Listen Now

Rebecca Park, Managing Director of Corporate Affairs at UK Finance talks to Daisy about the real role of communications professionals, why working in an industry body is more interesting that you might think and, of course, why everybody hates bankers.She also dispenses some excellent advice, including: One of the most valuable roles we can play is to be the person in the room who identifies and manages risk. Building reputation isn't about talking to your customers about trust. Instead, focus on delivering what they expect from you - trust and reputation will follow. Don't destroy your credibility by defending the indefensible. Sometimes the right answer isn't to try and grab the headlines: communications takes many forms and the answer might be much more low key than that. And finally,Remember that not every decision needs to be taken right now. It might be even better to wait and observe. For all this as well as insights into how the financial crisis helped banks to navigate Covid, and sensible thoughts on looking after your team during an extended incident, tune in for our season finale.

Nick Baird, Corporate Affairs Director at Centrica talks to Daisy about how important (and challenging!) it is for businesses to partner positively with government. We discuss how big corporates can speak authentically about climate change and community, and the challenge of communicating about big topics when you are in the midst of constant reorganisations.We also discuss: Why he moved from government to the private sector and how they differThe interaction between climate change policy and corporate reputationThe enormity of climate transition and the increasing importance of ESGGreen jobsHow big companies can talk authentically about communityThe overwhelming importance of relationship building for both commercial goals and reputation, andWhy reputation professionals need to talk the language of business.

Sean O'Meara, founder of Essential Content, publicist and co-author of The Apology Impulse, tells Daisy how the business world ruined sorry and why we can't stop saying it.We talk about why you should think twice before apologising, how to avoid making an awful apology, and what the best apologies include. With lots of horrifying examples and practical tips thrown in.The main lessons?: Stop making promises that you can’t keepHave a plan for when things go wrong – not just a full blown crisis plan but one that includes minor messes and medium embarrassmentsWhen bad things happen your first step should be to decide whether you are, actually sorry at allIf you are, in fact, sorry then take time to decide HOW sorry you are and what you are going to DO about it. The best apologies explain what will change as a resultTry to do all of this without resorting to jargon or dehumanising legaleseFind out more about the podcast here: http://whyeverybodyhatesyou.co.uk/

James Frayne, co-founder of Public First, campaign strategist and author of corporate communications primer Meet the People, tells me why no organisation can truly avoid politics these days - no matter how much they may wish to. We talk about what that means for your communications strategy, how you should structure a communications team, and what to make of the whole 'purpose thing'. The main lessons?: Integrate all of your comms teams under one leader and one strategyPrepare for battle - no one likes being shouted at, so you need to plan rigorouslyActively listen to conversations about you - online and offlineLearn to distinguish between the parts of that conversation that actually matter and the elements that are ephemeral, by understanding what actually matters to the people who matter most to you. 

Something a little bit different from our usual format. I recorded the first episode of this series - covering diversity and corporate reputation - before George Floyd was killed, catapulting the Black Lives Matters movement into a much wider audience. And so, we talked about the importance of diversity for corporate reputation but we didn’t discuss recent events. It is now three months later and I have brought together three guests, each with a different area of expertise: social media; diversity and inclusion; and corporate affairs. I ask them what has changed, what lessons companies can learn and how organisations will be held accountable.Take a listen for insight and comment from:Bieneosa Ebite from the podcast News BantsBecky Brynolf from Shelter, andBola Gibson from Osborne Clarke

In this episode we look at data use, misuse and abuse. Is data morally neutral? Can there be such a thing as too much data? I’ll answer these questions, explore how data capitalism is shaping our world – for better and worse – then take you on a brief gallop through the politics of algorithms and data breaches.To tell you more, I'm joined by three excellent guests:Hellen Beveridge,  Privacy Lead at Data OversightRachel Williams, Research Director at Populus, andLine Kristensen, from Nationbuilder

Mark MacGregor from Stonehaven tells me how every company he has ever worked with feels victimised by the government and explains what reputation professionals have to learn from the Conservative Party and from tobacco companies. We talk about how trust in companies has taken a dive in recent years, why that might be and what companies can do to buck that trend and reap the rewards. The main takeway: if you don't do anything, nothing will change.

Investors play a major part in the success of plenty of businesses. For some companies the relationship with investors will be direct and personal, others are mediated by the stock market and media. All are impacted by the reputation of the company. How so? Surely professional investors only care about the hard numbers in the business case? But investment is about far more than just the numbers – Investors need to trust the people running the company and the strategy they have laid out, and they need to believe that others – consumers, regulators and investors – will trust that company too. The ability to trust is based upon reputation. In turn, investor loyalty is a factor in reducing volatility in share price and in reducing the cost of capital.To tell you more, I'm joined by two excellent guests:Marte Borhaug, Global Head of Sustainable Outcomes for Aviva Investors Patrick Thomas, Investment Director, and Head of ESG service at Canaccord Genuity Wealth ManagementTogether we discuss the links between reputation and the bottom line, what ESG investing is and how it links to reputation, and why reputation is a vital ingredient in any risk profile. 

Ghislaine Halpenny from the British Property Federation explains why everybody hates the property industry: they are seen as big, pinstripe-suited, Bentley-driving, cigar-smoking men. As well as issues with diversity, the sector has struggled to articulate the social and environmental value that it adds. We dive into all of this, talk about the role that an industry association can play in improving the reputation of a sector, and the discuss why investor and member reactions to the Covid-19 crisis have been a pleasant surprise – even as a challenging reputation has impacted the sympathy and financial aid available from the UK government.

Diversity and inclusion policies have made headlines over the past few weeks as organisations respond to the protests following the death of George Floyd. In this episode we step away from the important social arguments for equality and inclusion and instead take a commercial view: how does diversity impact reputation and, in turn, my bottom line?A lack of diversity harms your organisation’s reputation in two ways: because you appear to lack diversity and therefore can be accused of unequal opportunity or tokenism (direct reputational harm) and because of the results of that lack of diversity (indirect harm). That indirect harm happens because less diverse team can perform less well, create products that have troubling flaws and communicate in a way that speaks to the few rather than the many. Taken together, these harms represent a massive risk to your reputation.To tell you more, I'm joined by two excellent guests:Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Social Mobility FoundationSarah Churchman OBE, Chief Inclusion, Community & Wellbeing Officer, PwC United Kingdom

Are you responsible for the way people think, feel and talk about your organisation? Does it sometimes feel as if everybody hates you? You are not alone! Why everybody hates you is a new podcast launching on 16th June 2020, an audio support group for reputation professionals. Join me, reputation coach Daisy Powell-Chandler, for episodes that summarise the answers on important topics such as diversity, climate change and governance, as well as interviews with people who are just like you – fighting to improve their reputation one day at a time. Find us at whyeverybodyhatesyou.co.uk or subscribe on all good podcasting platforms.