There is a growing awareness of how system failures can harm reputation amid digital transformation and tech adoption according to WTW's Global Reputational Risk Readiness Survey 2024/25 released in May 2025.
According to WTW the survey that included 500 senior executives from across the globe, shows that in increasingly turbulent and polarised times, winning and maintaining public trust is getting more difficult. That holds true not just for politicians but for organisations too.
For many businesses and brands, managing their reputation has become something of a tightrope walk as accepted positions on issues such as diversity and sustainability become contentious areas.
At the same time, the cost of getting it wrong is beginning to hit home as regulation and litigation on these issues results in a greater risk of penalties, claims and financial damage.
The results of the third edition of the global survey reveal big shifts in the risk factors businesses are most concerned about, with cyber security emerging ahead of ESG as the biggest risk factor threatening reputations.
Responding to the changing risk landscape, businesses are agile in assessing risks on a case-by-case basis and willing to accept a higher level of risk if they are confident that an activity or association is right for them.
The results also appear to confirm a trend identified in 2023, of greater finance and corporate involvement in decisions around reputation management, reflecting a shift in focus among leading businesses from managing reputation as a function of branding to managing reputation as a risk (operational and financial).
The survey found that cyber-attack is number one reputation risk and 65% of respondents named it among their top reputational risk factors, a major shift since the last survey in 2023 when cyber was named by just 24%. Geopolitical tensions and instability can heighten cyber risk, resulting in more frequent and sophisticated attacks.
ESG concerns also continue to grow and 64% said environment issues were a top reputation risk, up from 52% in 2023. Governance (56%) and social impacts (47%) also increased as reputation risk factors. Despite pushback against the ESG agenda, regulations continue to tighten in many jurisdictions leading to heightened reputational concerns.
A majority (86%) of the participants said they have a formal process in place for assessing and managing reputational risks, with 22% saying this is linked to board key performance indicators (KPIs), up from 14% in 2023.
Appetite is high for the right risks and 57% said they had a high appetite for reputation risk if they feel an activity or association is the right fit for their business, while 69% assess reputation risk appetite on a case-by-case basis.
Crisis teams are getting stronger by the year. In the current survey 87% said they have a formal team that trains together and responds to negative publicity events, with 34% saying this is linked to KPIs — up from just 19% in 2023.
The survey was conducted in September – October 2024 and included 100 companies each in retail, manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, transportation, and non-government organizations (NGOs) and charities. Twenty countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, North and South America and Africa participated in the survey.