Our corporate narrative is the consistent, compelling story we all tell about what we do, how we treat each other and other people, and where we’re heading.
This identity can help each and every one of us in our professional lives by increasing the impact of our communication and engagement with colleagues internally and stakeholders externally.
The NMC first used a narrative in late 2018. Colleagues did brilliantly at using it to communicate and engage with others, enhancing the wellbeing of colleagues and supporting the confidence of registrants, partners and the public in the professional regulation of nurses and midwives.
This new narrative, articulating the 2020–2025 corporate strategy and chronicling our response to Covid-19, replaces the previous version.
How do I use the narrative?
The narrative doesn’t need to be used verbatim, but please ensure that what you’re saying aligns with it.
For example, one professional might speak to an NMC colleague at an event and ask why they need to go through revalidation. The colleague might say, ‘Because you have to show us you’re still fit to be on the register’. The same professional might then phone the contact centre and ask someone else the same question but this time be told, ‘Most professions have CPD so we needed to bring nursing and midwifery into line with them’.
In this example, one person has heard two different stories about what revalidation is and why we do it. This may confuse them and undermine their trust in us. Not only that, the answers they received wouldn’t have reflected our values, which may also have negatively impacted their confidence in us and what we do.
If both NMC colleagues had responded in line with our narrative, they might have said something like, ‘We believe lifelong learning is really important. It’s not about checking up on people, it’s about supporting professionals to keep developing their knowledge and expertise.’
