tomtoronto.ca

Benchmarking

Ongoing monitoring also allows for benchmarking, which is perhaps the most important tool in measurement. In order to truly understand the nature of an organization’s reputation and the interactions that are affecting it, practitioners need to know how the reputation is changing over time and how it compares to other organizations. Benchmarking provides context, which is essential to understand how reputation is changing, and why.

Benchmarking provides a historical context to any measurement. Before making decisions on the future, a practitioner needs to understand the present and the past. Through effective benchmarking over time, using the same guidelines for measurement, the organization will have a clear view of where its reputation was, and most importantly, where it is now. Monitoring allows practitioners to measure reputation and stakeholder opinions; benchmarking allows practitioners to measure how they change. This is crucial for any type of planning or long term strategy, which is necessary for reputation management.

Furthermore, benchmarking provides context for the organization among its competitors. No organization exists in solitude; there are always competing or similar organizations that co-exist alongside it. A complete understanding of an organization’s reputation can only be gained by including comparisons to its competitors. This addition puts the reputation into context, and allows for understanding in a more objective way (Leinemann & Baikaltseva. 2004, p.82). Reputations of individual organizations can be affected by the industry or sector as a whole. Through contextualizing and comparative benchmarking, a public relations practitioner can fully understand where its organization stands, and where action needs to be taken.

Perception gap

Monitoring enables the public relations practitioner to determine and understand stakeholder expectations. As mentioned in the discussion of public attitudes, the expectations of an organization’s stakeholders are of the utmost importance. The synthesis of stakeholder expectations and the organization’s direction or interests is crucial to the success and survival of that organization. The difference between the two clearly identifies where the practitioner’s work needs to be done. Prevalent perceptions among stakeholders based on conversations and interactions are what comprise a reputation. The relationship between the stakeholder in question and the organization can be perceived in different ways. The difference in these perceptions is called the perception gap.

Building and maintaining reputation is dependent on how stakeholders perceive the relationship between themselves and the organization. Measuring how the relationship is perceived by stakeholders, and comparing that with how the organization may perceive it, is crucial to understanding the relationships being built (Grunig & Hon, 1999, p. 25). The perception gap is where strong reputations can crumble away. Through effective monitoring, using opinion polls or word-of-mouth analysis, etc., this gap can be identified and addressed through direct interaction. The gap can be closed through effective dialogue and communication, but only after understanding each of the two positions on either side of the gap.

Conclusion

Through monitoring, PR practitioners can seek to understand the interactions and conversations that surround an organization. Through ongoing measurement, practitioners can effectively shape and manage a reputation. Effective monitoring always leads to direct interaction. Through the knowledge gained, practitioners can plan effective strategies to form beneficial relationships and guide an organization’s interactions to build strong, positive reputations. Reputations are a sum of all pervasive opinions about a reputation, formed through interactions both with and around the organization. Through guiding direct interactions and understanding indirect interactions, the public relations practitioner can improve and increase an organization’s reputation. By doing so, the practitioner can increase share value and sales, improve employee engagement and satisfaction while helping to align the organization with public expectations. Reputation management will make an organization more profitable, more ethical, more acceptable and understandable to its stakeholders and more effective overall. A positive reputation is an immense asset to any organization. As guides and guardians of reputation, public relations practitioners are a vital member to any organization.