This was the consensus of the three panellists at the two-day National Volunteerism & Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility Conference, which ended on Wednesday.

Organisations should have built public trust beforehand and not only react when a crisis takes place, said Youth Challenge's executive director Hong Won Young.

'Organisations with good track records will gain public confidence,' said Ms Hong, who took over the non-profit organisation's helm in June. It came into the spotlight after the Commissioner of Charities released a report in January revealing serious lapses in its handling of finances and its governance.

The two other panellists invited to speak on the topic Managing Crisis To Restore Public Confidence - Digging Yourself Out Of The Hole, on Wednesday were chief executive officer of National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Eunice Tay, and associate editor of The Straits Times Alan John.

Key issues discussed were transparency and corporate governance, as well as how organisations should deal with the media during crises. Other issues brought up included the low salary of social workers, and duplication of services.

Addressing over 200 people at the hour-long discussion in Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Mrs Tay said organisations must also value their staff.

The NKF was embroiled in a controversy over its mismanagement, including the pay and perks of then-chief executive officer T.T. Durai.

Mr John was asked, among other things, how the media handled stories on charities, in good times and bad. He said the reflex action of the media is to find out what went wrong.

'But when things go wrong, the shutters come down, the doors are bolted. The organisations don't pick up calls and don't answer e-mails,' he said. Blocking bad news is not the way to go. Instead, having someone to speak to the media is a better approach, he added.