Making a name for ourselves

As many members are likely aware, we’ve embarked on a collaborative effort to choose a new name for RTOERO. This journey originally began five years ago, when we introduced a new logo, colours and other brand elements across all of our communications. We also explored changing our name, but the conclusion at that point was that we needed to take more time before making such a major decision.

Since then, members have regularly shared feedback about the challenges posed by our name. First of all, it’s a six-letter acronym that’s hard to spell out quickly. And when people ask us what the initials stand for, we have to add a complicated explanation: “Actually, we’re not just in Ontario; we have members across Canada. Also, we’re not only teachers. And many of our members aren’t yet retired; in fact, a growing number expect to keep on working later in life, often pursuing entirely new paths.”

The question of renaming RTOERO has continued to come up in our ongoing conversations about the value we deliver and how we can extend our impact.

Then, in 2023, we launched a new brand for our group insurance program: Entente. It’s a name that captures the spirit of mutual understanding and trust behind the services we offer. It also meets a vital prerequisite by working in both English and French. For all these reasons, Entente has been well received both within and outside the organization — and that success has inspired us to resume our search for a new name for RTOERO.

We’re taking our time — and listening closely

This year-long effort is fundamentally a member-driven initiative. The values and points of view that will help define our new name come from all of us.

Finding the right name takes more than brainstorming with a thesaurus. The process starts with identifying key ideas and themes that may be worth exploring. To that end, the renaming team has been conducting roundtables and engaging with corporate members in a variety of forums. We’ve also created an online survey to better understand how members see RTOERO. In all these interactions, we ask a lot of questions, then listen closely to the answers — which are as diverse and insightful as the people who make up our organization.

We’ll be posting regularly to this online hub in the coming months.  And we’ll alert members to updates through our email newsletters, social media and other channels.

So come back soon to see how we’re progressing toward our ultimate goal: a new name that we’ll share with all members in the fall of 2024. (To be clear, no other aspect of our branding will change; the new name will simply replace RTOERO, while our logo and all other brand elements will stay the same.)

This is a rigorous process with many consultative steps along the way. And precisely for that reason, we’re confident it will lead to a name for RTOERO that communicates who we are and what we aspire to become — together.