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Bad news for the apologists among us: The "Safeguarding Reputation" study released by Weber Shandwick last week revealed that, of the 950 global business leaders surveyed, a 59 percent majority see public apologies by CEOs as less effective than other strategies when it comes to crisis and tarnished reputations. Instead, respondents identified the following as the best steps to reputation recovery:
- Announce specific actions the CEO will take to fix the problem and create an early warning system (76 percent)
- Establish procedures and policies the company will follow to demonstrate its commitment to being a responsible citizen (73 percent)
- Work closely with legal counsel on public disclosures (72 percent)
- Issue regular public progress reports to address the problem (71 percent)
These findings, while in conflict with human nature's tendency to apologize now, act later, should serve as an impetus for PR professionals to start tweaking that crisis management plan ... again.
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