Finns' trust in public administration is down slightly – security agencies once again top the reputation rankings
Finns rated the Emergency Response Center Agency and the Border Guard as the most reputable organizations Reputation&Trust , which measures the reputation of public administration. The Prime Minister’s Office, a notable climber last year, saw the biggest drop in its rating in this year’s survey.
A record 8,807 Finns participated in T-Media’s annual Reputation&Trust of public administration. In this year’s survey, the Emergency Response Center Agency and the Border Guard received the highest overall scores among organizations, with both improving their ratings and rankings from last year. The Rescue Service came in third.
*Respondents were asked to evaluate the emergency services in their area.
anseende critical areas examined anseende Reputation&Trust are governance, finance, leadership, innovation, engagement, products and services, workplace, and responsibility, which anseende determine anseende organization’s anseende on a scale of 1 to 5. These areas have a significant impact on the development of stakeholder support and trust.
The increase in trust recorded last year did not occur this year; instead, the level of trust that the best-known public administration organizations received from citizens fell from a good level to a moderate one, with a rating of 3.48 on a scale of one to five. The decline compared to last year was a few hundredths of a point.
“The work of the top-ranked organizations is closely linked to strengthening citizens’ sense of security. Overall, trust in public administration organizations is a national asset that has a strong impact on the overall security of society,” says Sari Maunula, Research Director at T-Media.
The Energy Agency was the biggest gainer; the Prime Minister's Office was the biggest loser
Of the 81 public administration organizations surveyed, the Energy Authority—which regulates and promotes the energy market, emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy—was most successful in improving its reputation over the course of the year. The organization with the weakest reputation in this year’s survey is the National Audit Office, which was the only organization among those surveyed to receive a very low reputation score (1.90). The largest decline in reputation points this year was recorded by the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Finns were quite satisfied with the Government’s performance during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the government managed to act swiftly and with a clear direction. This was also reflected in the Government’s reputation ratings, which rose dramatically last year. This year, however, its performance has not been as convincing to the public, which is also evident in the results of our survey as a sharp drop, akin to a backlash,” says Harri Leinikka, CEO of T-Media.
The importance of perceptions of corporate responsibility and good leadership has grown
On average, public administration receives its highest reputation scores in the area of the economy. The rating for organizational responsibility is the second-highest among all eight sub-areas, and public perception has improved over the four-year history of the survey. The rating public administration organizations receive in this area is already approaching a “good” level and is clearly higher than that of private companies. In contrast, perceptions of public administration’s leadership, capacity for renewal, and interaction remain the areas that Finns rate most poorly, and these scores are clearly lower than those of businesses.
“Our data analysis confirms the growing importance of both responsibility and leadership. Perceptions of responsibility influence the stakeholder support shown toward Finnish public administration organizations almost as strongly as perceptions of the services provided by those organizations. Developing and communicating a responsible approach to operations will continue to effectively increase public support in the future. anseende and restoring trust to a healthy level is absolutely essential,” summarizes CEO Harri Leinikka.
Here’s how we conducted the study
The study examined the reputation of a total of 81 organizations. The results are based on Reputation&Trust conducted in October–November 2021, which aimed to assess the reputation of Finnish public administration organizations among citizens. The survey has been conducted annually since 2018. A total of 8,807 Finns responded to the survey between October 7 and November 11, 2021. The survey’s target group consisted of Finns aged 15–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands).
The study was conducted Reputation&Trust T-Media’s Reputation&Trust, in which an organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different categories: governance, finances, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and corporate responsibility.
For more information, visit
Harri Leinikka, CEO,
harri.leinikka@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, +358 40 505 5001
Sari Maunula, Research Director
sari.maunula@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, +358 50 409 1543
