5 ways we turbocharged IABC UK&I this year

Over the last 12 months it has been my honour to serve as the President of the UK & Ireland chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. The people I’ve met, the conversations we’ve had, and the team of fantastic, dedicated volunteers I’ve spent time with have all taught me so much.

Emerging from the Covid-19 crisis was not an easy task, but as a team we have truly turbocharged our chapter into the future, and I wanted to use this opportunity, in my final newsletter to you, to share the highlights.

1. We turbocharged our online presence

You may have noticed we have been posting on LinkedIn and Twitter much more often this year, promoting our events and cross-sharing content from our partner organisations.

A major project we're also proud of was the redevelopment of our website, kindly sponsored by the IABC EMENA region. Our main objectives for this project were to improve user experience and streamline the content, focusing on the key resources we provide, including events and thought leadership blogs.

2. We turbocharged our teamwork & transparency

In conjunction with our online presence (a very visible thing) we turbocharged the way we work together behind the scenes. To progress on key projects and make sure that everyone on the Board could see what was happening across working groups, we started using a new project management tool (Asana).

The feedback from the wider team has been great, so I thought I'd mention this here in case it can be of use to any other communicators out there It's not the most sexy thing to shout about, but it's helped us achieve all our other goals more effectively, so it's definitely one the things I'm most proud of having worked on this year.

(As I was trying to find a relevant link to put in here, I realised a lot of articles talk about the importance of communication for good project management, but very few talk about the importance of project management for good communication... interesting!)

3. We turbocharged our networking

It was the glue that brought and held us together during the first lockdown, and we've evolved in line with government regulations. Our monthly networking events have been incredibly successful again this year, and we're particularly excited to be seeing many of you in person again!

We've kept our online networking events and added in some in-person "Off the Clock" meet ups in London and now also in Leeds! Look out for our new mascot Whoolio if you're new and haven't been to one of our events before.

4. We turbocharged our connections

We've worked more closely than ever before with our friends and colleagues across EMENA and other regions of IABC, and we're excited that several of us are attending World Conference this year to connect in-person and build our international network.

And there are more of us to connect with across the UK&I chapter, as our membership has grown by 37% in the last 12 months!

5. We turbocharged our events

I'm especially proud of the team this year for putting on some fantastic events with inspiring speakers. It's what our members want and I know that Simon is planning even more and better events in the coming months.

And if you made it this far down, I'm excited to share a sneak preview of the agenda for our Turbocharge Conference

Join us on Wednesday 14 September for an unmissable conference to help you Turbocharge your Communications into the end of the year and beyond! We will be looking at how brands, leaders and communicators can be more authentic. The half-day event will also include a Resilience Bootcamp, and finally, all you need to know about the current job market for communicators and how to build your skills now to future-proof your career.

The full agenda and our speaker profiles will be published later this month, but early-bird tickets are already available (and spaces are limited!) so don't miss out, and I do hope to see you there!

Thank you

A huge thank you to the IABC UK&I Board for all their hard work this year - clearly it has paid off and we've had a lot of fun as a team along the way too! And thank you to all our members for their ongoing commitment to the communication profession.

With best wishes,
Laura

Laura Desert
IABC UK & Ireland President 2021-22
Internal Communications Manager (Lead), CityFibre