In an episode of "The Simpsons" a cat burglar robs the citizens of Springfield deaf, dumb and blind, stealing, among other valued items, Lisa's saxophone and Bart's stamp
collection.
After Homer starts a vigilante group the burglar winds up getting busted and returns everything he stole.
With the townsfolk smelling blood, the burglar starts to apologize profusely to Springfield-ians and says that despite everything he still holds "a special place" in his
heart for them. "Oh, he's so charming," says Seymour Skinner, the elementary school principal. "Let's let him go," brays Barney, the town drunk.
The episode speaks to Americans' inherent ability to forgive and forget. But they first need to hear an apology verbalized. Sincerely. Same drill for companies that have been
tarred with the bursh of scandal. They can start to recover by having the CEO express regret and apologize, says a new Burson-Marsteller CEO Reputation Study, an adjunct to
Burson's "Building CEO Capital" study released in 2003.
"Reputation management is the basics, telling the truth, sharing the pain and being accountable," says Leslie Gaines-Ross, Burson's chief knowledge & research officer and
reputation expert. "It's not easy. If it was, companies wouldn't be under such scrutiny."
The study, which took the pulse of 150 Fortune 1000 executives, found that the second most recommended approach to reputation recovery is commitment to being a better
corporate citizen (see chart). Corporate responsibility was once a marginal issue but has now moved into the mainstream. The reasons? The increasing clout of NGOs and citizen
activists, a backlash against globalization, a rash of corporate scandals (that shows little sign of abating) and geopolitical instability (read: the war in Iraq).
Although the onus to apologize falls on the chief executive as opposed to the board of directors, that's starting to change. "Look at Enron or what's happening at
Walt Disney with the names of board members all over the press," says Gaines-Ross. Still, the CEO is the public face of the company, signs his name on financial disclosures
and therefore must ultimately be the one to fess up.
With CEOs increasingly under the spotlight it's little wonder that fewer executives covet the corner office. According to the survey, the number of executives who don't want
to be CEO has more than doubled since 2001 (to 60% from 27%). Executives who had worked at a company that went through a crisis were more likely to decline the CEO post than
executives who had not worked at a crisis-ridden company. "It's a very complex job that usually lasts just five or six years," Gaines-Ross says. "You have anywhere from 12-15
bosses, less power and the internet peering into everything you do."
Enabling PR directors and managers to report directly to the CEO could make the CEO's life a little easier. "They need more communications," says Gaines-Ross. "PR people
reporting directly to the CEO or Board members can help them understand the many publics they have to answer to. It makes them less insular." PRN
Contact: Leslie Gaines-Ross, 212.614.5181, [email protected]
Road to Recovery - Strategies Order | Rank |
---|---|
Issuing an apology from the CEO |
1
|
Committing itself to better corporate citizenship |
2
|
Providing crisis-related information on the company's Web site |
3
|
Hiring a new CEO |
4=
|
Hiring an outside auditor to perform internal audits |
4=
|
Increasing the number of independent board members |
6=
|
Mandating that each employee participate in an ethics course |
6=
|
Terminating a top officer or officers |
8
|
Separating the roles of chairman and CEO |
9
|
Hiring a chief ethics officer |
10
|
Explaining the company's point of view in an Op-Ed |
11=
|
Electing a presiding or lead director for the board |
11=
|
Bringing back a retired chairman or CEO |
13=
|
Explaining the company's point of view in print advertising |
13=
|
Launching a new corporate advertising campaign |
13=
|
= indicates a tie |