IABC Updates

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News From IABC Wellington

Welcome to the new IABC Wellington Board and a new year of exciting IABC events for our capital's communicators.

IABC Wellington held our first AGM at the Confidential Bar on the Terrace in late February. It was a chance to do a bit of a stocktake of our achievements in first year, thanks to you, our members, and some hard working volunteers. You can read more about that on the IABC Wellington website.

There have been a few changes to the Board, with myself taking over from Lucy Sanderson-Gammon as President, and Julia Napier standing down as Professional Development Director. We welcome Janice Rodenburg into the Professional Development role and Michael Mead as Membership Chair. Find out more about the Board.

The next year is already shaping up to be an exciting one from a professional development perspective.

To make sure we deliver what you want, we completed the first of what will be regular surveys of chapter members. Thanks to everyone who completed it. The results are detailed later in the newsletter, including the name of the $50 PrezzyCard winner.

Incorporating feedback from that survey, we are going to be working on a mix of informal networking events and formal sessions, once again with a focus on leveraging our international connections.

The first of our informal events kicks off on Tuesday, 15 April – an informal Be Heard event.

Finally, we are still keen to welcome new volunteers. Having good people involved in IABC not only makes our organisation stronger, but also provides unique opportunities for individual, professional and leadership growth. If you are interested or would like more information about how you can become more involved in our chapter, please don’t hesitate to contact me on 021 772 302 or email: simon.pleasants@gmail.com.

Best regards
Simon Pleasants
President, IABC Wellington

Be Heard at our next networking event

IABC Wellington’s professional development programme kicks off this year with a new type of event, a Be Heard Forum.

These will be held every second month and are a chance to catch up after work in an informal setting, to share ideas and experience with your peers. We’ll suggest a pertinent and topical subject to spark discussion but there’ll be no formal presentations.

The first kick-off topic is “Be Heard” by more age groups. There’s a series of articles on engaging with different generations in the latest issue of the IABC magazine Communication World; do we in New Zealand face the same issues, or are there different challenges here?

The first Be Heard Forum will be on Tuesday 15 April, from 5.15 pm, at Confidential Bar on the Terrace.

Free for members! The best thing is our Be Heard Forums will be free for all IABC Wellington members. Register now by emailing: admin@iabcwellington.co.nz with your IABC membership number to confirm your place at the forum. There’ll also be a complimentary glass of wine (and nibbles) to help get your opinions flowing, and a cash bar thereafter.

Non-members are most welcome to join us at a cost of $15. We will send you an invoice on receipt of your registration*.

Please note – we have a no-show policy on all our events, so if you say you're going to show up, you're saying you're going to pay up! We need to do this because -- although Confidential Bar is ideal for our purposes, being cool , cosy, and private -- there's a limit on numbers. So if you need to cancel, please do so at least 48 hours before the event.

But wait, there’s more …

We’ve heard your feedback about the professional development areas you’re most interested in and planning is underway for a workshop in May. Watch out for details soon.

Over the year, topics we aim to address in some depth include conflict of interest/ethics; managing a team; measurement; encouraging great communicators; latest developments in branding; communications planning and strategy; and more.

Keep the suggestions coming in, and if you hear of any great speakers coming to town, or know of any experts you think would be of interest, get in touch with Janice Rodenburg (Janice@rodenburg.co.nz).

 

Distance learning… Check out the opportunities available through IABC. In April there’s a teleseminar on credibility, and a webseminar on leadership.

 

What to, with whom, when … the online survey

The All Blacks were a slight surprise, and Richard Branson might be a bit out of our league, but we did ask for your speaker wish list!

The IABC Wellington Board was delighted with the response to the recent online member survey and your answers will definitely help shape the planning of IABC Wellington over the coming year.

So what do you want? Overall no big surprises with most respondents saying they sought exposure to new ideas and trends, professional development in a supportive environment and networking.

One respondent summarised what they hoped to gain from their IABC membership this way: a “deeper, wider vision, sensitivity to the communications environment, wisdom about what to do, with whom, when”.

Topics that were rated very important included measuring/evaluating communications; communications planning and strategy; brand strategy and management; and leveraging leaders/managers as key communicators.

Interestingly the answers to the question: “is there any topic or speaker that IABC Wellington should particularly avoid” proved the old adage that you can’t please everyone all the time. For a couple of people “sustainability and social media” came out as something to avoid, whereas these topics were rated elsewhere by others as “important”.

Key findings from the survey were:

• 90% prefer networking with one speaker followed by 40% workshop type and 40% panel discussion
• 45% prefer after work followed by 25% early breakfast
• 60% prefer keeping the venue basic (or) funky (bar/café)
• cost of events is an issue for some
• the website is appreciated but there’s room for development to make it more timely, eg news/blogs and tie in with newsletter
• opportunities for networking and making contacts are important to most.

A big thank you to all who provided their feedback (which is welcome at any time of course) and congratulations to Peter O’Connor, the winner of the $50 PrezzyCard in the prize draw.

2008 International Conference in New York

Join more than 1,600 communication professionals from 40 countries at the 2008 International Conference, 22–25 June in New York City.

This year’s stellar line-up of presenters includes:

• Charles Fombrun of the Reputation Institute;
• Seth Godin, best-selling author and marketing guru;
• Aaron Uhrmacher, the award-winning media consultant named 2007 “Young PR Professional of the Year” by PR Week; and
• creativity expert and author Sam Harrison.

The deadline for early registration rates is 19 May. Attenders must make their room reservations at the New York Hilton by this date to receive the discounted group rate. Rooms often sell out early, and the group rate is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Visit the conference website for programme details and to register online.

It's worth noting there's a group booking discount when three or more people from the same organization register for the conference at the same time.

 

Can Accreditation Boost Your Career?

Recently released findings of an international research study with accredited business communicators (ABC) indicate they clearly recognise the value of strategic communication practices to organisations and to improving the communication profession.

The study findings also provide insight into the high value accredited members, their supervisors and clients place on IABC’s credential programme.

The study was conducted with accredited IABC members, their supervisors and clients. It was undertaken to identify and understand the perception of the value of accreditation from ABCs, their employers and the communication profession.

“For the first time, we have an understanding of what employers and clients find of value in accreditation. One of the most important findings is that employers and clients recognize the skills and knowledge accredited communication professionals bring to their organisations,” said Anna Willey, ABC, chair of IABC’s accreditation council.

Forty-two percent of supervisors said that since becoming accredited, ABCs apply new knowledge and skills to their work.

Visit the IABC News Centre to read the executive summary and press release on the survey. Visit the accreditation website for more information about IABC accreditation.