REC picks up TAF awards for its excellence in membership communications

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has scooped another two major Trade Association Forum Best Practice prizes.

The REC picked up both the Website of the Year and Electronic Communication awards at the TAFís Annual Awards Dinner at the Intercontinental London Park Lane Hotel last night (Thursday July 24th).

These come on top of the awards previously won by the REC including the prestigious Trade Association of the Year title and Best Membership Pack for 2007. Other prizes have included Best Social Initiative, Magazine and Website.

Kevin Green, the RECís Chief Executive said: ìWe are absolutely delighted to have continued our winning ways at the TAF Awards. To be awarded the prizes for the website and e-comms demonstrates our continuing pursuit of excellence in the way we communicate with our members.î

The Website of the Year was given in recognition of the comprehensive and continuous improvement of the site over the past year, which has resulted in a record number of visits. In May 2008 alone, the site received an all-time high of almost 175,500 visits.

The RECís investment in the site was equivalent to 1.40 per member which the TAF Awards judges agree was an impressive and well thought-out use of member subscriptions.

The judges said they were very impressed by the way the redesign of the REC itself was reflected in the systematic development of the web pages. ìThe RECís pre-occupation with accessibility and user friendliness result in a clear and structured series of pages that first attracted visitors and then encouraged them to stay,î they remarked.

For the Electronic Communications award, the judges said: ìThere is much for other associations to learn from the effective and considered way the REC reaches out to its members via the web.î

The changes to the RECís electronic communications were made last year after it became apparent members were being inundated with disparate messages from across the organisation.

To counter this, the membership has now been divided into corporate and individual members with each in receipt of tailored electronic information.

The judges said they liked the clarity and uncluttered nature of both the RECís e.news for companies and IM@lert for individuals, along with the active seeking of members views.

Both the corporate and individual electronic communications are part of an integrated marketing strategy of member recognition. Both of them receive above average open and click-through rates which demonstrate how much members value them.

Anita Holbrow, the RECís Director of Marketing, explained they are a cost effective way of regularly communicating with members, provide a forum for two way dialogue and ensure all members are kept up to date with the latest industry news, trends and topical debate.

The REC was also a finalist in two other award categories ñ the Best Membership Pack and Best Commercial Initiative - for its business scheme, the Recruitment Industry Taskforce for Enterprise (RITE)