results show? The figures show that according to the level of trust in banks, countries are divided into different groups: in Denmark (81), USA (73), South Africa (71) the population as a whole has great confidence in the banking system, but in Japan ( 22), Argentina (28) and China (31) trust in banks is very low. The success of doing business in a particular country depends on the attitude of its population towards a certain sector of the economy; attention must be paid to this. We try to validate the research results, assess how much these indicators will affect the development of the client’s business, and what indicators he needs to achieve.

Rice. 5, 6. Reputation of the main banks in the country

Consider the case of the large Scandinavian insurance company Scandia, which faced serious problems four years ago. Some top management used corporate funds for personal gain, which is considered a crime under Swedish law. At the company's expense, they bought large apartments for themselves in Stockholm and made expensive renovations. All this became known to the media; Naturally, criminal cases were brought against the management. The media followed the investigation, unflattering articles appeared in the press, and public attention was focused on the scandal.

As a result, the company's reputation suffered greatly. Investors wondered whether to invest money, customers were dissatisfied, employees felt ashamed of their organization. Scandia's stock prices fell. And although the new management tried to retain clients, employees and line managers, the damaged reputation affected the entire company and the attitude of Swedish society towards it. Even now, four years later, Swedish newspapers periodically return to this topic. Restoring a damaged reputation takes a lot of time, which is why to this day Scandia continues to actively work with all interested groups.

Let's take another example from this sector - one of the Norwegian insurance companies that intended to enter the pension services market ( rice. 7). Norway has adopted a state pension system, but personal savings can and should be added to the amount of the state pension during work. In order to predict the success of its activities in a new segment, the company decided to evaluate its reputation in the eyes of key stakeholder groups. The main group for this business is the entire Norwegian society, and the target group that the company should pay attention to is the 36% of working citizens who do not have an additional pension. Unfortunately, the trust index for this client of ours is only 36. Having such a low reputation score, there is little chance of building a successful business...

Rice. 7. “Reputation Radar” TRI*M (Norwegian insurance company)

Let us also consider the example of the Swedish international bank. Most of these financial institutions have a certain business model and logic in business development. The approach of this bank can be formulated as follows: “The most important thing in business is what happens at the end,” that is, it makes sense to evaluate the success of a business only by results.

Internal changes in the company affect the reputation index. On Figure 8 it can be seen that from 2002 to 2004 the bank developed, and its rating increased accordingly. Then development slowed down somewhat, and now it has stopped altogether. We found that the greatest losses were caused by the departure of a number of corporate clients - small and medium-sized businesses. Comparison of the bank with its main market competitors ( rice. 9) shows that his performance has dropped significantly.

Rice. 8. Swedish Bank (dynamics of the customer satisfaction index for 2002–2006)

Rice. 9. Comparison of major banks and market averages

What are the reasons for the deterioration of the bank’s position in the market? The success of the banking business is primarily influenced by quality of service. In the service industry, the main thing is to focus the motivation of employees and managers on customer retention and ensure effective strategic management. That is, all components of the system are important for success: the client, the employee, and the management team of the company.

From communication with the bank’s clients, we found out that the main reason for the decline in its reputation was the anxiety of clients, their lack of confidence in the reliability of the bank. To understand the reason for this attitude, we conducted a series of interviews during which we asked clients a series of questions:

How do you feel in the bank? How satisfied are you with his work?

Do you want to continue doing business with this bank?

Do you prefer this bank over others?

All banks, except for the leader (its results are much better), have similar indicators, but among competing banks a larger number of clients distinguish “their” banks from a number of others. Thus, our client’s task was to position his bank as sufficiently strong and stable.

It also turned out that many clients they don’t see how the bank cares about them. In addition, bank employees are quite calmly treated their clients weren't worried because of their loss. But it should be different! Clients said: “The bank is not interested in my business, the situation in which I am now. Therefore, he cannot give good advice.” In addition, the client is always interested in: what banking services will he receive, what will he be charged for? If the staff cannot clearly explain why the bank’s services cost so much, then, in the end, this will affect both the bank’s reputation and the attitude of clients towards it.

This bank has a dangerous situation because all its customers are divided into two clearly differentiated groups: completely satisfied and completely dissatisfied. As a result, the risk of a large group of promising clients leaving and a reduction in the total volume of funds raised and transactions carried out has increased.

We have tried to identify the bank's strengths and areas in which it needs to work persistently to improve the situation. During the interviews, we asked clients about the bank's strengths. One of these aspects was that the client is happy to go to a bank that provides him with quality services. This is exactly what the company is on TNS recommended to focus on communications.

In a situation where a client is not satisfied with the service, it is very important how bank employees communicate with him, in particular, how they react to complaints: how carefully they listen, how convincingly they explain the bank’s position, show additional opportunities, and most importantly - take real action! If bank employees really work with complaints, then he - with a high probability - can restore his reputation; this is an extremely important element of working with a dissatisfied client.

