A new professional institute is to champion better communication between employers and employees.
The Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC), which was officially launched on 13th May, aims to improve business success and profitablity through enhanced communication within organisations.
The launch of the IoIC marks a change of name and status for the Milton-Keynes based British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB) which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary.
To fulfil its key objectives, the Institute will:
- promote a wider and deeper understanding of the role and value of internal communication to all;
- provide a body of knowledge and research to prove the impact of internal communication;
- equip members with the skills and knowledge to develop and implement best practice and act as trusted advisors to leaders;
- provide a forum and network for internal communication practitioners to share best practice, and bring together experts from related disciplines to develop insight and advice.
IoIC chairman Dominic Walters comments: “There is now a large body of evidence that effective internal communication brings all kinds of concrete business benefits, ranging from reduced sick leave and staff turnover, to increased profits, quality and innovation.
“Increased awareness by many organisations of the pivotal role of internal communication is one of the reasons why the time is right for the launch of the new Institute.
“However, we must also remember that many organisations still do not fully understand internal communication or how to go about achieving employee engagement – that is staff who are content in their work, understand their organisation’s goals and are committed to making their contribution towards achieving them.
“We aim to ‘spread the word’ to all types of organisations – public and private sector, large and small – as internal communication is important to everyone.
“One of the key factors for us in improving standards across the board is ensuring that communication professionals are up to the job, understand business objectives and inspire confidence in senior management – hence the IoIC’s focus on professional development and thought leadership.
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“With the increased complexity of internal communication practice, and the range of tools at practitioners’ disposal, it is now very important that communication professionals have their own institute to provide dedicated support.’’
The IoIC was launched at CiB’s annual conference on 13th May at the Carden Park Hotel near Chester.
