Many Companies Maintain a Consistent and Constructive Dialogue with Critical Stakeholders but the Process and Results are often not Transparent

In modern business, no enterprise exists in isolation. The importance of dialogue with critical stakeholders – the organisations, groups and individuals who have a vested interest in a company’s performance – has now become a boardroom issue. It is for this reason that communications consultancy Pleon Kohtes Klewes conducted an empirical survey into stakeholder dialogue, ‘Secret Mission? German Companies in Dialogue with Critical Stakeholders.’ The survey, which involved 150 of the biggest companies in Germany, revealed that although nearly four out of 10 companies actively and systematically engage with stakeholders, the process and results are not made public. Pleon Kohtes Klewes executives presented these, and other key findings, to Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and communications managers of large enterprises last month.

Against a backdrop of increasing criticism of globalisation, a growing number of companies find themselves at the receiving end of criticism by external observers, such as environmental and human rights organisations. In fact, the survey revealed that the most powerful motive for companies to seek dialogue with stakeholders is to forestall possible risks to their greatest asset: their corporate reputation.* “Many companies have now learnt that dialogue is better than confrontation, especially on controversial issues where the potential damage to corporate reputation is higher,” said Andreas Steinert, managing director of Pleon Kohtes Klewes, summarising the findings. “But unfortunately, this survey has revealed that due to the secrecy surrounding this process, far too little is known about the progress that this kind of constructive dialogue can potentially achieve for both business and society at large.”

Less than 25% of the companies polled publicise the process or results of any stakeholder dialogue in sustainability or CSR reports, with fewer than one in five publishing details in some other form. For the overwhelming majority of companies surveyed, stakeholder dialogue processes and consequences are strictly internal matters that are never made public. The survey also found that critical stakeholder dialogue often enjoys a high status within the businesses surveyed: at three out of four companies, dialogue has lead to joint, cooperative projects with NGOs.

However, the survey also revealed that this kind of dialogue is usually the preserve of large enterprises: the firms that took part in the survey were almost without exception well known companies in the automotive, chemical and financial services industries. For other companies, stakeholder dialogue is not always a relevant instrument for strategy development or public relations. “Managers are more accustomed to talking with board members, analysts and journalists than with representatives of civil society,” says Pleon’s Steinert. “They frequently lack any systematic knowledge about their critics and the issues for which they stand. Consequently, in any talks, both parties often behave as if they were on a secret mission and thereby run a deliberate risk of impeding transparency, which should be an aim for both sides.”

The research is now being expanded to a comparison between the situation in Germany and Italy, with Pleon Italia taking the lead in a survey among Italian companies in early 2005. This will be done in cooperation with the Milan-based Istituto per i Valori d’Impresa (ISVI).

*Approximately 50% of the companies surveyed are engaged in a regular dialogue in order to manage their corporate reputation, while others engage in dialogue whenever they feel an issue is topical.

 

About the Survey

In the study, entitled Geheime Mission? Deutsche Unternehmen im Dialog mit kritischen Stakeholdern (‘Secret Mission? German Companies in Dialogue with Critical Stakeholders.’) a number of company representatives and critical organisations provide information about what they understand a process of constructive dialogue to mean and how both sides can benefit from it. To view the survey ‘Geheime Mission? Deutsche Unternehmen im Dialog mit kritischen Stakeholdern in German please go to:

www.pleon-kohtes-klewes.de/komplett.php?tabelle=aktuelles&erstellt=18 About PleonPleon (www.pleon.com) is an international consulting firm with European roots, which creates and implements strategies for private and public sector organisations around the world. With deep understanding of business, politics and communications, PLEON is uniquely placed to devise compelling solutions that deliver measurable and tangible results. Pleon is part of the Brodeur/Pleon Worldwide network and has a presence throughout the US, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Pleon represents the merger of Brodeur agencies in France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and UK with the ECC Group, including market leaders ECC KohtesKlewes in Germany and Belgium, and ECC Publico in Austria. Pleon and Brodeur (www.brodeur.com) are part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. 

For more information, please contact:

Andreas Steinert

Pleon Kohtes Klewes GmbH

Kaiserstrasse

3353113 Bonn

Germany

Tel. +49 228 9151 4122

E-mail: andreas.steinert(at)pleon.com