CorpComms Magazine

Perhaps it is too dramatic to call it an epiphany, but when cockney actor Bob Hoskins uttered the immortal words 'It's good to talk' in a 1996 television advert for BT, the telecoms group realised the significance of the catchphrase.

The campaign for BT, then known as British Telecom, was designed to tackle the reluctance of people to communicate more by phone. Following privatisation in 1984, BT had lost its monopoly position and, recognising that its market share was poised to fall, was looking to grow its overall market.

Adrian Hosford, now head of corporate responsibility at BT, was running the campaign but realised that advertising could only do so much. 'I began to think about how you influence people to communicate more effectively,' he says. 'If you can improve people's lives through better communication, they will get more out of life.'

Brave new world

Hosford, who began his career in marketing and advertising, suggested a programme working with schools and adult education centres around the country, to help develop people's ability to communicate. He was then tasked with running BT's millennium programme, called Future Talk, which was designed to help everybody benefit from better communication.

The company also sponsored the Talk Zone in the Millennium Dome which, among other activities, created 3D avatars - likenesses of visitors - and gave them the opportunity to star in a BT commercial.

The success of the education programme coincided with the growing recognition among leading corporates of the importance of CSR policies. 'BT was already active in the CSR arena, but it was rather disparate,' recalls Hosford. 'The company was involved in a wide range of activities, such as healthcare, but I felt things could be better targeted. I did a lot of research to learn what drives reputation as a responsible firm.'

Hosford found that a corporate responsibility programme worked best to enhance a company's reputation if it was both credible and relevant to the business. The majority of other programmes were scrapped - 'healthcare programmes are better served by pharmaceutical companies,' he explains - and BT concentrated its efforts on promoting communication.

'I wanted to discover how to meet the expectations of both stakeholders and society with a corporate responsibility programme,' says Hosford. 'At the same time, however, there had to be a business case for it. A company cannot do something long term without having a proper business case that is both qualified and robust. It's all about enlightened long-term self-interest. There was no question we had to do something in the corporate responsibility area, but to do it well the policy had to be authentic and real.'

Today, for example, most people take going online for granted. 'A lot of people are not online, however, and many of them, like the elderly, are the people who need it the most,' adds Hosford. '

Care in the community

Every year BT also visits schools to help 3,000 children with their communication skills. 'We have actors in plays demonstrating the importance of differences between poor communication and good communication,' says Hosford. 'We show children how they can apply those skills in their lives.'

The company also provides primary and secondary schools with a range of free educational resources, available as DVDs or via the internet, which support the teaching of speaking and listening skills. BT funds school projects that demonstrate novel ways for students to improve their communication skills, too.

The programme has developed through 'trial and error', says Hosford. 'Some things go down well and capture the imagination. Others don't. We are focused overall on communications for a better world. It is a more sustainable programme because it is focused.' As new communication outlets come on-stream, such as social networking and new media, the programme evolves to take them into account 'so that people don't get left behind'.

Early on Hosford recognised that, unlike an environmental policy where, for example, a business could demonstrate its contribution to tackling climate change, the impact and progress of a corporate responsibility programme is less visible. Nonetheless, his research proved there is a direct relationship between customer satisfaction and the perception of BT as a socially responsible company.

'We can show that customers who view us as a socially responsible company are twice as loyal as those who don't,' says Hosford. 'We also know that 25 percent of our corporate reputation is derived from our CSR-type activities.'

Volunteer force

Making customers aware of BT's corporate responsibility programme is not Hosford's priority, and advertising would be unseemly. The company's own staff members are great ambassadors for the scheme, however. One third of BT's workers, who now number more than 100,000, are voluntarily involved in the scheme. For example, nearly 4,000 staff are available, through the BT Volunteers scheme, to offer support to schools in some way.

'There is much word-of-mouth marketing related to our real-life activities,' explains Hosford. 'BT has a strong association with Comic Relief and Children in Need, for example. More than 50 percent of our customers are aware that we are responsible for the telephones for charity and disaster appeals. We don't do it for boastful advertising. We do it because people want to be involved. There is no shortage of volunteers.'

This month Hosford is hosting BT's second CSR Week, where staff can learn more about the education programme. 'If you tell people something, they might remember a bit,' says Hosford. 'But if there are lots of activities and they can get involved, they will remember a lot. It is a powerful way to communicate to our staff members and promote their involvement

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