Hill and Knowlton : Corporate Reputation Watch

Introduction

The war for talent doesn't just exist in the C-Suite. Talent doesn't just come into scarce supply when it reaches the age of 40 - this shortage is moving right down the supply chain, and in a world where we have seen failures in reputation destroy companies and with it the CV value of employees. Money is not, in itself, enough.

We wanted to understand the role of reputation in this war for talent. How important is corporate reputation in attracting today's brightest and best?

We interviewed MBA students at some of the World's leading business schools and some very clear trends appear.

Reputation matters, and the reputation of the company is based on far more than just its financial performance and the quality of its products and services.
The employee experience matters deeply. Talent is not prepared to sit and wait for the golden opportunity of 20 years hence; they want it now.
Values matter too - everything from ethics and corporate governance to environmental policy and social responsibility. The reason it matters so much is that the leaders of the future have a clear understanding of the link between reputation and financial performance.

In this war for talent there are some very clear winners and losers. There are sectors which are getting their message across and there are those which are frankly failing to build positive reputations.

Also, whilst the emerging markets of the world may have got their economic pitch right, they are, in many cases, failing to communicate effectively with the very talent that can help those markets move to the next level. Publicly traded companies seem attractive to almost all but the same cannot be said of companies which are family owned or, indeed, owned by governments.

Companies are not just reputation victims. There is much that can be done to enhance and improve the reputation of companies and of sectors. In winning the war for talent, our research shows that effective internal and external communications combined with good substance to communicate can make a fundamental difference.

There has been much talk in recent months about whether an economic correction could see a lessening of this war for talent. Those who believe that economics alone will change the current intensity of this fight are, I fear, misguided. The reality is that the best talent, like the most attractive real estate, will always be in scarce supply and the future winners in the corporate world will be the ones who are the quickest to recognize this.

Paul Taaffe
Chairman & Chief Executive, Hill & Knowlton

The Key Takeaways...




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	Introduction The war for talent doesn't just exist in the C-Suite. Talent doesn't just come into scarce supply when it reaches the age of 40 - this shortage is moving right down the supply chain, and in a world where we have seen failures in reputation destroy companies and with it the CV value of employees. Money is not, in itself, enough. We wanted to understand the role of reputation in this war for talent. How important is corporate reputation in attracting today's brightest and best? We interviewed MBA students at some of the World's leading business schools and some very clear trends appear. Reputation matters, and the reputation of the company is based on far more than just its financial performance and the quality of its products and services. The employee experience matters deeply. Talent is not prepared to sit and wait for the golden opportunity of 20 years hence; they want it now. Values matter too - everything from ethics and corporate governance to environmental policy and social responsibility. The reason it matters so much is that the leaders of the future have a clear understanding of the link between reputation and financial performance. In this war for talent there are some very clear winners and losers. There are sectors which are getting their message across and there are those which are frankly failing to build positive reputations. Also, whilst the emerging markets of the world may have got their economic pitch right, they are, in many cases, failing to communicate effectively with the very talent that can help those markets move to the next level. Publicly traded companies seem attractive to almost all but the same cannot be said of companies which are family owned or, indeed, owned by governments. Companies are not just reputation victims. There is much that can be done to enhance and improve the reputation of companies and of sectors. In winning the war for talent, our research shows that effective internal and external communications combined with good substance to communicate can make a fundamental difference. There has been much talk in recent months about whether an economic correction could see a lessening of this war for talent. Those who believe that economics alone will change the current intensity of this fight are, I fear, misguided. The reality is that the best talent, like the most attractive real estate, will always be in scarce supply and the future winners in the corporate world will be the ones who are the quickest to recognize this. Paul Taaffe Chairman & Chief Executive, Hill & Knowlton The Key Takeaways...

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Introduction