Procter & Gamble Co.’s reputation among U.S. consumers dropped out of the “very good” category in the latest Harris Poll, especially with regard to perception of workplace environment.
The Cincinnati-based maker of brands such as Pampers diapers (NYSE: PG) now enjoys merely a “good” corporate reputation. It slid to No. 54 among the 100 most visible companies, according to the Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study released today. P&G was No. 15 last year, which verged on having an “excellent” reputation.
“Procter & Gamble’s decline is evident across all reputation dimensions, but particularly pronounced with Workplace Environment,” according to the Harris Poll, a market research firm based in Rochester, N.Y.
Two other Cincinnati-based companies, Kroger and Macy’s, leapfrogged P&G in the study.
Kroger, the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets (NYSE: KR), remained in the “very good” category. It placed No. 21, up from No. 35 last year.
Macy’s Inc., which is among the nation’s largest department store chains and online retailers (NYSE: M), remained in the “good” category. But Macy’s placed three spots ahead of P&G, rising to No. 51 from last year’s position of No. 58.
Remaining No. 1 in the new ranking was Amazon.com Inc., which received a reputational quotient score of 86.27, or “excellent.” Others in that category included:
- Apple, No. 5
- UPS, No. 6
- Walt Disney Co., No. 7
- Google, No. 8
- Tesla Motors, No. 9
- 3M Co., No. 10.
A company had to post a score of 80 or above to land in the top category. Among the 16 that did was Johnson & Johnson, a competitor of P&G, which placed No. 4 with a score of 82.57.
P&G’s score in this year’s survey was 74.10, down 5.3 from 79.39 last year. A score of 70 to 74 is considered “good,” while 75 to 79 is “very good.”
Harris didn’t offer an explanation for P&G’s decline or the rise of the two other Cincinnati-based companies.
P&G didn’t immediately respond to a Business Courier request for comment on whether the decline in reputation, especially regarding workplace environment, could have been linked to eliminating more than 12,000 jobs last year as part of a streamlining of brands. P&G now has 95,000 employees worldwide, who work in either its 115 factories or in offices spread across nearly 70 countries.
The workplace environment category of the Harris Poll included perceptions related to “rewards employees fairly,” “good place to work” and “good employees.”
P&G eliminated 10,000 jobs at the beginning of October as it sold off CoverGirl Cosmetics and 41 other beauty brands to New York-based Coty Inc.
In March, P&G shed 2,700 employees and about $2.5 billion in annual sales when it closed on the transfer of its Duracell battery division to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The 18th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study was conducted online in English among 23,633 U.S. respondents from Nov. 29 to Dec. 16, 2016. Preliminary nominating waves of research were conducted among 4,092 respondents from Sept. 13-15 and Oct. 4-6. Because the sample was based on those who agreed to participate in an online panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error could be calculated, according to Harris.
Consumers rated perceptions across 20 attributes classified into workplace environment and five other dimensions of corporate reputation:
- Social Responsibility: Supports good causes, environmental responsibility and community responsibility
- Vision & Leadership: Market opportunities, excellent leadership and clear vision for the future
- Financial Performance: Outperforms competitors, record of profitablity, low-risk investment and growth prospects
- Products & Services: High quality, innovative, value for money and stands behind
- Emotional Appeal: Feels good about, admire & respect, and trust.
Products and services dominate reputation perceptions, and emotional appeal also remains important, Harris said. Most toxic to reputations are intentional wrongdoing or illegal actions, followed closely by lying or misrepresenting the facts about a product or service. Unfair workplace conditions and culture was No. 5 on the list of things less tolerated by the public.
In December, P&G issued its first Citizenship Report, which outlined progress the company is making in terms of corporate responsibility and ethics, diversity and inclusion, gender equality, community impact and environmental sustainability.
“We are, and want to be known as, a company that is governed responsibly and behaves ethically, that is open and transparent in its business dealings, that supports good causes and protects the environment, and that provides an appealing place to work where our employees are treated well and are given the opportunity to be all they can be,” CEO David Taylor wrote in the introduction to the Citizenship Report.
Highlights included how the maker of brands such as Always feminine products and Ariel detergent is using advertising and its workplace standards in an effort to positively influence cultures in the more than 180 countries where its consumer goods are sold.
“We know our consumers are increasingly interested in understanding more about the company behind the superior performing brands and products they have come to know and trust — and in ensuring that our actions and values are worthy of that trust,” Taylor wrote.
One objective is to maintain and enhance the corporate reputation through an ethics and compliance culture as well as a corporate culture that supports conserving resources, protecting the environment, improving social conditions, respecting human and labor rights, and empowering individuals and communities, P&G stated.
“We operate within the spirit and letter of the law, maintaining high ethical standards wherever we conduct business,” P&G added. “We believe that good governance practices contribute to better results for shareholders.”
To see the complete Harris Poll rankings of corporate reputations, click here.