An Post has topped the Ireland RepTrak 2022 table of the most reputable organisations in the country, ahead of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) and supermarket chain Lidl Ireland.
The 13th annual RepTrak study, conducted by the Reputations Agency, is based on the perceptions of 6,500 members of the public and measures the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem they have for 100 organisations in Ireland.
Some 100 other reputation, brand, purpose and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators were also considered when the study was completed between 3 January and 14 March, capturing public sentiment in the midst of Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.
An Post topped the poll with an "excellent reputation pulse" score of 83.5, and the Reputations Agency said the postal service recognised that its core purpose is "to act for the common good, improving the lives of people in Ireland, now and for generations to come."
ILCU scored 83.4, with the public acknowledging "the trust that members place in their local credit union and their friendly people focused approach," and Lidl scored 81.2, thanks to "outstanding customer satisfaction."
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The top 10 was completed by Boots Ireland (80.9), Fáilte Ireland (80.4), Aldi (80.3), Bord Bia (79.8), Samsung (79.5), Toyota (79.3), and Blackrock Clinic (79.9), with 35 organisations experiencing a fall in their reputation over the past year as the Covid bounce subsided.
In terms of sectoral reputations, the automotive sector (76.5) topped the ranking for the first time in nine years amid the continued shift towards electric vehicles, and the professional services sector recorded the strongest increase (+3 to 67.4) for widespread flexible working practices.
The energy retail sector, however, saw the most significant decline (-3.9 to 68.6), with consumers railing against unjust price hikes despite global price increases, and the food and beverage (-3.8 to 72.7) and retail food (-1.9 to 75.9) sectors also falling in the public's estimation.
The 2022 RepTrak study found that stakeholder expectations are rapidly increasing, and that stakeholders are becoming more vocal about their demands, with Irish society expecting organisations to play their part in the community, economy, environment and the big issues of the day.
The automotive, healthcare (76.1), retail food, semi-state commercial (72.8), food and beverage, financial insurance (71.5), and public service bodies (71) sectors were all judged to have strong reputations.
Energy, infrastructure (68), banks (67.5), retail general (67.5), professional services, airlines (66.4) communications - technology (66.1), sporting bodies (65.2) and communications - media (62.8) organisations were classed as being in the average reputation tier.
The study also found that it is now less acceptable to the public for organisations not to consider the needs of their stakeholders when running their business.
"To deliver long-term returns for their shareholders, organisations must serve the interests of all their stakeholders," said Niamh Boyle, managing director of the Reputatins Agency.
To achieve this, leaders must unite their stakeholders behind an inspirational long-term vision with a clearly defined sense of purpose. They need to build a strategy for achieving the vision, attracting the best possible talent to implement the strategy, relentlessly focusing on results, and creating innovation that will help reinvent their vision."
She added: "A powerful trifecta of a clear sense of purpose, a compelling brand and a strong reputation will drive support across stakeholders, helping organisations to meet their commercial goals. This trifecta is key to the success of the top performers in this year’s Reptrak study such as An Post, The Credit Unions and Lidl Ireland."
Speaking about topping the RepTrak study, Debbie Byrne, managing director of retail for An Post, said: "We’re so proud to be Ireland’s most reputable organisation. We have been on a transformation journey to become a sustainable, profitable business, successfully delivering in a new world of eCommerce and financial services for all our stakeholders.
"Having a positive impact on society has been an important part of this journey. As one of the largest employers in Ireland, we have pushed for greater transparency on equality in the workplace through the publication of our annual gender pay report and supported those in need by providing a fixed address to those without a fixed home through our Address Point initiative.”
Photo: Pictured ahead of the launch of the thirteenth annual Ireland RepTrak 2022 study are from left JP Scally, CEO Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland; Niamh Boyle, Managing Director, The Reputations Agency; Debbie Byrne, Managing Director Retail, An Post; and Helene McManus, President, Irish league of Credit Unions. (Pic: Naoise Culhane)
