1. Managing Trust Risk
Opinions and Insights from Corporate Affairs Practitioners Full Charts Backgrounder

2. Contact Us © October 2016 Project: 5100, GlobeScan®
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evidence and ideas. applied.

3. Context for Business and Corporate Functions

4. Tasks Prioritisation Perceived Shift in Responsibilities of Corporate Affairs Professionals over Past Five Years Increased Prominence by Area, 7-Point Scale, %, n=61
Q1. Thinking of each of the following activities, would you say that they have become a more or less prominent part of your role compared with five years ago?

5. Main Anticipated Focus of Corporate Affairs and Communications Role
Unprompted, Qualitative Analysis
Six main focus areas were identified by respondents, summarised below.
Stakeholder engagement: understand expectations and demands, aim to integrate/align them in business decisions/strategy, increase synergy of mutual interests, develop collaboration/partnerships
Risk and issues management: manage brand and company reputation, build and maintain trust, balance risks with opportunities
Demonstrate value and role of CA function: measure social impact, ensure alignment of initiatives with business objectives, cost vs benefits analysis of the function
Cross-functional collaboration: ensure alignment, maintain unity of corporate brand, make CA and sustainability a role of all departments
Sustainability commitments: expand them to supply chain, more effective integration of sustainability in commercial strategies, improve CSR/sustainability communications
Digital communications: revamp consumer engagement, increase relevance of communications and marketing in age of digital world, adapt internal skills to develop impact in this area, measure impact of digital strategy/communications
“Advisor, Diplomat, Fighter, Scout”
Q4. As a professional specialising in corporate affairs and communications, what do you think is going to be the main focus of your own role as the function evolves within your organisation?

6. Challenging Areas of Issues Management Anticipated Level of Difficulty to Manage Strategic/Operational Issues in Next Two Years 7-Point Scale, %, n=61
Q3. How difficult to manage do you think each of the following strategic or operational issues will be for your company in the coming year or two?

7. Cross-Function Internal Engagement Level of Engagement with Corporate Affairs & Communication, by Corporate Function 7-Point Scale, % “Very Engaged (6+7), n=61
Q2. Please rate the level of engagement that each of the following functions within your company has with your company’s corporate affairs and corporate communication function.

8. Trust in Business

9. Self-Assessment of Stakeholder Trust in Business Amount of Trust Company Holds to Operate in Best Interest of Society
7-Point Scale, %, n=61
Very high amount of trust (6+7): 21%
Trust mean score (1-7): 4.47
Q5. Public opinion research shows that multinational companies face a lack of trust. Overall, how much do you think your stakeholders trust your company to operate in the best interests of society today?

10. Most Important Drivers of Trust Prompted, Total Mentions, %, n=61
Q6. What do you think drives trust in your company today?

11. Business Outcomes from Being Trusted by Stakeholders Prompted, Total Mentions, %, n=60
Q7. Recognising that trust is an enabler of most business outcomes, in your experience, what are the key business outcomes that your company is able to achieve because it is well trusted by its stakeholders?

12. Corporate Purpose

13. Outcomes Linked to Having a Corporate Purpose Level of Agreement by Outcome, 7-Point Scale, %, n=58
Q9. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements related to corporate purpose?

14. Companies with a Stated Corporate Purpose in Place “Yes” vs “No,”% of Companies Surveyed, n=58
Q10. Does your company have a stated corporate purpose in place?

15. Views towards Their Company’s Corporate Purpose Level of Agreement, 7-Point Scale, %, n=50*
Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements related to your company's corporate purpose?

16. Top-of-Mind Companies with Strong Corporate Purpose Unprompted, Total Mentions, %, n=58
Unilever
Clear definition and articulation that follows a strong sustainability agenda, and business strategy enabling realisation of purpose
Strong communications about commitments, genuinely embodied by CEO
Consistency and alignment in delivering on the purpose, across value chain, geographies, and product brands
Early thinkers to realise strong purpose would impact brand loyalty, purpose leads to three interconnected outcomes: reputational benefit, corporate risks mitigation, and financial returns
Q8. An increasing number of companies and brands, small or global, are thinking about their overall purpose. That is, aligning towards an explicitly stated and authentic belief that defines how the business creates value for itself and society. Can you think of a company or brand that comes to mind as having a strong purpose in this way?
Q8b. Q8b. Why do you think this company has a strong purpose?

17. Stakeholder Intelligence and Reputation Management

18. Tracking Reputation Systematically “Yes” vs “No,” % of Companies, n=57
Q12. Does your organisation systematically measure and track its reputation with its external professional stakeholders? By professional stakeholders we refer to stakeholders who have a vested interest in following and interacting with your company as part of their professional responsibilities (e.g., NGOs, Government, Investors, Academics, Industry associations, Media, etc.).

19. Value for Investment of Different Options to Manage Reputation 7-Point Scale, %, n=57
Q14. Thinking of the different ways to gather stakeholder intelligence and insights to manage your company's reputation, how would you rate the value for investment of each of the following?

20. Top-of-Mind Companies with Best Stakeholder Engagement Unprompted, Total Mentions,* %, n=57
Unilever
Two-way conversation: foster dialogue through proactive efforts to communicate actions, and to ask for feedback/advice transparently
Dedicated resources
Innovate and update stakeholder strategy: moving from engagement to partnerships
NGOS:
Better experienced than corporates: advocates, facilitators, effective /real story-telling of social impact (both traditional means, and through social media)
General
Partnerships with MSI / use of advisory panels for long-term strategic thinking
Early incorporation of stakeholder opinions, proactive engagement leading to trust
Focused and organised engagement, leading to value for both company and society
Solutions-centred engagement (e.g. with NGOs)
Q17. What company (or organisation outside the corporate world) do you think is best at engaging with its stakeholders? Why do you say that?

21. State of Development of Various Stakeholder Engagement Activities By Type of Activity, %, n=57
Q15. Please describe the current state of each of the following engagement activities in your company as they relate to professional stakeholders.

22. Effectiveness of Campaign-Based Strategies for Engagement 7-Point Scale, %, n=46*
Good effectiveness (5+6+7): 76%
Effectiveness mean score (1-7): 5.14
Q16b. How effective do you think campaign-based strategies are to initiate and support engagement with professional stakeholders?

23. Methodology / Notes to Readers
The findings detailed in the report are based on online surveys with 61 corporate affairs and communications professionals. The study was carried out between late March and beginning of June Figures and charts All figures in the charts in this report are expressed in percentages unless otherwise noted. Total percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding. In the case of some bar charts, white space typically represents the portion of respondents who either answer “don’t know” or do not answer at all (DK/NA). Sample breakdowns The corporate functions targeted for the quantitative survey included professionals from corporate affairs and communications (two thirds) and related CSR/Sustainability departments (one third). In terms of seniority, over 60 per cent of respondents are at Director or VP level, with the rest holding manager to senior manager positions. The geographic coverage is global with all continents represented: Europe (36%), North America (33%), APAC (17%), Latin America (8%), and Africa (6%). In terms of industry, the universe of sampled respondents is very cross-sectoral with a predominance of the Food and beverage sector, FMCG, Energy and extractives. Other sectors represented include Pharma and healthcare, ICT, Transportation and logistics, Financial services, Manufacturing, and Chemicals.

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