Internal
Reputation
Assessment
Understanding people
to improve the
organization’s results
index
Introduction
Problems with current tools
Why is internal reputation important?
What is Internal Reputation Assessmen
and what are its benefits?
How does it work and what does it measure?
Map of the dimensions and drivers of
the Internal Reputation Assessment
Why are corporate networks important
in the process?
What are the requirements of enterprise
1
3
4
4
5
6
6
Reputation
Assessment
In an economic context such
as that of today, companies
are facing the impact of
the interests and needs
of employees with more
intensity, given that they
greatly influence productivity,
costs, sales, customer
loyalty, collaboration and
retaining knowledge in the
organization, among many
other aspects.
By Marta Carrió. Doctor of Corporate Reputation (UPF),
she has an Executive MBA from ESADE, an Official Master’s in Social Communication (UPF) and a Master’s in Marketing Management (UPF). A technical analyst of behavior in social networks (COLPIS) and a graduate in Political Science (UPF), she is a partner in Plan, a consultancy company specializing in the measurement, analysis and management of corporate reputation in on and offline environments.
Organizations need to measure and analyze their strengths in order to adjust them to their own needs and objectives. It is common for companies to use one or several techniques to improve the satisfaction, skills and abilities of employees , and relationships and the working environment; proof of this are internal branding techniques, satisfaction, work climate and performance surveys, and coaching.
Despite the benefits that these tools individually provide, they are generally applied separately, which affects the real impact they have on how the organization operates.
Similarly, using indicators it is difficult to create objectives and quantify the effect they have on important business variables such as productivity, cost reductions and the improvement in sales. At a time when companies and all of us are watching our wallets this is a crucial aspect.
Likewise, these tools focus exclusively on the employee, missing out on the information regarding the effect that external forces have on perceptions, behavior and values.
Problems with current tools
1
to improve the
sufficiently analyze the organization as a social network, or how this network affects satisfaction, motivation, commitment and the development of tasks and functions. Some data on the impact of a favorable internal reputation of the business imply an increase of up to 16% in sales, 33% in profits, 50% in productivity, 56% in customer loyalty and a decrease by 60% in absenteeism, among others*. This data illustrates that influencing employees in the framework of the internal reputation of the organization is a determining aspect in order for them to achieve their objectives more easily.
Reputation
Assessment
The internal reputation of a
company is based on how
employees perceive and feel
about the company’s behavior.
This is important because in
turn these perceptions affect
the behavior of external groups
and individuals with which
the organization has relations,
such as customers, suppliers,
investors, partners, etc.
Research, such as that done by Dr Chun (IMD, Switzerland), on a sample of 4,700 customers and employees from 63 business units of 500 companies, shows that when the corporate reputation perceived by employees is lower than that of customers, sales fall by around 20%. It also shows that companies with a good internal reputation tend to provide a better service, whilst those with a negative internal reputation have employees who are less satisfied and committed to the organization, which translates into lower levels of service. Similarly, customers have higher expectations of the companies with a positive internal reputation. A good example is Samsung, which has recently displayed a collective unity and passion that has enabled the company to beat Sony, the leader of the sector for many years. Indeed, today Samsung is the industry leader in terms of reputation, brand strength and economic and financial results.
At the other end of the scale we find the case of Arthur Andersen, an example of how damage to a favorable internal reputation can harm the survival of a large company, as occurred after its involvement in the Enron scandal.
Why is internal reputation important?
3
to improve the
In order to meet these objectives 5 dimensions, which influence the perceptions, values and behavioral patterns of employees, need to be analyzed:
1. Employee satisfaction, determined by:
• Corporate identity
(the company’s corporate culture and philosophy).
• The organizational support perceived by employees
• Quality and characteristics of leadership.
• The environment in which members of the company develop their activity.
2. Employee commitment to the company, determined by:
• La integridad de la organización.
• La confianza que genera la compañía.
3. Quality and scope of communication implemented by the organization, which influences:
• Satisfaction
• Commitment to the company.
4. Formal and informal relations existing in the organization, which enable short-term work flows to improve, leading to improvements in terms of productivity, costs, collaboration and level of conflict within a short period of time.
5. The organization’s reputation, which has an influence on external variables and a significant impact on the levels of identification of the company’s employees.
Internal Reputation Assessment methodology is used with the objective of improving basic aspects of the business such as sales, productivity, profits, and retaining, promoting and attracting talent. Research shows that influencing the organization’s internal reputation, contributes to:
• Increasing sales.
• Increasing customer loyalty.
• Increasing profits.
• Improving collaboration and contribution of ideas.
• Improving retaining and attracting talent.
• Reducing absenteeism.
• Improving productivity.
• Simplifying the resolution of conflicts.
• Improving the identification and pride of the entity. The Internal Reputation Assessment measures and acts in a complete and integral way on the different drivers that affect perceptions, behavioral patterns, and formal and informal relations, which have an affect on key day-to-day aspects of the organization.
This enables the improvement of both work flows and processes within the company and the levels of satisfaction and commitment of the workers. It also enables the objective
How does it work and what does it measure?
What is Internal Reputation
Map of the dimensions and drivers of the Internal Reputation Assessment
Reputation
Assessment
5communication
internal reputation
satisfaction
commitment
Perceived Organizational Support CorporateIdentity Leadership Trust Integrity
to improve the
• Design mechanisms for communicating that the process is built on values and a shared vision.
• Encourage two-way communication, in such a way that both managers and employees have the opportunity to exchange perspectives and knowledge, to listen and for their problems to be dealt with.
• Free from manipulation.
• Representative of all of the members of the company.
• No commitments are communicated that are not going to be fulfilled.
• Create spaces so that issues detected can be included in decision-making.
Enterprise social networks contribute to and facilitate the application of an Internal Reputation Assessment process, because they allow:
• Questionnaires on the dimensions of the company’s internal reputation to be sent and managed.
• The importance of participating in the process to be communicated integrally throughout the company, creating alignment and confidence.
• Informing at all times as to how the process is being implemented, its participants, stages and results.
• Acting as a platform for feedback, on which employees can provide their perspectives as to how the process is developing, ask questions or make suggestions that allow its implementation to be improved.
• Acting as a tracking space, sharing the company’s internal reputation, which motivates members of the company to improve the different dimensions analyzed.
What are the requirements of enterprise
social networks for the implementation
of the process?
Why are corporate networks
important in the process?
collaboration, communication & mobility
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