CIPR Inside AGM: my thoughts

Yesterday I attended the annual general meeting (AGM) for CIPR Inside, the CIPR sectoral group for internal communicators and employee engagers.

The AGM is a great opportunity to discuss the current state of the sector, chat to fellow internal communication (IC) bods from across different industries and learn more about the fantastic work that CIPR Inside does for its 800-so members.

Here’s a rundown of/some of my thoughts about last night’s meeting:

1. The group’s conference in October was a resounding success. A whopping 180 people attended the event – entitled ‘Closing the Gap’ – and explored how IC can help connect people and departments within their organisation. I’m gutted I didn’t go, not least because the panel of non-comms bods sharing their experiences and thoughts on IC sounded like my kind of session!
2. Last month’s #InsideStory awards was another jewel in the CIPR Inside’s crown. The team received a record-breaking 100 award entries this year from a variety of brands, big and small. I feel very honoured to have been nominated and highly commended in the Future Leader award category. Well done to all the other nominees, winners and CIPR Inside for organising a brilliant event that even Storm Doris couldn’t beat!
3. Four new executive committee members were selected in a short and uncontroversial election (a seemingly rare phenomenon these days!). See the CIPR Inside website for more details.
4. The new committee chair outlined some of their priorities for 2017/18, which included developing resources to help members do their best work, including case studies and toolkits, and participating in more Task and Finish Groups for CIPR projects which impact IC professionals
5. IC professionals are some of the most passionate, resilient, funny and friendly people I’ve met. I find networking within the IC pool easy – everyone is always up for a chat and willing to share their own experiences in order to help you develop professionally and personally.

I look forward to writing for the CIPR Inside blog, joining a Task and Finish Group (my #insidestory award prize – yay!) and attending more of the committee events in the coming months.

If you’re planning to go to any events but aren’t sure about whether it’s for you, I’d be happy to have a chat about it. I’m not a CIPR member so my opinion will be based purely on my own – very positive – experience.

SOPPY MOMENT ALERT: Yesterday’s AGM was extra special for me, as it was a year ago at the last AGM that I fell in love with IC and decided to pursue it as a career. It’s been a fun and eventful 12 months and I look forward to seeing where this journey will take me!