Fortunately, Australian organisations are generally rated more highly than the hard-line North Korean regime. But what happens when trust in institutions even in democratic countries starts to break down, and how can public relations practitioners address it?
PRIA defines public relations as “the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation (or individual) and its (or their) publics”.
Yet according to a recent Edelman survey conducted in 25 countries, trust and understanding in institutions such as government and business is at record lows.
According to the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer, regular, rank and file employees now have more credibility than chief executives, and only 29 per cent of government officials are considered credible spokespeople.
In Australia, only a third of the general public trust the government “to do what is right,” with just 13 per cent considering that they are being listened to.
In this context, the Gillard government’s attempts to promote its new carbon and mining taxes have proved particularly difficult. It is hard to imagine the Goods and Services Tax (GST) being successfully introduced in such a negative political environment.
Ethical business
Business is also under pressure to respond, with the survey finding “listening to customer needs” and “having ethical business practices” as the top two factors in building trust.
Similarly, CEOs were rated among the least credible spokespeople. Instead, Australians prefer academics (64 per cent), technical experts (63 per cent) and a “person like me” (57 per cent) to tell them the facts.
“The public expects business to do more than just make money and create jobs. They expect business to improve the world it operates in, act ethically, treat employees well and help local communities,” said Edelman Australia chief executive Michelle Hutton.
While the media scored a lowly 33 per cent as an institution, traditional media still rated highly as information sources. This was led by television (81 per cent), followed by newspapers (78 per cent), radio (77 per cent) and magazines (75 per cent).
Yet globally, social networking sites rated highly as information sources about a company.
According to Edelman, smart businesses talk to employees first, since citizens trust each other more than established institutions.
Similarly, businesses need to put customers ahead of profits and accept feedback if they wish to build long-term support and trust.
However, the ratings for communicators and other professionals also remain low.
The Roy Morgan Image of Professions Survey 2012 found “advertising people” scored below politicians for ethics and honesty with an 8 per cent rating. Public company directors achieved just 20 per cent, newspaper journalists 12 per cent and politicians 10 per cent.
Licence to operate
The ongoing efforts of public relations in creating understanding and ensuring a “social licence to operate” are therefore now more important than ever, not just for clients but the profession as a whole.
Communication is integral to all aspects of government and business planning, despite many seeing public relations as only “selling” the already decided policy.
In one example, Bank of America was forced to reverse a decision to impose a $5 per month debit card fee on customers without a minimum $25,000 balance. The policy triggered a customer exodus, with 300,000 protesting on Facebook, due to its failure to explain the decision properly and provide context.
Similar examples have been seen in Australia, showing the need for public relations to gain acceptance as being equally important to other management disciplines such as finance, operations or marketing.
In a November 2011 speech, Richard Edelman argued that by achieving successful engagement, public relations could increase trust, change behaviour and achieve commercial success. Public relations could do this by driving operating strategy, practicing “radical transparency”, taking advantage of all media forms and developing skills beyond communication.
In Hugh Mackay’s “Why Don’t People Listen,” he identified some key principles of communication, including that “people are more likely to listen to us if we also listen to them”.
Are we listening to our publics and engaging with them? In the 21st century, it can be the difference between being as isolated as a reclusive dictator, or accepted as being trustworthy and one of the people.
BWH Communication’s Anthony Fensom is an experienced practitioner in investor and media relations, having worked for more than a decade in the financial and media industries in Australia and Asia. He previously spent six years as a full-time journalist in Tokyo, Japan and has written for various publications in Japan and Australia on business and other issues. Anthony consults to a range of organisations on communication strategy, from ASX-listed companies to private companies and professional service firms.
