Next in a Series on Award Winning Programs from the 2010 PRSA Del Oro Awards
Award Recipient of an El Bronce Award of Excellence
Can the humble paycheck stuffer be an award-winning communications tool? Absolutely. Case in point is CPS Energy’s Payday Plus. The one-sheet publication received an El Bronce award of excellence at PRSA’s Del Oro competition in May.
The local utility company produces the internal newsletter twice a month and mails it to employees’ homes along with their pay statements. Home delivery is one of the keys to success, says Scott Wudel, the publication’s editor. He explains that while the company maintains many electronic communication outlets, the printed newsletter is the most convenient way for employees who work in the field and their families to receive information.
Along the same lines, Wudell stresses that the newsletter’s content must be valuable and relevant to its approximately 3,600 readers. As the website and intranet editor at CPS, Wudel receives news tips from across the organization. He filters them from the vantage point of the employee and crafts short digestible articles that are useful and interesting to readers. Typical Payday Plus stories focus on health benefits, rebates, personnel changes, volunteer and family events and hot topics in the company.
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of good graphic design for a routine, internal publication. Payday Plus avoids this pitfall and entices its readers with fresh, full-color layouts that mix the right amounts of white space, images and text. The company’s in-house graphic artist Barbara Burris is responsible for the look of the newsletters.
Employees appreciate CPS’ efforts to keep them informed, and the newsletter has proven a valuable tactic for aligning a diverse workforce.
By Abbey Forney, PRSA board member and Communications Director at Urology San Antonio
Showing posts with label CPS Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CPS Energy. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Friday, July 09, 2010
CPS Energy Magazine Hits Home Run With its Employees
Third in a Series on Award Winning Programs from the 2010 PRSA Del Oro Awards
El Bronce Award of Excellence – Magazine category
The Broadcaster, published continuously since 1922, captures the accomplishments and monumental moments in CPS Energy’s history. Beyond this, the magazine showcases individual employees, their achievements and their personal stories. It is an “employee” magazine, so we make employees the focus of the publication. We have a
saying that The Broadcaster is the “CPS Energy family in print.”
At the end of 2008, our Corporate Communications Department conducted a survey of all employees to help measure how well we communicate with them. Asked “In general, how satisfied are you with the contents in The Broadcaster?” more than 40 percent of the respondents selected “Very Satisfied,” the highest-rated choice.
In 2009, even knowing the contents received an A+ CPS felt the cluttered, outdated look needed a make-over and could be more reader-friendly. The designer used a refined font and three-column grid, plus incorporated more white space. Additionally, a better balance between photography and illustrations was achieved. It’s apparent that the new look was a success.
“What an amazing facelift. You guys really hit it out of the park!” is what one CPS Energy employee wrote upon receiving upgraded version of “The Broadcaster”. With this kind of rave reviews it wasn’t surprising that the historical magazine received an El Bronce Award of Excellence at the 2010 PRSA Del Oro Awards.
By Trisha Box, PRSA Board Member and Director of Development at the Winston School San Antonio
El Bronce Award of Excellence – Magazine category
The Broadcaster, published continuously since 1922, captures the accomplishments and monumental moments in CPS Energy’s history. Beyond this, the magazine showcases individual employees, their achievements and their personal stories. It is an “employee” magazine, so we make employees the focus of the publication. We have a
saying that The Broadcaster is the “CPS Energy family in print.”
At the end of 2008, our Corporate Communications Department conducted a survey of all employees to help measure how well we communicate with them. Asked “In general, how satisfied are you with the contents in The Broadcaster?” more than 40 percent of the respondents selected “Very Satisfied,” the highest-rated choice.
In 2009, even knowing the contents received an A+ CPS felt the cluttered, outdated look needed a make-over and could be more reader-friendly. The designer used a refined font and three-column grid, plus incorporated more white space. Additionally, a better balance between photography and illustrations was achieved. It’s apparent that the new look was a success.
“What an amazing facelift. You guys really hit it out of the park!” is what one CPS Energy employee wrote upon receiving upgraded version of “The Broadcaster”. With this kind of rave reviews it wasn’t surprising that the historical magazine received an El Bronce Award of Excellence at the 2010 PRSA Del Oro Awards.
By Trisha Box, PRSA Board Member and Director of Development at the Winston School San Antonio
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