“Want to Know What People Really Think About Your University?”

John DellaContradaJoseph Brennan

University at Buffalo: The State University of New York

AMA Symposium, Nov. 2009

Excellent PR builds relationships

Today’s presentation

• Organization-Public Relationship (OPR)• How to measure OPR• Our advocacy program: UB Believers• What we learned, and how we used it• How you might use this• Comments and questions

The value of OPR

• Understanding OPR helps you create mutually beneficial relationships

• Healthy relationships enable an organization to achieve its goals

• By building relationships PR contributes directly to organizational goals

Organization-Public RelationshipDeveloped by Grunig and Hon in 1999Six dimensions:

1. Control mutuality2. Trust3. Satisfaction4. Commitment5. Exchange relationship6. Communal relationship

Measuring OPR is Easy…

• Why measure it?• 3 advantages of stronger relationships

• How to measure it?• 13 questions (Ki and Hon, 2007)• Five point scale

• strongly disagree through strongly agree

Questions on “Control Mutuality”1. The university believes the opinions of people

like me are legitimate.2. The university really listens to what people

like me have to say.

Questions on “Trust”

1. The university can be relied on to keep its promises.

2. I believe the university takes my opinion into account when making decisions.

Questions on “Satisfaction”

1. I am happy with the university.2. Generally speaking, I am pleased with the

relationship the university has established with people like me.

Questions on “Commitment”

1. The university wants to maintain a relationship with me.

2. There is a long-lasting bond between the university and people like me.

Questions on “Exchange Relationship”1. Whenever the university gives or offers

something to people like me, it generally expects something in return.

2. Even though people like me have had a relationship with the university for a long time it still expects something in return whenever it offers a favor.

3. The university will compromise with people like me when it knows it will gain something.

Questions on “Communal Relationship”1. The university is very concerned about the

welfare of people like me.2. The university helps people like me without

expecting anything in return.

Our own questions

1. I support the goals of the university.2. I have asked other people to support the

goals of the university.3. In the future I would ask other people to

support the goals of the university.4. I am a... (student, faculty, staff, alum, parent,

member of community, other)

What we REALLY wanted to knowHow do members of our advocacy program view

the university?How are support and OPR related?Can we predict support, based on what we know

about how the person views his or her relationship to the organization?

• Communications describing the mutual benefits of university's growth (web, email)

• Encourage their support and advocacy (to elected officials)

• 5,000 community members, alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents (at the time of the research – now close to 10,000)

• Goal: Obtain NYS support for university’s growth plan

UB Believers

Who answered the survey?

1,095 responses (23% of all Believers)

Alumni 44.7%Staff 27.4%Students 18.3%Community (non-UB) 10.4%Faculty 10.0%Parents 8.1%Other 7.3%

Note, respondents were allowed to choose more than one category.

What we learned

“I have asked other people to support the goals of the university.”

66.6%

33.4%

Yes No

OPR and support

Two dimensions related most closely to support:• Satisfaction• Commitment

87% of those who asked others to support agreed or strongly agreed that • “the university wants to maintain a

relationship with me” (commitment) • they were “happy with the university”

(satisfaction).

66.6%

33.4%

Have you asked others to support the goals of the university?

YesNo

OPR and non-support

80% of those who did not act to support the university did not agree that “the university helps people like me without expecting anything in return.”

74% did not agree that “the university is very concerned about the welfare of people like me.”

66.6%

33.4%

Have you asked others to support the goals of the university?

YesNo

Key Takeaways

• Nurturing a sense of “communal relationship” is vital

• Organizations should focus on building “satisfaction” and “commitment”

Communal Relationship Strategies

“People want to be served, not sold; involved, not told.”

- Patrick Jackson

“Five Strategies for the New Century”1. Building relationships face-to-face.2. Making internal publics top priority.3. Under-the-radar approach to media.4. Accountable, focused, measurable programs.5. Research – far beyond statistical surveys.

Source: Pat Jackson, pr reporter 39:28, 7/15/96

“Involving stakeholders and offering them service, info or events is key.”

Satisfaction and Commitment

Trust Commitment

Pleasure Satisfaction

Satisfaction and Commitment Strategies

• Find ways for publics to take pleasure in the organization; create positive experiences.

• Focus on activities that build trust in your organization, e.g. sharing of tasks.

How we used our findings

What we did differently• Changes in messaging

• More “info-sharing”• Less “do this for us”• Greater emphasis on mutual benefits

• UB to community• Community to UB

• More regular, frequent communications• Not just when we needed something

LimitationsLimitations of our research methods

• Social bias in responses (stated support vs. actual support?)• Timing – survey came right after announcement of big budget

cuts• Respondents “self-selected” into the sample (those who chose

to participate might be different from those who did not)• We didn’t measure the organization’s perceptions

Lessons learned• Better preparation of organizational leaders• Institutional Review Board• Better application of findings for planning, decision making

Next steps for us

1. Change creative for UB Believers2. Enhance “communal” messaging3. Two-way communication

- Facebook4. Broaden the focus beyond advocating to Albany5. More attention to the most supportive, most loyal6. Cross tabulations (demographics of support, non-

support groups)

How could you use OPR?Groups you might study

• Students• Parents• Faculty• Alumni• Neighbors

Example:• non-profit healthcare org – donors

Questions? Comments?

Organization

Public