Daisy Powell-Chandler, Director, Public First UK
What do you do?
I help large, complex organisations to understand and influence their reputation.
What's the link between social value and reputation?
An increasing body of evidence shows reputation's importance to the bottom line. For example, to share price, the ability to hire the right talent, legal and regulatory risk, and even the wellbeing of colleagues. At its best, reputation work is about a company looking at its business model, understanding how it impacts the world and considering how to improve this to create long-term reputation improvement. This intersection between reputation goals, commercial goals and how a company can do good is where social value comes into play.
“In my view, it’s positive that companies go out and talk about this stuff when they are doing it. It stimulates competition and allows us to share best practices. However, I urge companies to think about what work needs to be done internally to be credible before communicating externally. For instance, if you want to focus on improving gender inequality, make sure you don’t have a massive gender pay gap. If you do, set out steps to tackle it and link every decision back to your business’s core purpose and values.”
How can a company improve its reputation?
It's about looking at how the company can behave better to improve public opinion. This happens in one of two ways:
Competence: Looking at how well you do what you do and how you can do it better.
Ethics: Looking at whether your stakeholders believe you are doing it for the right reason and whether your heart is in the right place.
The challenge is that every stakeholder group has a different view of how a company should be more competent or ethical—not forgetting that employees are also key stakeholders.
Can you think of an example of a business that has improved its competence or ethics and created social value?
Santander is a great example. First, they got off to a bad start in the UK and were renowned for terrible customer service. Then when they launched the 123 accounts, they set up an entirely new call centre for 123 customers to make sure the old customer service didn't pollute their experience. This real-life AB testing created a new culture of customer service, which did wonders for their reputation and improved employee and customer experience.
Amazon is another interesting example. While the business has many critics, you can't deny that they are competent at what they do. Big global companies like this have the power to roll out change rapidly. I find their commitment to net-zero shipments interesting as it will help stimulate the market for electric small-size vans.
There is much confusion around social value, ESG, and CSR – people use the terms interchangeably. What are your thoughts on the correct terminology?
I discuss ESG and social value as two sides of the same coin. Companies understand that if they are not seen to be addressing ESG, then it's a risk. But the flip side is the positive, commercial outcomes of 'doing the right thing' – creating social value.
In terms of terminology, there is a chronology. CSR was what we had twenty years ago - typically a charitable side-project with little to do with what the company was doing. Then we had a purpose-driven business where we started to link CSR to what the business does. Since then, we've progressed on to ESG and social value.
For many businesses, it's still very new, but now that social value is such an essential part of UK government procurement, it means the UK is ahead of most of the globe on this, which puts us in a unique and exciting position.
Do consumers expect companies to create social value?
Yes. Our research at Public First shows us that this is exactly what consumers expect companies to do. They want companies to look after employees. Show up in the community and not harm the planet. Paying their taxes and social value is the thing that ties all of these things together.
We've published a massive poll about ESG, asking people to rank which of the three areas (Environment, Social, Governance) they felt companies should prioritise. When it comes to impacting the world around them - Half the population put 'social' first.
Do you think businesses are 'doing the right thing' for the right reasons, or are they just looking for good PR?
I think it's essential that companies get credit for what they do; otherwise, the incentives to do good things will be less. Some of the cynicism aimed at companies is justified, but a lot of it is also unfair. I often hear clients say, "I don't have permission to talk about this yet". Or "we shouldn't do something because someone in our sector already owns that area". These are all just excuses because businesses are scared.
All companies have to start somewhere; the good news is that consumers understand this! Our research shows that consumers are very nervous about companies that appear too perfect. Instead, they want to hear from companies that offer realistic and credible solutions.
In my view, it's positive that companies go out and talk about this stuff when they are doing it. It stimulates competition and allows us to share best practices. However, I urge companies to think about what work needs to be done internally to be credible before communicating externally. For instance, if you want to focus on improving gender inequality, make sure you don't have a massive gender pay gap. If you do, set out steps to tackle it and link every decision to your business's core purpose and values.
Finally, tell us about your podcast – ‘Why Everybody Hates You’?
The podcast came from a realisation that many people across different sectors and professions work in reputation, but there was very little regular podcast content. So the last series focused on the impact of the pandemic on big businesses like McDonalds, TUI and M&S. In the next series, we will be focusing on ESG. The differences between the UK and US. Corporate advocacy and how consumers link into that off the back of new research conducted by Public First.
How we can help
At Samtaler, we understand the importance of your social value commitment. You’re here because you care about the impact your business has on society and want to be better. We want you to succeed, and we know from experience that achieving social value requires skill, strategy, and support.
To find out how we can help send an email to hello@samtaler.co.uk
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