Gold Papers
IPRA presents Gold Paper no. 18
After an 11-year gap, there’s a fresh addition to the prestigious IPRA Gold Paper series. This study underlines how digital executive reputation is an increasingly important aspect of a company’s accountability.
Background
Gold Papers are one expression of IPRA’s mission for the intellectual leadership of the profession and are authored by recognised specialists, at the invitation of the IPRA Board. The Papers form a series that explores significant topics of interest to public relations professionals in depth and with rigour. That series began in 1973 with Herbert M. Lloyd’s Standards and Ethics of Public Relations Practice and has over the years thoughtfully addressed the most important challenges communicators face.
And now for number 18
The new IPRA Gold Paper The Changing Face of Executive Reputation is co-authored by Bant Breen and Enric Ordeix. Breen is the founder, chair and CEO of Qnary, while Ordeix, is director of the Blanquerna School of International Communication and sits on the IPRA Board. Together they have brought admirable wisdom and research skills to bear on a fascinating yet under-analysed topic.
In the summer of 2018, Qnary and the BE Center for Global Communications (a shared initiative between Emerson College and The Blanquerna School of Communications) surveyed 6,200 full-time employees across the US, UK, China, Italy, Spain and Australia. The results of that survey provided the foundation for the Gold Paper’s exploration of C-suite reputation and its incontrovertible conclusion that the online reputations of senior C-level executives have become a significant influence on the perception of organisations.
“I founded Qnary based on my recognition that pretty much all the tools being offered to optimise online presence were designed for brands,” says Breen “We quickly found that we were on the leading edge of something big as, today, senior executives are often expected to be engaged publicly and to connect with stakeholders in new ways.”
“Our report shows, unequivocally, that the online reputations of these senior executives have a significant influence on how their organisations are perceived. In addition to its role in shaping public perception, the development of digital executive reputations is being integrated into other functions, including the growth of good morale, a sense of purpose and heightened dynamism throughout the workforce. It is evident from our study that, as a business practice, executive reputation management will continue to grow in importance.”
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