As times change, so do stakeholder expectations – and 2025 has certainly been a year of change so far.
In brief:
From geopolitical upheavals and major developments in the White House, to political fallout from a gruelling Federal Election campaign here on home soil, change has become the new normal. These factors have an impact on corporate communications – as times change, so too do stakeholder expectations of the organisations they influence and interact with.
Our research shows that it has never been more important for business leaders to build a closer dialogue with stakeholders and deeper understandings of the issues at play.
We’ve conducted thousands of key stakeholder interviews over the past decade, as part of our many NewREP© stakeholder perceptions studies. Now, through robust analysis of the results, we’ve modelled the drivers of organisational reputation to reveal the changing nature of stakeholder expectations over time.
In 2014-18, hot news topics were ISIS and the Taliban, Ebola in West Africa, terror attacks in Europe, same-sex marriage, Me-too, Trump’s first Presidency, Wikileaks, Brexit and climate change. Against that context, stakeholders were resonating more with certainty and solid values, and the key drivers of reputation were around quality of service, solid leadership, value and customer focus.
Fast forward to the year just gone and we can see some marked changes. In 2024, Australians were still feeling the effects of the pandemic, against a backdrop of ongoing conflicts in the Ukraine and Middle East, inflation and cost-of-living pressures. The Climate Change Act had been enshrined into law, with ambitious net zero targets also in place. Struggles were hitting closer to home.
| Top five modelled drivers of reputation for each time period | |
| 2014-2018 | 2024 |
| 1. Quality of services | 1. Quality of leadership |
| 2. Quality of leadership | 2. Stakeholder relationships and engagement |
| 3. Customer focus | 3. Clear vision and strategy |
| 4. Value for money | 4. Timely and responsive communication |
| 5. Quality of relationships | 5. Openness and transparency |
Looking at the top drivers of reputation in 2024, it is clear that stakeholders are increasingly seeking strong leadership, authentic stakeholder engagement, a clear vision and strategy, and timely communication. Openness and transparency are also central to stakeholder expectations, exacerbated by a backdrop of privacy and trust breaches in corporate Australia, misinformation and the rise of AI.
How stakeholders’ needs translate into specific activities that meet their expectations is a far more nuanced discussion, and a challenge which businesses will need to consider individually. However, these broad drivers show clear shifts in stakeholder sentiment beyond ‘business as usual’.
With AI fast taking hold, one can only wonder what the next 10 years will bring, and how stakeholder needs and expectations will continue to evolve.
SEC Newgate’s proprietary stakeholder reputation evaluation offering, NewREP©, combines deep qualitative insight with robust measurement of KPIs and sophisticated data science, tailored to the needs and strategic priorities of each organisation. To find out more or discuss what a NewREP© program might look like for you, please visit our Research page or contact our reputation research leads below.
Jasmine Hoye, Partner, SEC Newgate Research, [email protected]
Heather Jones, Senior Director, SEC Newgate Research, [email protected]
SEC Newgate’s integrated approach draws on our national team’s experience and networks to deliver a full service offering.
