Reputation&Trust: The Public Sector Needs to Be More Adaptable

According to Reputation&Trust on public administration, citizens expect public sector organizations to be capable of reform. There is also a significant gap between public administration and the private sector in terms of perceptions of leadership. However, public administration outperforms the private sector in terms of responsibility.

The reputation of public sector organizations was assessed across the eight dimensions Reputation&Trust. The assessment covered the organizations’ transparency in governance, financial situation, leadership, capacity for renewal, engagement with stakeholders, cost-effectiveness of services, performance as an employer, and corporate responsibility.

A total of 6,843 Finns participated in the study. The results were compared with the previous year’s reputation survey of public sector organizations and with a similarly conducted survey of private companies.

The public sector received the lowest ratings for its ability to innovate. There is a clear gap between the public sector and the business world in terms of their ability to innovate: public sector organizations received a score of 3.08 on a scale of one to five for their ability to innovate, while the corresponding score for businesses was 3.48.

The second most notable difference lies in perceptions of leadership, where public administration receives a score of 3.17 and the private sector a score of 3.47. These figures are based on the average results of standardized organizational groups.

“Perceptions of public administration products and services improved the most over the past year. This is a positive trend, as our data analysis reveals that the public sector is most likely to be supported and trusted by those citizens who feel that publicly funded organizations provide products and services that are worth the price,” saysRiku Ruokolahti, Development Director at T-Media.

Figure 1: Comparison of the results of the public administration and corporate reputation survey by reputation category.

The public sector leads the way in perceptions of accountability

Public sector organizations are viewed as more responsible actors than private companies. Public sector organizations received a responsibility rating of 3.40, while the corresponding figure for private companies was 3.25.

“The gap in responsibility has widened since last year. The ratings received by companies have declined, while those of public administration have improved. In the economy, the trend is the opposite. The economy is the only area of reputation where public administration organizations receive lower ratings than last year,” Ruokolahti continues.

Finns hold security authorities in high regard

The fire and rescue services performed best in the survey. The Border Guard came in second, and the Accident Investigation Center third. The fire and rescue services received a reputation score of 3.93, the Border Guard 3.81, and the Accident Investigation Center 3.80 on a scale of one to five.

“Six of the ten highest-rated public sector organizations are involved in security. These agencies perform particularly well in the areas of products and services as well as management,” Ruokolahti explains.

“It is also noteworthy that not a single organization with a very poor reputation was found in the public sector; in the business world, however, there are several.”

**Table:** Public Administration Reputation Survey, Top 10 Most Reputable Organizations. *Respondents were asked to rate the fire department in their area.

**Figure 2:** T-Media’s Reputation&Trust and the components of reputation.

Additional information:

Riku Ruokolahti, Director of Development
riku.ruokolahti@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, 0400 512 200

Harri Leinikka,CEO
harri.leinikka@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, 040 505 5001

Data for the public administration reputation survey was collected via an online questionnaire between October 1 and October 22, 2019. A total of 6,843 Finns participated in the survey, providing a total of 14,264 organizational ratings. The organizations evaluated were primarily those within the central government. The statistical margin of error for reputation scores by dimension is at most 0.03 units in either direction.

The results have been compared with a large-scale corporate reputation survey conducted in the summer of 2019, in which a total of 9,577 Finns participated. In both surveys, the target group consisted of Finns aged 15–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands). The samples were weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence.