Credit Unions retake top spot for reputation, shifting An Post from pole position

Credit Unions have topped the list of the most reputable companies and organisations in Ireland, retaking the number one spot from An Post after two years.

But the study also showed the largest overall drop in scores in 14 years of the study, with the average reputation score down by 3.7 points across the 100 organisations. There was also a significant decline in the perception that organisations are concerned for employees health and wellbeing.

The RepTrak study surveyed more than 5,500 people between January 2nd and February 28th. That was a period when the cost-of-living crisis, ongoing war in Ukraine and numerous technology sector redundancy announcements dented consumer sentiment.

Best five

Credit Unions benefited from a perception as a cornerstone of local communities. In second place was An Post, as it moved towards a more sustainable business, with Bord Bia in third for its role in driving high standards for quality and sustainability, and supporting Irish food producers. Toyota and Blackrock Healthcare rounded out the top five.

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The top 10 included Aldi, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Boots, Lidl and Samsung.

This year Twitter and An Bord Pleanála were included for the first time, replacing Ulster Bank and KBC as they left the Irish market. They entered the list ahead of Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, which was ranked in last place.

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Among the worst declines was the reputation of the infrastructure sector, which fell 15 per cent to 60.5 out of 100. The energy retail sector was also dented by the ongoing high cost of energy. The sector saw its reputation score falling from a score of 72.5 to 62.1 out of 100.

“We’ve chosen workplace as our theme this year because, over the last year, attracting and retaining the best people has become intensely challenging and is the single biggest threat to businesses, even more than managing the rising costs of doing business,” said Niamh Boyle, chief executive, The Reputations Agency. “At the same time, the public is taking greater notice of how organisations treat their workers and this is having more influence over corporate reputation.”

Media firms

Communications and media was also a weak category at 59.5 out of 100. The Irish Times was ranked at 42 in the survey, with Bauer Media (owner of Newstalk, Today FM and other radio stations) at 53, Irish Independent publisher Mediahuis at 54, and RTÉ at 92.

Google was ranked as the most desirable place to work, ahead of multinationals such as Microsoft and Samsung. Kerry Group was the only indigenous organisation in the top five. Bord Bia came out on top for workplace reputation.