This is why it is necessary to measure customer focus everyone bank employees! These studies show that the motivation (and loyalty) of employees directly depends on the quality of management. Insufficiently motivated employees provide less quality services to customers, which immediately affects business results.

We asked bank employees whether they have the capabilities to provide clients with quality service? It turned out that an individual employee demonstrates a desire to work in a company (loyalty) if he has enough opportunities to satisfy the client and at the same time he can exercise his powers. Having the opportunity to work well and see the results of work with the client directly affects the motivation of employees!

We can talk about the success of a company when it is possible to evaluate its effectiveness and compare income and expenses. One of the main cost items of the bank is the wages of employees; in particular, their absence due to illness is very expensive. We were interested in the question: is there a relationship between the number of days missed due to illness and the employee’s level of motivation? Having studied statistical data, we found out that with a very high level of motivation a person is absent due to illness for only one day a year, with a very low level - more than 18.

In addition, we surveyed employees:

How busy are they with work?

Do they have enough free time or are they systematically overworked?

Do they determine their workload themselves - or is the amount of work assigned to them prescriptively?

It turned out that employee confidence in the middle managers who manage the departments is no less important, since if a subordinate does not receive clear instructions from his manager, his motivation also drops.

Another “problem” area that our research revealed is the quality of interaction between individual departments of the bank. If the internal work of the bank is not established, there is no mutual understanding between regional branches and various departments, and clients always suffer!

We did not study the attitude of shareholders towards the bank, because it is one of the main banks in the country, its position in the market is quite strong. However, we must not forget that competitor No. 1 has much better indicators, and small niche banks will be happy to “pick up” its clients (and over time, their outflow will also affect shareholders). But still, the main problem of this bank today is retaining dissatisfied customers, the number of which is growing alarmingly.

After analyzing the research results, we identified the main areas on which efforts need to be focused and proposed that the bank implement a number of measures. Now we are holding seminars for employees of this bank, showing how best to use the information we provide.

Top managers decided to fight and proposed to develop an action plan for each of the bank's divisions. We helped write a standard plan for employees ( rice. 10), we will prepare the same tools for clients and other interested groups.

Rice. 10. Unified action pattern

Managers discuss with bank employees the current indicators of the reputation index, then the goals set for them. Next, we consider its strengths, which need to be supported and which need to be communicated to interested groups. In addition, areas where improvement is needed are openly discussed - we try to explain why the results are so poor. Based on the results of the discussions, a action plan what needs to be done to improve the situation and achieve the planned results.

In this example, we see how the success of a business as a whole depends on the attitude of each of the main stakeholder groups towards the company.

Reputation is important not only for banks. Consider our work with a large international oil company. At some point, the media began to speak extremely negatively about her, which greatly worried top management. Stock prices on the stock exchange plummeted, and employees became worried: what was happening to their organization?

What did we do for this client? We collected information about the company, calculated the reputation index for it - at that time it was 57. Turning to our database, we compared the indicators of this company with others: its main competitor No. 1 had the same index, competitor No. 2 - 47, while the average the index for all companies in the group was 58. In principle, the situation was not the worst, however, from conversations with top managers, we found out that they want to increase their reputation index to 82, that is, to enter the top ten. From this point of view, the company is very far from the position it claims to be.

Let's see how different interest groups feel about it: scientists - positively (indicator - 69), but journalists have recently become wary (43), and managers no longer want to deal with it (45). The general public, as a rule, perceives what is happening through the prism of the attitude of journalists (43), ( rice. eleven). Thus, if management had any intention of changing the reputation of this company, it would be necessary to pay attention to working with journalists and with managers. What is important is that efforts should be directed towards working with several target groups at the same time.

Rice. 11. “Reputation Radar” TRI*M for an oil company: attitude of interest groups

Research data shows that the emotional appeal of the company is at a very low level. Indicators of social responsibility in the field of environmental protection are also not very favorable, for example, the indicator of the so-called moral and ethical level (at rice. 12 it is indicated by the symbol E4) is significantly below average. But there are also good results: the company is an important part of the local economy and makes a great contribution to the development of the territory in which it operates. We provided the generalized results of the study and conclusions to management.

Rice. 12. "Grid" TRI*M for an oil company: social responsibility

Today, corporate reputation is the fastest growing asset. But you can't be successful by "taking care" of clients, journalists or employees in connection with some incident or "throughout the second quarter." The work must be carried out systematically, carefully and constantly. The introduction of a stakeholder group management system into an organization allows managers not only to know the reputational indices of their company and adequately assess its position among competitors, but also to understand why attitudes towards it in society are changing, and also, having taken the necessary actions, evaluate how well the results meet expectations whether the already accumulated reputational capital is effectively used.

Management of interested groups is the most important aspect of the activities of senior management of companies, because corporate reputation is the basis of business efficiency today and a guarantee of its successful development in the future!

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