From presenter to practitioner…

I spotted a gap in our business model as we weren't learning from our sister stations and UK networks what was working for them and what wasn't. We weren't sharing our activities with each other to spark ideas and create good content, and generally speaking we were all working in our own siloes and duplicating efforts across the board in the process. I decided, unsolicited I should add, to share what we were doing with other stations in the hope they would share with us and each other in return… and so my career in internal communications was born…

These days, I am now working in internal communications within the public sector in Scotland in what I would describe as my dream job — so I feel very lucky to have found this path.

I decided to join IoIC five years ago. Back then, my role was based in the HR department of the organisation and there was no obvious 'next step' in my progression. However, I was very passionate and proud to work for the organisation and didn't want to look externally. I'd have open and honest chats with my line manager about this, and together we decided to investigate how else I could continue my development without the need to think about moving on. Enter IoIC.

The perception of internal communications can be inaccurately viewed across all types of businesses as the team responsible for pulling together staff newsletters, or sharing social updates with all colleagues (all the fluffy stuff). Those who work in internal communications — and colleagues in other communication roles — know how far off this perception is to our actual job. When it comes dealing with reputational risk, it can also be overlooked in comparison to external communications (which, obviously, has a role!). However, time and time again, it can be proven in evidence that motivated and engaged employees can be the biggest strength to any organisation. As Richard Branson once said, "take care of your employees, and they'll take care of your business".

Working in internal communications is often a lonely environment. You are privy to lots of confidential information that you cannot share with internal colleagues or external stakeholders. It's therefore challenging to understand how to tackle scenarios and to hear of examples of what other organisations have successfully achieved in similar situations.

IoIC seemed the obvious answer to help provide solutions to these challenges, so I signed up to become a member.

My main use of my IoIC membership — which was the main reason I joined, and my main reason to stay today — is the professional development training courses that are available throughout the year. IoIC listen to the membership and ask what support they can provide, offering courses in return to suit our needs. Our industry moves at a rapid rate (and not just now because of COVID-19, but I'll get to that later), so having the ability to attend courses to develop and learn new skills and respond to our ever-changing profession is a key help and key resource.

After attending a number of courses, I then took on formal qualifications delivered by IoIC that could help me in my own development. This is where I have to give a huge shout out to Sarah Magee at IoIC who looks after the professional development of members. No matter how many questions I would ask, curveballs I would throw, Sarah was always there on hand to support and provide the answers continually with a smile. Patience. Of. A. Saint.

My membership of IoIC has given me numerous benefits. Not only has it helped in my role on a day-to-day basis by upskilling me and providing me with new ways of working, it has also allowed me to develop a network of other enthusiastic internal communication practitioners across the UK who I continue to keep in touch with. My career, despite it hitting a block in 2015, has progressed and I've been given more responsibilities and resource as a result of pushing the agenda for internal communications from the inside out. Without the knowledge gained from my membership, I would not have had the courage to make the improvements that have been achieved as quickly as I have done over the last five years.

Even today, the benefits from my IoIC membership are clear. This year, every single internal communications practitioner across the UK has had the biggest challenge they have ever had to face in their career. Nobody could have anticipated or expected how differently things would be in the 'new world', following the COVID-19 pandemic.

This challenge has also been my biggest success to date, supported by the skills and knowledge I have gained from my IoIC membership. I have implemented a number of strategies, tactics and operational activities across the organisation to ensure that even when we are geographically scattered and colleagues are working from living room sofas, dining tables or makeshift home offices, we have continued to keep connected, implemented new ways of communicating, and enabled the employee voice to be as strong as it's ever been.

As part of a wider company pulse survey, we asked colleagues to rate how internal communications have performed since the beginning of lockdown and how informed they felt during this time about company activities and direction. We received an average rating of 4.42 out of 5 stars. As a very small internal communications team, in comparison to other organisations our size, we were exceptionally proud and delighted with this feedback — but recognise that there is still room for improvement, which allows us to continually develop ourselves to make improvements across the board. (Again, Enter IoIC with their training courses available to us!).

So would I recommend membership to IoIC to other internal communication practitioners? Obviously, yes, I would.

Anyone who works in internal communication will have certain personality traits — you care about people, you care about making sure people know what's happening, and you believe that people are our biggest asset. That, in return, is what IoIC can give back to us. They care about us and what we need to carry out our roles across the business. They care about making sure the membership is connected and we know what is happening across our sector. They believe that we are their biggest asset and support us every step of the way.

But don't just take my word for it. Speak to any other IoIC member, and you'll find I'm not alone…