Survey: Companies in Poland not ready for crisis.

According to almost 95% of communication directors in Poland, reputation has an impact on financial results and protects the brand in crisis situations. At the same time, 44% of the respondents anticipate that within three years their company may face an image crisis, according to the first Polish study on reputation management, which covered communication directors of the largest companies from 10 sectors of the economy. The project conducted by ECCO Poland | On Board Think Kong was under the patronage of the Lewiatan Confederation and the University of Warsaw.

As the On Board Think Kong survey shows, only in 4 out of 10 companies there is a written strategy and action plan shaping the reputation. A similar number of communication directors believe that in the next 2-3 years their company may face a reputation crisis, which may affect its financial results.

The number and speed of information provision is the biggest challenge that will be faced by those responsible for communication in companies in the coming years. This is how most of the communication directors we have asked ourselves answered. One in five admitted that due to reputation problems his company was exposed to a drop in consumer confidence, as much as it faced a drop in its attractiveness as an employer. It can be seen that many companies still do not have a written reputation management strategy – says Katarzyna Reck, Corporate Communication in OBTK.
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“We live in a time when there is a certain qualitative change in the perception of business, which has to include a new generation of users in its communication. In a world connected to social media, companies need to be transparent and open to dialogue, because it is easier than ever to deal with an image crisis. And having a good reputation simply pays off,” says Kuba Giedrojć, director of the communication department of the Lewiatan Confederation.

The survey was conducted by ECCO Poland | On Board Think Kong  between October and December 2019. The survey was attended by communication or marketing directors of the largest companies from 10 economic sectors. The survey partners are the University of Warsaw, the Lewiatan Confederation, Business Insider, PRoto and Newseria.