Bloomberg Businessweek Turkey has published my views on Covid-19 and Reputation im April 2020 issue. I wish to share with you this article written by Editor-in-Chief Serdar Turan.
The era that we are currently are living carries dynamics that directly affect the reputation of companies. Reputation and communication both are muscles that need to be not only protected but also strengthened and flexed during this period. Mr. Salim Kadıbeşegil, who is one of the most influential names in this field, shared his views with Bloomberg Businessweek Turkey about what strategies institutions and leaders ought to pursue on reputation throughout these most challenging of times.
What kind of an test do you think companies are sitting during the COVID-19 period when it comes to the matter of reputation?
In order to understand the nature of this exam, we must first look at what’s being asked on it… When we take a closer look at the different stages of the process, the main indicators seem to be in order of priority:
Health first! With the pandemic, it is extremely important to provide assurance to employees and families, monitor this process and take the necessary measures. What about suppliers, dealers, and business partners? How have companies supported employees suffering health problems—that is, beyond allowing them to work from home and moving meetings online, and of course embracing technology in other ways? How have they reached out to their families? Does the exam cover communication and relations with treatment and health care institutions? Whether or not these efforts are approached reactively/proactively has a lot to do with reputation.
Next to health is job security. Have companies been able to use their own resources to gladden hearts about job security—this in addition to government assistance? Is there compensation or different forms of aids in place for financial losses?
Another exam question asks about how to manage open, transparent, and regular communication with employees and at the right time. Communication is more meaningful in times of chaos when goes in two directions rather than one. Employee feedback can shed light on what paths and policies we ought to follow, as well can make everyone feel important and valuable.
An uninterrupted flow of communication between suppliers, dealers, and business partners is also critical. Synergy, solidarity, dedication, and mutual understanding of priorities can solve many short-term problems.
Priorities in financial policies and management shall once again reveal themselves as indicators of reputation. A company’s credibility and respectability (i.e. their reputation) will be defined by how fair, ethical, responsible, transparent, and accountable their principles are. It is sound principles that dictate how one behaves and reasons.
How will production continue? Will it continue at all costs, or are new production plans that take into account the conditions of the period and that prioritise human and environmental health in the works?
How we ought to design the future remains very much an enigma. Moreover, this lies beyond any company’s control. Perhaps new business models will be adopted. Maybe new jobs will emerge. Perhaps companies will evolve into something else entirely, or cease to existence all together (of course, we would never wish for this). No matter what, crystal ball does in fact sit before all of us, to predict what the future shall look like.
What sort of transformation might this period spark?
First, we need to take into account that COVID-19 is a form of chaos, as opposed to a crisis. I explained in a separate article about why it’s important to make this distinction:
Once the dust settles, we’ll open our eyes to a new lifestyle. That’s why we need to design our place in tomorrow’s world today.
Lest we forget 9/11. The planes that hit the Twin Towers, fell on the Pentagon, and were shot down on open upon targeting the White House had not only struck fear in United States, but also sent waves of paranoia rippling across the World. One of the biggest indicators that life hasn’t succeeded in picking up where it left off is the sudden mushrooming of government-induced “security” systems in every aspect of our public and private lives from airports and shopping malls, to phone calls and e-mail. Just when we thought technology would democratise society, we instead find ourselves being watched by Big Brother.
The multiplier effect of COVID-19 is much higher than 9/11 could ever have been. Corona has equalised the rich and the poor, made “refugees” of all of us, and ghettoised everyone in the world. So, it has consequently turned all domains of life inside out. We seem to have forgotten nuclear threats, food and water shortages caused by global warming, and other yet-to-be identified pandemics! That doesn’t however mean that they’re not waiting on the side-lines as backup players. We have polluted space with more than 4,900 active and 20,000 inactive satellites that have surpassed their lifespan. Satellite parts have become floating mines as they might crash into internet-carrying satellites any moment and leave the planet in the dark for months on end—a notion way to complex even for science fiction!
Non-governmental organizations and local governments play just important a role as the state when it comes to all of us staying focused on solutions to scientific problems that threaten the future of all of humanity. Companies are (and should be) natural actors of this effort.
In order for us to plan for tomorrow in as reputable a manner as possible, I think that we need to focus on two things: (1) our culture and (2) our values—both of which reflect how we do business, with the latter serving as the raw materials. Now is time to collaborate with employees, suppliers, dealers, and business partners to establish a new corporate character that— as the output of our reputation—will become our corporate label.
How should we design and maintain such a communication strategy during times like these?
Uninterrupted communication is very, very important during times like these. Of course, we should take into account that how reliable a communication’s content is will be questioned. That said, content should be managed in as transparent and dependable a manner as possible so that we don’t fall into the trap of disinformation. However, above all, it is imperative that companies know how to empathise. That means enhancing dependability by addressing stakeholders questions in their thought bubbles before they even ask them. Expectations are naturally going to be different as you climb your way up the corporate hierarchy. Instead of reacting to respond to all different expectations, we ought to prefer a process of persuasion to determine what issues are common issues, and then manage content accordingly.
One thing about communication management worth noting is the fact that every stakeholder might have his or her own set of communication habits. For example, not everyone uses WhatsApp. Some may avoid using the Internet all together. Communication (content) managers need to take things like these into account. How “reputable” a spokesperson couldn’t be more important, especially within the scheme of timing. Likewise, one has to be open to feedback, and be willing to promote two-way communication.
In one article, you emphasised that CEOs have three responsibilities: to design tomorrow (Vision), to select/manage human resources, and manage reputation. In what way might these evolve during this period?
Most of us have the thought bubble that says things haven’t gone the way they should since the 1980s. Nevertheless, none of us had any foresight as to how that transformation ought to take shape. The 80s were a symbol of the so-called yuppie era that—all of us knew of it or were part of. “Making money out of money” became an institutionalised business model… While that approach transformed us into a financial society by the 2000s, it also led to very serious business errors as well. The Far Asia stock market crises of the 1990s, the Enron crisis in 2001, and the global financial crises in 2008 immediately spring to mind. However, back then, no one cared about reputation within the environment that the financial community had created for itself. Companies survived on quarterly balance sheets, and a so-called artificial satisfaction filter was indexed to CEO salaries!
Shortly before COVID-19, Business Roundtable (August 19, 2019) issued a statement that would radically change the notion of purpose. 187 out of 200 of the world’s most influential CEOs had released a statement that announcing that, “they would adopt the purpose of a company centred around the interests of those other than shareholders” (the remaining 13 did not sign for unknown reasons). This approach is incorporated in the very definition a CEO’s three principle responsibilities. The tomorrow they are to design will be one where they themselves are our tomorrow, and where their stakeholders will promote their employees’ participation while transforming the reputation of the corporate brand (as a symbol of the value employees create) into a sustainable community-centered business model.
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