Credit unions have emerged on top as Ireland’s most popular organisations, according to the Ireland RepTrak Survey  carried out by the Reputations Agency, with the Health Services Executive at number 99 coming in just ahead of Irish Water in the bottom slot.

Irish Water managed to score only 28.79 points out of 100, so the HSE’s score of 39.05 looks respectable, but credit unions accumulated 81.95 points to place the saving and lending network in first place for the first time in nine years.

Based on the perceptions of 7,090 members of the public who completed the survey between 5 January and 5 March 2018, the survey measures the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem the public has for 100 of the largest, most familiar, and most important organisations in Ireland, along with 25 other reputation indicators.

The top ten in the RepTrak Survey are:

1. Credit Unions – 82.0
2. Kellogg’s – 81.1
3. Aldi – 80.2
4. Bord Bia – 80.0
5. Boots  —  79.5
6. Tourism Ireland – 79.1
7. Toyota – 78.9
8. An Post – 78.5
9. Dublin Airport – 78.4
10. Kerry Group – 77.7

This year's average score was 66.0 compared to 64.4 in 2017, indicating a general increase in trust and confidence in organisations among the public.

In Association with

The number of organisations studied increased from 50 organisations in 2017 to 100 organisations in 2018. New organisations include Communicorp, Samsung, Energia, EirGrid, Gas Networks Ireland, the Olympic Council of Ireland, and public bodies such as An Garda Siochána, the Central Bank of Ireland, and HSE.

Irish League of Credit Unions president Charles Murphy said: “With more than 3.6 million members throughout the island of Ireland, credit unions are a cornerstone of local communities. The trust that members place in their local credit union has been earned, and enhanced, by consistent actions that demonstrate a caring, understanding, people-focused approach. 

“Credit union personnel take time to get to know their members and to understand their needs. Decisions are made at local level, in the best interest of the members of the credit union. Above all else, people feel valued and respected.”

Reputations Agency managing director Niamh Boyle added: “Reputation matters, as strong reputations help to win customers, attract the right talent, gain support from key stakeholders, and ultimately drive business performance. We see this in the work we do with our clients in helping them to reach their business objectives.  

“As an illustration, as we come close to reaching full employment in Ireland the war on talent is heating up, and building a strong reputation and employer brand has become a key focus for organisations, particularly amongst millennials who care deeply about the reputations of the organisations they choose to work with.”

Photo: Charles Murphy and Niamh Boyle. (Pic: Conor Healy)

RESULTS OF RepTrak 2018 study