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Company: RSA Canada, Toronto, Canada
Company Description: RSA Canada is part of the RSA group of companies headed by RSA Insurance Group plc. RSA Canada employs around 3,300 people and is represented by a large network of brokers nationally. In 2010, the RSA Canada wrote $1.9bn in direct premiums. Internationally, RSA Insurance Group plc employs about 21,000 people and can write business in 130 countries. In 2010 its net written premiums were £7.5bn.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications Team of the Year
Nomination Title: RSA Corporate Communications Team
Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Our story:
2010 was an outstanding year for RSA’s Communications Team; they won six communication awards, had over 79M media impressions, supported a massive acquisition, led RSA Canada’s 300th anniversary, prepared the business for the G20, raised RSA’s corporate responsibility profile, and increased internal communications three-fold.
Media relations:
The team’s mandate was to increase our public presence with media relations. They did this by taking advantage of product opportunities, keeping a good pulse on current events and responding to situational crises. This strategy resulted in 79M impressions versus 7M in 2009, and also increased RSA’s profile as industry thought leaders.
CR:
RSA needed to keep the momentum going with their WWF partnership. To do this, the team developed a plan to increase engagement and awareness with a volunteer based Green Team, secondments, and employee initiatives. The Green Team had an annual savings of more than $220K and made a significant impact to RSA’s carbon footprint.
A team member was seconded at the WWF to learn and share best practices. She has since incorporated her learnings into many of projects including the Arctic Eco-Tour contest. This contest increased employee engagement and RSA’s CR profile by encouraging employees to submit green ideas that would reduce our carbon footprint. The prize: a trip to the Arctic with WWF scientists to view polar bears for one lucky employee. RSA’s UK office also developed a global contest based on the Canadian’s teams’ success.
300th anniversary:
2010 marked RSA’s 300th anniversary. To celebrate, the company held a global 11 week fundraising, volunteering and donation competition. The team led this initiative and developed a strategic plan for the regions; 300 Champions were chosen in each office and they were responsible for developing and implementing a plan that would cater to their regional needs.
Results:
• $250K donated
• 5,600 employee hours volunteered
• 56,000 items donated
• Atlantic region won global competition for most items donated
Acquisitions:
Last year, the company entered an agreement to acquire GCAN Insurance. The team worked to ensure the acquisition went smoothly, building a “war room” where the team worked relentlessly over 48 hours on the weekend to complete all external and internal communications.
There diligence paid off. The acquisition was well received and had over 20M media impressions.
Effective communications:
Communications at RSA needed a complete refresh; prior to 2010 the business still used archaic and ineffective communications tools and methods. To help do this, they redesigned and implemented a new intranet. In just one month, traffic doubled, and has now increased to over 400%. As a result, mass emails have now been eliminated and employees are using this as their main communications tool. Our intranet is considered best practice across the Group, with one to three stories posted per day. The team has also developed broker podcasts, employee videos and have streamlined employee events.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, video clips, work samples, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://toronto.iabc.com/pdf/2011FinalWinnersList.pdf
http://toronto.iabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010OVATIONAwardWinners.pdf
http://www.hermesawards.com/winners.php
http://www.marcomawards.com/winners.php
http://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000376586
http://www.680news.com/news/local/article/61863--businesses-assess-ways-to-protect
-their-employees-during-g20
http://www.burnsidenews.com/News/2010-06-18/article-1355230/RSA-donates-18%2C000
-items-to-local-community/1
http://www.wwfrsapartners.com/
http://blog.wwf.ca/blog/2010/10/20/why-an-insurance-company-is-paying-closer-attention
-to-climate-change/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/streetwise/rsa-canada
-acquires-gcan-from-teachers/article1741303/
http://www.condolifemag.com/Articles/Default.aspx?ArticleID=117&Action=Article
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of this nominated team:
Julia Oosterman, Director Corporate Communications
With over 18 years in corporate communications, in both large and small firms, agency and client side, Julia is a seasoned award-winning professional with a varied skill set. At RSA, Julia leads the strategic development and execution of all corporate communications: internal, external and broker. Julia also plays a leadership role in the development of RSA's brand identify, and supports the business with its varied corporate communication needs. Julia has four children, 17, 14, 4 and 1, and enjoys family time with her husband, skiing, camping and vacationing.
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