CR Magazine Survey Reveals: A Record 81 Percent of Americans Would not Join a Company with a Bad Reputation

Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine, in conjunction with Cielo, today announced in its annual corporate reputation survey findings that if unemployed, 81 percent of Americans would not join a company with a bad reputation. That’s up four percentage points from 2015.

In advance of its annual COMMIT!Forum on October 18-19, 2016, at the Westin Times Square in New York City, CR Magazine commissioned a poll of over 1,000 employed and unemployed Americans to gain insights into how corporate responsibility, reputation and transparency can impact job decisions.

“The impact on an organization of a bad reputation has never been higher,” said Elliot Clark, CEO of Corporate Responsibility Magazine, the host of the annual forum. “As the unemployment rate is dropping coupled with high demand for many occupations, companies have to be more aware than ever of the impact of a bad reputation on their employer brand if they are going to be successful in their recruiting efforts. At the COMMIT!Forum, we call on business and sustainability leaders to share their insights on how to improve the role of business in society and how corporate responsibility and sustainability improve asset values.”

“Never before has a bad corporate reputation had a greater impact on recruiting the best talent for your organization,” said Sue Marks, Founder & CEO of Cielo, the world’s leading strategic recruitment process outsourcing partner. “Companies with bad reputations face increased recruiting costs due to the greater difficulty to source, offer and on-board new hires. This is particularly true when recruiting females and more experienced workers.”

Working for Companies with Bad Corporate Reputations

According to respondents, the bad behaviors most harmful to a company’s culture and reputation include public exposure of criminal acts (41 percent); failure to recall defective products (25 percent); public disclosure of workplace discrimination (20 percent); and public disclosure of environmental scandal (13 percent).
Of the employed Americans surveyed, only 62 percent would take a job with a company that had a bad reputation if they were offered more money. Males are much more likely than females to take the job, 69% versus 54%, respectively. Of the 2016 respondents, 49 percent would need a pay increase of 50 percent or more to consider moving to a company with an unfavorable reputation.
Surprisingly, young people (18-34 year age range) are the least concerned about corporate reputation. Just under three-quarters (73%) would take a job with a company with a bad reputation, versus 56% of those 35 years and older.

Working for Companies with Good Corporate Reputations

In contrast, the vast majority, 91 percent, would consider leaving their current jobs if offered another role with a company that had an excellent corporate reputation. In fact, virtually all (97%) of those in the 35-44 year age range would leave their current employer and take a job with a company with an excellent reputation.
Results from this year’s corporate reputation survey will be presented by CR Magazine and Cielo on October 18th at this year’s COMMIT!Forum.

For more information about the COMMIT!Forum, visit www.commitforum.com. For more information about Cielo, visit www.cielotalent.com.

Methodology
This report presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted among two national probability samples, which, when combined, consists of 1,001 adults, 482 men and 519 women, 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States. Interviewing for this CARAVAN(R) Survey was completed on September 22-25, 2016; 501 were from the landline sample and 500 from the cell phone sample.

About CR Magazine
CR Magazine is the voice of the corporate responsibility profession, covering case studies, best practices, and trends in the five primary segments of the CR profession: governance, risk, and compliance; environmental sustainability; corporate social responsibility; philanthropy; and workforce diversity. For more information, visit www.thecro.com.

About the COMMIT!Forum
Each year, the COMMIT!Forum attracts C-suite executives, leaders in communications, CR and sustainability professionals, foundation heads, and non-profit execs. This year’s theme is “COMMIT! To A Responsible Culture & Supply Chain.” Attendees will learn how to run a more responsible business, how to build a more sustainable workforce, and how to build a more responsible supply chain. The COMMIT!Forum also provides networking opportunities to engage with industry leaders who can help attendees achieve their professional goals.

About Cielo
Cielo is the world’s leading strategic Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) partner. Under its WE BECOME YOU(TM) philosophy, Cielo’s dedicated recruitment teams primarily serve clients in the financial and business services, consumer brands, technology and media, engineering, life sciences and healthcare industries. Cielo’s global presence includes 1,400 employees, serving 130 clients across 69 countries in 32 languages. The industry has verified Cielo’s reputation for executing innovative solutions that provide business impact through numerous awards and recognitions, including its annual top three leadership position on the HRO Today RPO Baker’s Dozen listing, Peak Matrix Leader placement by Everest Group, and Industry Leader designation by NelsonHall. For more information, visit www.cielotalent.com.

Media Contact:
Bill MacRae
bill.macrae@sharedxpertise.com

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