COLMAR BRUNTON Public Sector Reputation Index (BENCHMARK RESULTS TO BE LAUNCHED 8 MARCH 2016) 2016 Embargoed until 8 March 2016
An increasing focus on public sector reputation In recent years more and more public sector clients have approached us wanting our help to understand how they re perceived. It is fundamental for us to have high levels of trust and integrity. It is both one of the biggest opportunities to transform the state services but also one of our biggest threats to our standing as the trusted state sector. - Ian Rennie, State Services Commissioner, 13 August 2013 Colmar Brunton 2016 2
We saw a need for a better measure of reputation Positive reputation leads to: Increased compliance, reduced enforcement cost Increased social licence Better public engagement Support for policy and legislative change - lower implementation costs/improved efficiency Sacrifice of immediate benefits (if there s trust in longer-term outcomes of policy)? Existing measures of public sector reputation are unidimensional. They tend to focus on a single facet of reputation (eg, only trust, only performance). They tell us the what, but say little about the why. See: OECD (2013). Trust in government, policy effectiveness, and the governance agenda, in Governance at a Glance 2013, OECD Publishing. Colmar Brunton 2016 3
The Public Sector Reputation Index is a four pillar model for measuring reputation it s based on the global RepZ framework. Communications Services Social / Environmental Financially responsible Employee commitment Innovation Governance Management & leadership Colmar Brunton 2016 4
The Public Sector Reputation Index design Uses the global RepZ framework - each entity s reputation is indexed against the others. Standardised reputation attributes and advocacy asked for 31 public sector organisations carefully selected based on a number of criteria, including whether they have a public facing function, or have received significant media attention over the last year. Two thousand online interviews conducted in November and December 2015. Nationally representative sample by age, gender, household size, income, ethnicity, and region. Colmar Brunton 2016 5
A number of attributes sit under the four pillars Hard REPUTATION Soft LEADERSHIP/ SUCCESS FAIRNESS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TRUST Is a successful and well run organisation Is a forward looking organisation Attracts and retains top talented staff Is easy to deal with in a digital environment Contributes to economic growth Deals fairly with people regardless of their background or role Treats their employees well Honours the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Is a positive influence on society Behaves in a responsible way towards the environment Is open and transparent Is trustworthy Listens to the public s point of view Can be relied upon to protect individuals personal information Communicates clearly and consistently Anticipates future trends and opportunities Adapts quickly to change Has a long term perspective Uses taxpayer money responsibly Provides effective services Understands customers needs Is easy to deal with in a digital environment Colmar Brunton 2016 6
Impact of each pillar on advocacy New Zealanders respond more strongly to organisations that show they care. Hard REPUTATION Soft LEADERSHIP/ SUCCESS FAIRNESS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TRUST NZ PUBLIC SECTOR 22% 24% 27% 27% NZ PRIVATE SECTOR 27% 20% 16% 37% GLOBAL IMPACT ON ADVOCACY 35% 32% 17% 16% Colmar Brunton 2016 7
People are twice as likely to speak highly of organisations with a strong reputation Weak Reputation (95 and below) Average Reputation (100) Strong Reputation (105 and above) I would speak highly of them 20% 27% 42% Reputation scores are positively related to advocacy. Organisations with a strong reputation will experience greater support and social licence to operate. Colmar Brunton 2016 8
A positive reputation can help increase resilience to negative publicity Reputation x awareness of negative media in previous three months % of population who recall negative media about that organisation 60% 40% 20% 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Strongest reputation They don't always get it right, but I trust them to do their best. I trust them even though they are heavily criticised. RepZ rank Weakest reputation The Top 10 agencies include some that have received significant and recent negative publicity. Colmar Brunton 2016 9
Public Sector Reputation Index Three key principles to keep in mind 1 2 3 Focus on the 4 Pillars that drive reputation: weighted by their impact on advocacy Scores should be interpreted relative to other government agencies The RepZ Index: Superior strength 105+ Strong 101-104 Average 100 Weak 96-99 Especially weak 95 and below Colmar Brunton 2016 10
TOP RANKED BY INDEX All of these organisations have above average RepZ scores. REPZ INDEX 129 115 112 109 107 106 106 103 103 102 101 101 New Zealand Fire Service New Zealand Customs Service Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) Department of Conservation Maritime New Zealand Statistics New Zealand New Zealand Police Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand Commission for Financial Capability Reserve Bank of New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority The Treasury Human Rights Commission Ministry for the Environment Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) New Zealand Transport Agency Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) Global comparison: The top 10% of commercial brands achieve RepZ scores above 105. Above average RepZ scores Colmar Brunton 2016 11
RepZ leaders in New Zealand s public sector 2015/16: We can see the Top 10 demonstrate strength across all reputation pillars, but looking at the relative scores across an organisation begins to explain why. REPZ LEADERSHIP FAIRNESS SOCIAL RESPONSIBLITY TRUST SOCIAL REPZ LEADERSHIP FAIRNESS RESPONSIBLITY TRUST 129 124 128 128 133 115 114 114 114 117 109 112 113 112 113 109 117 109 105 109 112 112 107 105 105 Colmar Brunton 2016 12
Analysis across all agencies identifies relative strengths and weaknesses for the public sector. Priority areas for improvement are openness and transparency, listening to the public, and using taxpayer money responsibly. Every agency can be benchmarked against these norms, or compared to other similar agencies. Is open and transparent Listens to the public s point of view Communicates clearly and consistently Uses taxpayer money responsibly Understands customers needs Is trustworthy Provides effective services Can be relied upon to protect individuals personal information Honours the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Behaves in a responsible way towards the environment Is a positive influence on society Treats their employees well Deals fairly with people regardless of their background or role Attribute benchmarks average score for the entire public sector Anticipates future trends and opportunities Contributes to economic growth Is a forward looking organisation Adapts quickly to change Attracts and retains top talented staff Has a long term perspective Is easy to deal with in a digital environment Is a successful and well run organisation 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.4 TRUST SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FAIRNESS LEADERSHIP/ SUCCESS IMPORTANCE TO PILLAR (RANK) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A seven-point scale was used where 1 is strongly disagree and 7 is strongly agree Colmar Brunton 2016 13
For further information please contact: Dr Andrew Robertson Colmar Brunton, a Millward Brown Company Level 9, Legal House, 101 Lambton Quay, Wellington PO Box 3622, Wellington 6140 04 913 3008 / 021 797 047 / andrew.robertson@colmarbrunton.co.nz www.colmarbrunton.co.nz