Standard Bank tops reputation stakes among listed companies

The bank's score improved by over 15 points compared to its performance in the 2009 survey, representing a significant improvement over the previous year.

Close on the heels of Standard Bank amongst the ten largest listed companies were cellphone operator MTN and banking group ABSA, with scores of 64.55 and 64.31 respectively. The top three listed companies achieved scores above the global mean of 64.20.

The Reputation Pulse measured the reputation of the ten largest listed South African companies based on revenue. It excluded those companies among the top ten that are not easily recognisable by the general public, as well as those that are wholly owned subsidiaries of another company.

In addition, the Reputation Institute invited its clients to participate in the annual survey, now in its fifth year in South Africa. This resulted in a total of 18 companies being surveyed this year.

Other companies with their fingers on the Pulse

Other companies from the “top ten” list that were ranked, and their placements, were: Sasol (4th); Old Mutual (5th), Sanlam (6th), Nedbank (7th), SABMiller (8th), Anglo American (9th) and Telkom (10th).

Amongst all the companies surveyed, Vodacom achieved the highest score with a Reputation Pulse of 68.02. The company built a strong reputation by achieving the highest scores in five of the seven reputation dimensions. With a global mean for the telecommunications industry of 60.88 - one of the worst performing sectors globally - Vodacom's score was particularly noteworthy, according to the Reputation Institute.

Vodacom underlined how success in a multi-dimensional reputation platform contributed to building the emotional connection with the brand and confidence in the company, the Institute added.

Vodacom Group's CEO Pieter Uys said: “We are humbled and delighted at this finding, which suggests that our customers and other stakeholders continue to love, respect and admire Vodacom.”

Vodacom was followed by First National Bank with a Reputation Pulse of 67.76. The bank was not included amongst the top ten listed companies surveyed for the Reputation Pulse, as it is a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstRand, but was included in the annual survey as a benchmark for the banking sector in South Africa.

SA banks perform well

South Africa's banks also performed well compared to the worldwide banking industry which, with an average Pulse score of 61.07, is below the global mean. Three out of four of the big banking groups - Standard Bank, First National
Bank and ABSA - all scored higher than the global mean in 2010, with Nedbank coming in the lowest with a score of only 59.37.

Commenting on Standard Bank's performance this year, the Reputation Institute said that the company had obtained the highest scores of the largest listed companies in the products and services, citizenship and leadership reputation dimensions.

“Since products and services, and citizenship, are the two most influential drivers of reputation in South Africa this year, it is not surprising that the company has succeeded in gaining reputation capital locally. It is making inroads by being relevant to the consumer and communicating in areas that matter most,” the Institute said.

Sim Tshabalala, chief executive, Standard Bank South Africa says: “We are tremendously privileged to have been ranked as having the best corporate reputation among the largest listed companies in South Africa. We are particularly delighted with the 15 point improvement, as we have specifically focused on some of the features that constitute reputation, which we consider critical in achieving our mission. Most importantly though, we appreciate that our reputation is what ultimately drives our business results and therefore we will continue to endeavour to improve our behaviours in all of these dimensions to the benefit of all our stakeholders, including customers, employees, society and shareholders.”

Reputation counts for a great deal

Announcing the results of the 2010 survey today, the Reputation Institute said the results underlined yet again the positive impact of a good corporate reputation.

“Our research indicates that improving corporate reputation by 5 points results in a 7% increase in support for that company. A good reputation is thus not just a ‘nice-to-have'; it's a bottom-line business imperative,” said Dr Dominik Heil, MD of the Reputation Institute in South Africa.

He added that the 2010 survey showed that more than 70% of respondents would recommend and give the benefit of the doubt to high reputation companies, compared to only 42% for low reputation companies.

Dr Heil said that the biggest drivers of corporate reputation in South Africa in 2010 were products and services, citizenship, and governance, although the other four - leadership, performance, innovation, workplace - were also important.

The biggest change from the previous year's survey was the contribution of citizenship to the mix. At 15.2% in 2010, this driver, covering aspects such as a company's support for good causes and environmental protection, regained its 2008 levels, having dropped dramatically to 9.6% in 2009. The Institute said that strategic conversations with stakeholders about the company's impact on economic, environmental and societal issues contributed to building confidence and trust.

The scores

The survey is conducted annually in January and February. 2757 people from economically active segments of the public, ie with an LSM of 6+, were surveyed in 2010, with at least 300 people polled about each company included in the survey. Respondents had to be “somewhat” or “very” familiar with at least one company. They also needed to provide measures on at least three of the four pulse statements, and be between the ages of 18 and 64.

In South Africa, the research is conducted telephonically as large segments of the targeted population do not have access to the internet.

The scores of the ten largest listed companies surveyed in the 2010 Reputation Pulse were as follows (see graphs below):

The Global Reputation Pulse 2010 was conducted in January and February 2010. A Pulse score is a measure of corporate reputation calculated by averaging perceptions of four indicators ?trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling ?obtained from a representative sample of at least 300 local respondents who were familiar with the company. Scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 100, Pulse scores that differ by more than +/-0.5 points are significantly different at the 95% confidence level. Country reports from the 2010 Global Reputation Pulse findings can be downloaded at www.ReputationInstitute.com and the global report will be available after 25 May 2010.