Leaders in Sydney weigh in on reputation value-building in business
My recent Leaders Roundtable discussion in Sydney was an opportunity to share some of the trends I’m seeing in how large organisations are changing their approach reputation management, brand visibility and value-building, and to hear from senior leaders across professional services about where they are seeing a need to focus.
From banking, finance and investment to HR, legal, risk and regulatory fields, we had a window into some fascinating worlds as we discussed this important topic.
FINSIA CEO Yasser El-Ansary presented opening remarks on why trust is a central theme in any organisation now, but it will mean different things in different contexts. For financial services, ‘trust and confidence’ are essential to survival.
The key trends I highlighted are summarised here:
…but most interesting were the insights the participants brought to the table, including:
- Leaders of industry are now COLLABORATING to lift the bar for the sector’s reputation, setting higher standards in transparency and conduct, engaging with regulators and learning from each other in how to build trust.
- The importance of supporting the INDIVIDUAL’s ‘personal brand’ and reputation, connecting their expertise and professional values with the organisation’s brand – because trust is formed through people.
- The challenge of translating a CHANGE in positioning to employees, or in having NEW STAFF appreciate and understand our reputation in the community.
- The need to work on the ‘internal brand’ (especially during restructures or team movement), including creating differentiated TEAM IDENTITIES and positioning ‘SPECIALISTS’ in the business.
- STAKEHOLDER INFLUENCE on story and finding the key points in story-building (for example, prioritising relationships and agendas in joint ventures).
- Getting employee representatives of the business onboard to communicate the ‘SO WHAT?’ for customers, and creating awareness of the outcomes of customer experience on reputation.
- Getting past the ‘PERSONAL BRAND CRISIS’ for technical experts who don’t like to talk about themselves… to help them position and communicate their value-add.
- CULTURAL DIFFERENCES within a GLOBAL organisation in how information is communicated are important to understand, e.g. language and benchmarking/goal-setting differences in diversity and inclusion.
- An understanding of the fragmented use of SOCIAL MEDIA by target audiences and employees.
- The consideration of the use of AI and technology in brand and reputation, including the speed of response to EMPLOYEE LEAKAGES of sensitive information.
- As professional advisors, ‘Just trust us’ is no longer enough… it has to be ‘TRUST US BECAUSE…’
“Just trust us” is no longer enough… it has to be “TRUST US BECAUSE…”
What was MOST EXCITING to me was that the roundtable discussion reflected views I am seeing in a range of enquiries and projects around Australia and beyond – the need to think about brand and reputation-building through meaningful engagement and empowerment of our people, and the need for brand and culture to align in order to build trust with stakeholders.
