AGM - president’s report

At the 9th December IABC NSW AGM the president’s report by Kieran McCann was presented and accepted - it is replicated in its entirety below

I acknowledge that I am hosting this webinar from the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation

I also acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the various lands on which you all work today and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in this webinar.

I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters of NSW.

I was trying to write this speech without mentioning the C word – no not communication but COVID. COVID has reframed and changed so much for so many people that every decision is now set within a COVID context. However, I will promise not to use words like pivot or unprecedented – we’ve probably had enough of buzzwords like that to last us a lifetime.

Some people have said to me that this year doesn’t count but I believe there has never been a more important year for our planet, our societies and for our community.

There is a bucket load to celebrate and that is thanks to an incredible board and community and I will share some highlights but wow aren’t we all knackered. I’ve described feeling feather thin in terms of energy reserves and I think we can all relate to that.

So often we are behind the scenes, but our profession has been thrust into the spotlight, at first during the bushfires and now this crisis. I’m also sure these aren’t the only crises you’ve had to deal with in your business this year. We’ve been the problem solvers, the crisis management planners, the considered comms strategists for new ways of working, transformations, restructures, the trusted advisors to leaders. But can we say we capitalised on that spotlight – are we being recognised as the vital business function that it should be? In an era of fake news, trusted, authentic communication is crucial.

Our pipeline of talent was under attack for the wrong reasons; unfair, unbalanced and potentially discriminatory fee changes that will be detrimental to the future job market. The Australian Communication Advocacy Group made up of IABC chapters and partners such as PRIA, fought an uphill battle to not have university fees increased by up to 113% but the battle was lost. I think I speak for many on that group who felt that if the value of our profession wasn’t recognised now then we are at a loss – we need to do more. More to move beyond a perception of being tacticians and into the strategic realm we belong.

But where do we find those reserves from, how do we market and communicate our value when we’ve had such a brutal year. Have we looked after each other, our health and especially our mental health? I quote from an article Sia Papageorgiou, strategic communication consultant and IABC Victoria past president wrote that quotes research to suggest that 89% of PR professionals struggled with mental health in the previous 12 months, and that was pre COVID.

It is only with a collective voice that we can make a difference, with a community that cares, emphasises and looks after one another. One that is there as our backbone, that picks us up when we fall flat, that shares in the highs and lows that opens us up to best practice and makes us realise that the challenges we face are ones countless others have scaled before.

It is why I’m still thankful to a mentor who recommended I join IABC when I first moved to NZ from the UK. Then when I first came across to Sydney looking for work a recruiter told me I had valuable international experience but not Sydney experience – sorry come again, was there something unique to Sydney that meant my international marketing, comms and stakeholder experience wasn’t valid. I realised I’d gone to the wrong recruiter and turned to IABC to set me on the right path.

We are a profession with no barrier to entry, few expectations about continued professional development and nascent accreditation opportunities. We can also be our own worst enemy, dividing down internal and external lines, we divide along industry and organisational nuance and difference when we should be looking at shared experience and similarities.

This is why the differentiated impact that IABC empowers is so critical, from global, regional and local opportunities, networks, best practice and the ability to boast the credibility and professional development opportunities it is what we are proud to leverage for the local chapter and community.

The IABC model for communication excellence and our Code of Ethics sets us on that path.

This year the board and I committed to an evidence-based approach to inform our 2020 strategy. This meant fully listening and responding to member needs, and is why last year I initiated our first member experience survey. Results showed we had a lot of work to do to build that advocacy and positive sentiment.

We set out our commitments and priorities for the year, based around events and strengthening the IABC network through inclusiveness and ensuring members feel welcome in this community.

So now the year is concluded we can say we pride that:

• We’ve celebrated an increase in our NPS by 40 percentage points. We set a target of +10% increase so we are thrilled the community feels so passionately.
  

• We’ve seen a nearly 40% increase in year on year event attendance and didn’t miss a beat on events when COVID hit, setting up virtual offerings.
  

• We’ve seen a 10% increase in membership since January and were awarded the highest member retention rate in March compared to all other medium chapters across the globe then saw another local record breaking retention rate for member month being awarded highest retention percentage across the globe alongside Detroit, US, Saskatoon, Canada and Wellington, NZ, in October with 70 members committing to renew or join the local chapter.
  

• We’ve continued to build on the best practice buddy system to welcome members and ensure they are aware of opportunities and can take advantage of an exceptional members experience.
  

