Don’t trot out the CEO just yet: Survey shows outside experts are more-trusted sources

An annual survey of trust by Edelman Public Relations shows that company CEOs might not be the best spokespersons for your organization. Only 40 percent of respondents in the international survey reported they found company CEOs “credible” or “very credible.” On top were “academics or experts” and “financial or industry analysts,” with 64 and 52 percent respectively. On the upside, CEO credibility is on the rise in the U.S., up to 26 percent from last year’s dismal 17 percent.

Interestingly, when asked about the credibility of different sources for information about a company, respondents gave high marks – 41 percent – to “conversations with employees.” However, employees ranked below CEO’s and “people like me” when asked about the credibility of certain spokespersons.

Speaking of spokespersons, corporate spokespersons didn’t do well on the survey again this year with only 32 percent rating them as credible sources of information. Only social networking sites and advertising came out worse.