CorpComms Magazine

Oscar winners may modestly claim that they keep their gold statuettes in the loo, but winners of CorpComms Awards proudly keep their Perspex trophies on display.

It is not the only change in the office. Past winners have discovered many welcome by-products from their success, including getting buy-in internally for their services to winning credibility with external stakeholders.

An award can also be a stepping-stone to a new role. Winners report a spike in calls from recruiters while others have found that positive feedback internally has empowered their departments and ultimately, their communications role.

To date, Southern Water, which serves more than one million households across Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, has been the most successful entrant in the CorpComms Awards.

Its communications team, led by director Geoff Loader, has picked up three trophies, including the first ever Grand Prix for a crisis management campaign when Southern Water, mindful of the coming drought, taught its residents the benefits of conserving water.

Since then it has picked up two consecutive employee communications awards, for highlighting the need for safety in the workplace with its 'Aim for zero' campaign, which dramatically reduced staff accidents, and last year for 'Coming clean' after the water company explained to staff why it had been  fined a record £20 million for defrauding customers.

Loader says: 'I take awards such as these very seriously. If we win an award we write to local MPs to tell them and we've had replies from MPs saying What a great achievement.'

Loader, a former journalist, thinks the awards are a good way of showing internally and externally what his department is involved in. 'What better way of showing internally and externally what you do than winning an award?' he says. 'When it comes to external reputation the best way to get recognition is to get independent judges and endorsement. It's also a good boost for your team. We Brits aren't always the best at celebrating our employees.'

He adds: 'Any letter I send has the CorpComms Awards' logo on it and information about our award wins are on our homepage.'

RECOGNITION FOR THE TEAM

Catherine May, director of corporate affairs at Centrica, the FTSE 100 utility, picked up the CorpComms Awards for the best corporate website by a quoted company last year.  'This is a particularly competitive area and there are so many new developments in the form of new technologies and new approaches that there are constant changes to keep up with,' she says.

'Winning a prestigious award like the CorpComms Award for the website is the best possible feedback we can have that our website is doing an excellent job for the business. Internally, I think the award helped colleagues realise just how good the work delivered by the online communications team has been.'

'Do we feel under pressure to win again this year?  No - but we'll be working hard to stay ahead of the pack and making sure the site stands out in a very crowded market. We think it is a great site.  Getting the award underlines this and brings deserved recognition to the team which delivers it.'

Missing People is proof that it is not necessary to have a blue chip budget to get recognised. Following a rebranding two years ago, the charity relaunched its website with a £13,000 budget. It picked up the award for best corporate website by a not-for-profit organisation and also the Grand Prix Award (when, incidentally, the recipients went missing just as the winner was announced).

Last year Missing People picked up the award for best use of broadcast as part of a communications strategy. 'Since the first win we've had really good feedback from our supporters on the awards. The Corp Comms Award helped us step up the next level and since then we've won more prizes,' says director of communications Ross Miller. 'We are having a good time - we've just recorded our biggest ever corporate donation from the People's Postcode Lottery. We find that award recognition helps us get traction and credibility with potential donors.'

He adds: 'Since 2007 we merged the fundraising and communications team, a key internal shift for us, and I think the awards are a good way of galvanizing our staff and getting them motivated. 'On a personal note I was nominated for the Young Achiever last year, and since then I've had invitations to speak at charity communications events and the Institute of Fundraising.

A WINNING STREAK

David Hamilton, corporate communications manager at Fenland District Council, who picked up the Young Achiever trophy in 2007, has been similarly feted and has picked up a string of trophies following his success.

'The CorpComms Award kick-started things for me and I am now on the CIPR Local Government C ommittee,' says Hamilton. 'Fenland has been recognised in more than 60 national awards in the last two years. The communications team has been central to these successes, and I was involved in those entries.'

'I'm writing columns for several trade journals and after the award I got approached a lot by headhunters. In terms of raising my profile in the corporate communications community, it's been very helpful. I'm committed to local government and making a difference. The award shows local government can help compete with big firms.'

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Jason Rose, senior press officer at Scottish Water, won the first CorpComms Young Achiever award in 2006. 'When I joined Scottish Water in 2004 we were getting a lot of bad press because we were going into rural communities and people didn't understand what we were doing,' he recalls. 'My role has definitely evolved. At the beginning it was just related to community projects. I would work with communities on the ground - it might be something dull like replacing a sewer pipe but it was about finding something positive that the local paper could cover.

'Now I'm involved with more broad brush corporate PR and I'm looking at more regional and national press as well as local so the messages are different.

'The award was useful in that it gave a morale boost to people working at our company in the highlands. There was a perception that people in Glasgow and Edinburgh forget about what is happening in this area.'

Chloe Tait, senior officer, policy and stakeholder relations at Teach First's London office, was the recipient of the Young Achiever award last year for her work as public affairs officer at the British Library.

'Winning the Young Achiever award was a great validation of the work that I had done at the British Library - it was very rewarding to receive external recognition, especially when the competition was so tough,' she says.

'The win was also a fantastic boost to my CV. Since then, I have joined Teach First, an independent charity with a mission to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields.'

'I am continuing to build on my skills and experience in the external relations team, working on policy issues and relationships with stakeholders.' 

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