• We made a commitment and followed through on a decision that instead of speaker gifts we’d donate to charity. Nearly a $1000 has been donated.
  

• We celebrated 7 NSW gold quill awards within our chapter, the highest number in our local chapter history. The Gold Quills is acknowledged as one of the most prestigious awards globally it sets our members apart.
  

• Six IABC NSW members are now certified through the GCCC accreditation program. Congratulations to Jane Hamilton, Megan Thomas, Stephanie Cook and Adam Carthew who all achieved the SCMP certification and Andrew Blunt and Anne Molloy now CMP certified.
  

• Gold Quill awards and the GCCC promote a common, global understanding of what constitutes professionalism and competence in communication. The GCCC was created by IABC to promote a common, global understanding of what constitutes professionalism and competence in communication. The Council is independent of IABC.
  

• We’ve refined our social and EDM strategy, been consistent with our communication through our regular monthly newsletter, seen our LinkedIn company engagement rate soar with over 80 updates and an engagement over 6% above the 2.1% of the global page, and our EDM mailing list open rate is increasing year on year up 4 percentage points this year.
  

• We’ve seen our financials remain healthy and stable.
  

• We’ve put in place fair and disciplined governance.
  

• We’ve welcomed and retained new and existing corporate members including Optus, Aurecon, Greater bank, Healthshare and Cannings Communication.
  

• We’ve forged closer ties and relationships with other chapters, ensured we highlighted the range of exceptional resources, content centre, academy courses, hub community from the global and regional teams.
  

• We’ve given members a sneak peek based on their feedback on what events are coming up in 2021.
  

• Thanks to the support of IABC member Andrew Blunt and former board member Sach Trikha we launched our beautiful new website.

As a team we did this in one of the most difficult years – one of the most important years.

Are we getting it right all the time, am I getting it right all the time, no way – our members and survey told us that. We valued hearing things like ‘I think IABC is doing a great job in difficult circumstances’, ‘This is the most impressive member organisation I have ever been involved with’ but we appreciate we aren’t getting it right all the time.

There was lots of great feedback coming from the survey in regards to: our range of speakers; the value of hearing from consultants versus comms professionals. About the balance people are looking for between virtual and face to face (50/50 split) when we get back to in person events. About ensuring networking is still incorporated into virtual events. That we brief speakers to ensure they appreciate the audience level and sophistication to always get the right tone.

So the questions we are excited about are; How can we ensure we have a program that’s better than last year, how do we ensure the membership experience is truly inclusive and better than last year, how do we as board directors lead better than we did last year?

I couldn’t be prouder of the board – your IABC NSW chapter has been led by Suzanne, Patrick, Megan, Jane, Steph, Sach, Andrew, Karen, Gabrielle, Marisa.

On a personal note losing my dad and having to watch his funeral was one of the hardest moments I’ve ever experienced, I will be forever grateful to those across the board who rallied around me. Unity in community isn’t just a tagline to me it is a passion and a purpose and when you’ve got a team like this around you, you realise nothing is impossible. People often say to me – I don’t know how you do it; juggling everything I do work, IABC and during such difficult personal circumstances, well I think I know the secret, IABC NSW work never feels like work, it’s a passion, so it never feels like a chore. I believe at the heart of it, we spent this time, energy, countless volunteer hours with the best intentions for the chapter and our members, we’re committed to continuing to boast the credibility and professional development opportunities of our members and profession.

On behalf of the board we say a huge ongoing thank you to Lucy and Salt and Shein for their sponsorship and support, we send our sincerest appreciation to each and everyone who has supported us as speakers this year, we couldn’t do it without the generosity of speakers who give their time and resources for the benefit of the community. A warm thank you to Andrew, Sach, Suzanne and Marisa for all their commitments this year and for many previous. A special call out to Andrew and Suzanne who have supported the chapter over many many years, their tenure has been felt across the chapter, and has been hugely impactful and gratefully received. I’m thrilled that tonight we get to welcome Anthea, Sabrina, Catherine and Bernadette to our community and team and am excited about the years ahead.

We’re honoured that so many new and existing members have put their trust in the NSW board in supporting them and their membership of our comms community. We are stronger together and this collective supports our members adding value to their organisations, to society and to the planet every single day. In our small way it's safe to say IABC is about better communication that does everything from keeping people safe and saving lives, building trust, ensuring inclusivity, informing employees, sharing empathy…long may that continue.