It’s tempting for some companies –- particularly those who don’t serve Gen Z with their products or services –- to dismiss this cohort. Gen Z is driving major changes in the crisis landscape. Until this happens, the gap between societal expectations of companies and their readiness to navigate this landscape presents a growing risk for those who fail to deal with this tension. This means treating it as part of ongoing business operations - implementing a purposeful approach to decision making, the governance to enable it, and the right data both on the issues themselves and the insights required to enable informed decisions. But these dynamics do exist.Īs the function tasked with building trust across all stakeholders, communicators have both the opportunity and the imperative to guide company leadership through these situations. No company should feel compelled to take a position on every issue, nor should these expectations alone drive decision-making. Meanwhile, despite the prevailing view of the general public being overwhelmingly supportive of businesses working to solve societal issues, we’ve seen a recent wave of backlash against companies who have done so. Another client reflected on the “hair on fire” decision-making process that they went through on pressing decisions. One CCO recently commented to me about the “game of gotcha” that ensues within their organization as they face questions from employees on why the company is taking a position on some issues and not others.
#WEIL CORNELL ZOOM HOW TO#
The deluge of issues is leading to reticence among executives who face the daunting challenge of navigating the important, complex debates over when and how to engage. Across each of the 22 societal issues we examined, more than half of CCOs and CMOs are concerned about their potential impact on their brand or company. However, the sheer volume of societal issues is overwhelming companies. Societal leadership is now a core function of business.
Companies underestimating expectations around their role in society Unfortunately, our data shows that despite this increased focus, companies are still unprepared to navigate today’s issues landscape, respond to a growing number of stakeholder groups, and protect trust in a crisis.
0 kommentar(er)
