In the social and health care sector, organizations have a better reputation than the sector as a whole

According to the Reputation&Trust " survey of the social and healthcare sector conducted by T-Media, the organizations with the best reputations in the sector are Coxa Hospital for Joint Replacement, Pikkujätti, and the Allergy, Skin and Asthma Federation. Attendo has seen the greatest improvement in reputation among the organizations surveyed.

The reputation of organizations in the social and health care sector was surveyed in March–April 2024, with a total of 5,942 Finns responding to the survey. Of the top three organizations, Coxa Hospital for Joint Replacement had a reputation score of 3.80, Pikkujätti 3.77, and the Allergy, Skin and Asthma Federation 3.71. Reputation&Trust, a reputation score on a scale of 1–5 is calculated for each organization.

Coxa Joint Replacement Hospital has been ranked the most reputable in the survey for the fourth consecutive year. Raija Tapio, CEO of Coxa, is delighted with the positive result:

“A good reputation is the result of good care. Coxa has been doing impressive work for over two decades, and our success is rooted in our strong operating principles. In our work, we focus on a smooth care process, high-quality patient care, and the well-being of our staff,” Tapio explains.

The reputation of the social and health care sector has continued to decline—though the pace of the decline has slowed

T-Media has been conducting research on the social and health care sector as a separate research area since 2016. The sector has suffered from a declining reputation since 2020. This year, too, the sector’s performance has declined compared to the previous year, although the rate of decline has slowed.

Trends in the reputation of the social and health care sector Reputation&Trust from 2019 to 2024.

“The sector is generally viewed as poorly managed, and its reputation as an employer is relatively low. This is a serious issue for society. The labor-intensive social and health care sector requires a wide range of skills, and different sectors are competing for skilled workers. With the sector’s reputation being poor, the availability of labor is declining as the most skilled workers are drawn elsewhere,” says Riku Ruokolahti, Development Director at T-Media.

The average reputation score for the organizations surveyed in the social and health care sector is at a moderate level.

“In the social and health care sector, organizations’ reputations are better than the sector’s overall reputation. Individual companies, public sector entities, and some organizations have achieved a good reputation. For example, Kuopio University Hospital, Pikkujätti, and the Deaconess Institute are highly regarded organizations and receive high marks in the study,” Ruokolahti says.

The Reputation&Trust Survey for the Social and Health Care Sector. On the left is the overall reputation level of the social and health care sector: 500 respondents assessed the sector’s overall reputation. On the right is the average reputation score of the organizations surveyed (39 in total).

Attendo is the biggest gainer in the survey

Among the 39 social and healthcare organizations included in the survey, Attendo has seen the greatest improvement. The company has managed to boost its reputation by as much as 0.17 points from the previous year, but it still ranks among those with a poor reputation in the survey, with a reputation score of 2.66.

The most significant improvement can be seen in the area of employer practices, where the score rose by a staggering 0.26.

“Over the past four years, we have focused on our own journey of change, invested in leadership and staff training, and placed residents firmly at the heart of everything we do. We have seen this change reflected in the results of our satisfaction surveys for quite some time now,” says Attendo CEO Virpi Holmqvist.

“It’s wonderful to see that this work is gradually beginning to show results in the form of growing confidence among Finns, even though there is still a lot of work left to do.”

This is how we conducted the study

The aim of the Reputation&Trust survey in the social and health care sector was to assess the reputation of selected organizations among the general public. The survey examined the reputation of a total of 39 organizations among Finns. Data for the survey was collected via an online questionnaire between March 15 and April 15, 2024.

Organizations were evaluated using T-Media’s Reputation&Trust, in which an organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different categories. The areas are corporate governance, finance, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and responsibility. The study used a five-point rating scale (1–5).

A total of 5,942 Finns participated in the study. The study’s target group consisted of Finns aged 15–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands). The sample was weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence.