Last Thursday we had a great evening session on the theme of New Year, New Opportunities which explored what was happening in the internal communication and freelance market place and how to make sure you transition successfully into a new role. We had a good turnout for the session and speakers, Quentin Cowdry of Libero, Emma Brierly from xchangeteam and Sue Burnell from This is Business Coaching all did a terrific job of sharing the latest trends.
Quentin spoke about the tight market for skilled internal communications professionals and the rising number of people deciding to go freelance or independent. Salary and day rates have risen sharply over recent years due to demand and supply pressures. From his research, people clearly love working in internal communication - but the challenges it presents can prove hugely demanding. Its never has and never will be a 9 to 5 job. Having said that there is clearly room for offering people in these roles much greater flexibility - whether you work in-house or for a consultancy. The benefits are clear from reseach from a host of other organisations - greater motivation, productivity and staff retention. There is also a strong need for the industry to work much harder at becoming a profession rather than simply practitioners. A tough nut to crack given the number of industry bodies that represent communication professionals. IABC, CiB and CIPR could all work more closely together.
Emma spoke about the expanding freelance market place. It seems that whether you have a permanent or temporary role the freelancer mindset is what is expected. Jobs for life have gone and both employers and the people who work for them are looking for greater flexibility and higher levels of delivery. More and more employers are looking to resource more flexibly and the freelancer neatly responds to this need. It doesn't suit everyone because you need to be highly motivated, disciplined, adapatable and able to hit the ground running. For a glimpse at what the future might bring read Charles Handy's The Elephant and the Flea
Sue shared her experience of supporting people transition into new roles successfully. The first 90 days of any new role are critical - both for the individual and the organisation - but few stop to think about how to make every second of those days count. Sue shared her tips on getting relationships right from the start and recognising that the newcomer isn't the only one who is affected - their team and colleagues also have to adapt and change. So if you're starting a new role think carefully about your goals for the first three months - it could make a real difference to your future progression.
The evening hopefully inpsired everyone to think bigger and better about their careers in 2007 and beyond. Its clearly a great time to be in the industry - with lots of challenges and opportunities.
The presentations given by each of the speakers, are available for download.
Jacqui Hitt, VP Professional Development
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