Council wins gold for Slough internal communications
Slough Borough Council’s communications team has won a prestigious award for its excellent internal communications.
The award from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) was presented to the Slough team at a gala dinner for the Thames and Chilterns region last Friday (23 February).
The team scooped the gold PRide award in the internal communications category for their campaign ‘You’re Looking Good Today’, which prepared council staff for the Comprehensive Performance Assessment inspection in 2005.
Cllr Dexter Smith, Slough commissioner responsible for communications, said: "I am absolutely delighted that our internal communications has been recognised by the CIPR – well done to the team!
"The campaign came at a time when we were facing a very important inspection and we wanted to make sure staff were fully prepared for it. This campaign provided staff with all the information they needed about the inspection with a memorable strap line – you’re looking good today – to make sure they were engaged with what was going on.
"Like all good PR messages it focused on an inner truth - in this case the council's services were of a good standard. This then became a self-fulfilling prophecy and the CPA inspectors maintained our rating at good (three stars) despite the inspection being against a harder test."
The Slough council was not only up against other local authorities in the Thames and Chilterns region, but also private sector companies and PR agencies.
Nicky Davis, chair of CIPR Thames and Chilterns, said: "The PRide Awards are about raising professional standards by identifying, recognising and rewarding the first-rate work going on in the PR industry outside of London and the contribution this makes to business and society. The judging process is rigorous and to win is a tremendous achievement."
Slough Borough Council