This article was published in the October 17, 2003 issue of the Denver Business Journal
With renewed interest in ethics,
PR has its role to play
By Jane Dvorak, APR
We have seen huge ethical lapses nationwide in business practices. We're all familiar with the headlines, stories and allegations.
It's been an unethical wave of tsunami proportions: businesses based on paper value and corporate executives camouflaging profits and questionable deals.
In the aftermath of business scandals that left employees hung out to dry and executives scurrying to save face, public relations never has had a more important role. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) recognized this role in September, when ethics was the focus of national and local chapters.
Those PRSA activities included the participation of businesses across the United States in a tele-seminar on ethics, publication of articles in magazines, and newsletters and local chapters providing discussion and programming about ethical issues.
Public relations is the business of communicating company philosophy, building rapport with audiences and maintaining ethical conscience. It is now that public relations professionals are working to re-establish trust in this mix of internal and external messages.
Some businesses are making the practice of ethics a higher priority. They're going beyond just talking it: Some have added an ethics officer to create and foster an organizational culture that is governed by ethics and morals.
Business leaders realize that the practice of ethics is more than just doing the right thing, and that it needs to be integrated all levels of the organization.
Business leaders are seeing the value of communicating this message. Since the Enron and WorldCom messes, more than 60 percent of CEOs have developed a greater appreciation for the role corporate communications plays in their organizations, according to Burson-Marsteller survey information in PRWeek. The study also found that ethical communication now is considered a more critical part of the message being presented to the public.
A printed plaque in the lobby does not offer proof of business integrity. The real measurement of trust and credibility is whether stockholders, customers and employees believe what your company says.
This is where you can judge your success in communicating your belief in ethics to the entire company. Trust and credibility are built through time and repetitive, reliable actions that are in accord with the internal culture. They are best demonstrated not by what you say, but how you treat customers and interactions with employees and stockholders every day.
From a public relations standpoint, openness is key. In a survey of U.S. executives by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 49 percent of company executives are taking steps to increase their transparency. More reports are being issued, and not only to stakeholders but also to employees and customers.
Locally, Qwest has initiated an aggressive reporting policy by issuing regular reports to the media, employees and stakeholders. Since its accounting policies have come into question, Qwest has issued more frequent news releases on its financial status, based on timeliness instead of mandated reporting dates.
When companies have a healthy culture, their actions speak louder than their words. To achieve a healthy culture, all levels of the organization have to be involved.
Some executives profess to have an open-door policy. But in reality, the way into their offices is through a suggestion box. That makes it difficult for employees, stockholders and others to believe that you do what you say.
How quickly information is given and its understandability have a great effect on credibility. In the January 2003 Trust & Credibility Survey by Edelman, trust in business was shown to have increased from 41 percent to 48 percent. Edelman surveyed 850 people in the United States and Europe. Effective, consistent public relations is how reputations are managed in these trying situations with programs that are tied to company goals.
Qwest has taken this approach under the leadership of Dick Notebaert, recently named CEO of the Year by the PRSA Colorado Chapter. His arrival began a transition from profit-at-all-cost focus to customer service.
In the last 13 months, Notebaert has received thousands of employee e-mails supporting his new focus and leadership, according to Qwest. In addition, Better Business Bureau figures show customer complaints have been cut in half since Notebaert's arrival.
These are only the beginnings of the reputation rebuilding of Qwest. As more programs like rewarding employee volunteerism with dollars for hours through the resurrected foundation and increased community involvement become standards, Qwest will try to re-establish internal and external trust.
In the end, what stakeholders, customers and employees want is to do business with people they can respect. With cultural governance, a company can bring consistency in its communications through a whole company approach that is driven by philosophy instead of profit margins. The communication of a company's ethics needs to be incorporated into the overall business strategy and then businesses need to be transparent, responsive and honest.
Sounds simple. It should be so easy.