The inaugural Internal Communications and Engagement Awards are taking place in London on 13 May. MyCSP has been shortlisted at the awards

Having an engaged workforce delivers dividends to the bottom line – we know that, it’s a given now. At MyCSP, our approach to colleague engagement has been to ensure that we have a constant drum beat which sets the pulse of the organisation. Monthly updates from across the business with timely tabloid-style updates in our internal magazine, MyWord, drives a constant narrative. 

A clear vision sets the agenda and the year’s objectives provide the measure by which we monitor how we’re doing month-on-month. Delivering key messages, consistently, in our monthly face to face Team Talk sessions, empowers managers to deliver the message and to make it their own. 

Stylistically, our approach is to create eye catching, bold and more importantly, relatable content which catches the eye. 

The nature of our industry means that we know more than most how to use words with multiple syllables – actuarial reduction anyone? Yet, one of our key roles is to engage our customers and to help them to understand their pension and associated benefits. Cutting through swathes of jargon is key to driving internal awareness which means in turn, we can deliver a better service to our customers. 

Tabloid headlines, attention grabbing graphics, great photography and alliteration all play their part in driving our message home. We regularly feature colleagues in our stories and bring to life the great job they do – celebrating success along the way. 

Magazine features such as ‘Behind the scenes,’ ‘A day in the life’ and ‘20 questions’ raise the profile of our colleagues, helping us to see the person behind the role. Information shared in pithy, conversational tones brings our business to life and reflects our culture of a young, vibrant and ambitious company. Our sector may scream sepia tone, but we revel in glorious technicolour! 

At our recent annual general meeting (as a mutual, we all own a share in the business) our video looking back at the last 12 months reflected who we are – achievers, volunteers, colleagues and friends. Set to a diverse soundtrack including Rag ‘n’ Bone man, Paloma Faith and a snippet of the overture to Beauty and the Beast, what we captured on screen demonstrated our diversity and was the literal drum beat of the last 12 months. 

What does the future hold? More transformation, new horizons to explore and undoubtedly more drive and determination to do things differently. After all, how can you stand out if you blend in?

David Boardman is director of communications and engagement at MyCSP

To book your tickets for the awards, click here