IN TOUCH : Reputations on the line

There will be some surprises when results of comprehensive study of New Zealand’s most reputable organisations is published in the September issue of NZ Management magazine, says the study coordinator Reg Birchfield.
The survey of the organisations that managers and directors perceive as our most reputable was conducted by NZ Management in conjunction with global management consultancy firm Hay Group.
Birchfield says the New Zealand findings reveal the name of our single most reputable organisation and the identities of our most reputable companies, state-owned enterprises, government departments and not-for-profit organisations.
The five top choices and one winner will be named in each category, with the overall winner of the most reputable organisation drawn from these.
Ian MacRae, managing director of Hay Group NZ, says the New Zealand survey has been modelled on the iconic Fortune magazine ‘World’s Most Admired Companies’ survey which Hay Group helps the magazine put together annually in the US. similar study was conducted in Australia for the first time last year.
MacRae says Hay Group has been delighted with the response rate to the New Zealand survey, which has exceeded response rates achieved for this kind of survey elsewhere.
“The quality of the responses was also excellent, with 70 percent of respondents classified as chairs, directors, CEOs, general managers, partners or executives. The remaining 30 percent were other managers or organisational leaders. There is no question that the quality of the response makes this robust piece of research and bodes well for the future of the survey in New Zealand.”
Birchfield says the comments of participants also unearthed wealth of material on why organisations were chosen. “We’d like to thank all those who responded to the survey for the time and effort they put into it. The end result is very good overview of what makes organisations reputable in the eyes of their peers.”
Participants were canvassed on 12 reputational factors. “Strong and effective leadership was something that ranked highly in responses,” says Birchfield. “It is one factor that seems to have significant impact on leaders’ assessment of other organisations’ reputation.”
The findings of the survey along with interviews with category finalists and winners will provide the basis for comprehensive feature that NZ Management will be running in its September issue as part of focus on brands.