Corporate Responsibility at BT
“To produce this project - the largest of its kind in Great Britain - we turned to CragRats. They were the only company who could deliver it on the scale and with the professionalism we demanded. We tried different companies, but CragRats was by far the best. Through the development and delivery of this project CragRats has made a huge impact at every stage and delivered a communications programme that will leave a lasting legacy throughout the UK.”
Adrian Hosford, Director Corporate Responsibility, BT
/challenge
CragRats' involvement with BT began in 1999. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, BT put forward its vision to help the UK become the best in the world at communication. The challenge for CragRats was to improve the communication skills of 1 million young people throughout the UK. In addition, CragRats were asked to generate significant regional PR coverage for the programme.
/approach
The project began with a 4 month research programme. This period of research allowed CragRats to develop shows and workshop activities targeted at 9-12 year-olds that fulfilled the needs of young people and the curriculum. Over the next two years, CragRats actors and facilitators toured nationwide with FutureTalk, visiting a total of 3,670 schools, careers fairs and the Millennium Dome.
The BT Education Programme capitalised on the success of FutureTalk. From 2001 to 2003, CragRats took the roadshow to over 5,000 schools. This programme included a live drama performance, an interactive workshop and a Schools' Pack including CD Rom and Video. The aim was to help develop youg people's effective speaking and listening skills in the context of real life situations; valuable skills for school, home and their futures.
The BT Citizenship and Communication Workshops visited over 300 schools in 2003. The purpose of these events was to encourage young people to take responsibility for being a fair citizen by demonstrating the importance of good communication and the consequences of communication breakdown.
In 2004 we developed The Communication Skills Roadshow. It was created to bring together the four strands of the Government's National Strategy for Speaking and Listening - speaking, listening, group discussion/interaction and drama - in order to help raise standards within schools.
CragRats not only designs and delivers the in-school events but also has a strategic role to play in the project: running the BT Education Programme Helpline, producing teaching materials, storing and distributing the Education Programme Resources, researching new methods and managing the regional PR.
/Results
CragRats exceeded their original target reaching over 2 million young people, leaving a lasting legacy of improved communication skills.
BT has been rated the world's number one telecommunications company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for five years running.
More than 10,000 'thank-you' letters received from schools who experienced the roadshow events.
BT were so impressed with CragRats flexibility that they were awarded the Regional PR contract for the programme, which generated over 10 million WOTS (Weighted Opportunities to See) for BT Based on 18 months of UK customer tracking, BT has identified that CSR impact accounts for at least 25% of BT's corporate reputation.
