October - December 2015 Quarterly ReportDriving communication as a force for good in business and society

IABC OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2015 QUARTERLY REPORT 2 HOME

A Global Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Update from our Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Update from our Executive Director . . . . . . . 7

How IABC Can Effect Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Our Strategy for Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Strategic Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Content Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Year at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Coming Events and Contributors . . . . . . . . . 17

Stay Connected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

In Brief:

• Balanced budget for 2016

• Regional Conferences took place across North America

• World Conference 2016 speaker roster announced

• Gold Quill Awards early-bird deadline closed

• IABC Leadership Forum calls continued

• Leadership Institute held in Sydney, Australia

• New Communication Management Professional (CMP) recipients announced

• Membership Month held in October and extended through November

• IABC HQ relocation in January

On the cover: Cody Bromley, from our Tulsa Chapter, was

named IABC Southern Region Rising Star at the regional

conference in Denver .

Tweet photos of your members using #createconnection for a

chance to be on the next cover .

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A Global OrganizationIABC has 124 chapters in 44 countries — our newest in Fiji . In addition, we have over 400 members-at-large in 42

countries . So if you haven’t already, #createconnection .

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Taking stockAt the core of the board’s work is ensuring delivery of organizational purpose, and with that open, accountable — and well-informed — decision making.

We’re now halfway through the board term. It is an opportune moment to briefly take stock—and look at what is still to come.

It has been an intensive six months. Much has been achieved. Tough decisions and strategic investments are beginning to pay off. A new stability has been reached, along with a platform for growth in both reach and impact for the association.

I am grateful for the hard work our staff and our 1,000-plus leaders around the world have put in. I’m also grateful to the thousands of members who have turned out for the hundreds of chapter events held around the world — events that help raise the bar for communication, and increase connection.

From across the globe, those striving for excellence have put their work in for Gold Quill Awards

Update from our Chair

evaluation. Many have also achieved the new Communication Management Professional certification.

Big conferences have also taken place. In the most recent quarter alone, regional conferences were held in Baltimore, Calgary and Denver. Online, we continue to see strong engagement around the weekly #CommChat, and the IABC LinkedIn group is now 43,000 strong.

At the halfway point, I’ve taken the opportunity to revisit my inaugural comments at the Annual General Meeting in June, and spent some time reflecting on reports received by the board.

While much progress has been made against what was set out, plenty more remains to be done, including, of course, the upcoming Leadership Institute in Los Angeles and World Conference in New Orleans.

Strategic progress in briefWe have 21 committees and task forces. Yes, 21 — 22 if we count the Executive Committee as well, which

meets fortnightly to cover in-flight issues around technology, website, HQ relocation, etc.

You’ll find the most recent updates from committees where relevant in the following pages. Before that, let me briefly update on our broader strategy work.

The 2014–2017 strategy says, in a paragraph:

“Financial recovery and sustainability is primary, as is the loyalty and development of our members and leaders and consolidating gains from the 2011–14 strategy. Increased reputation in the profession; better brand positioning; and greater interaction with business as a revenue generator are then the big opportunity to be grasped.”

Dear IABC leaders and members around the world,

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Financial recovery and sustainabilityWe’ll be kicking off 2016 with a balanced budget — which includes saving US$350,000 this year achieved by moving our headquarters office. This is an important milestone as we continue to execute on the board’s strategy to make IABC a more modern and dynamic organization, one that is less tied to one physical location, and better able to serve our 10,000-plus members around the world.

In 2016 we will also be making additional strategic investments in technology. This is essential as we continue to make up for 10 years of underinvestment in this area.

Better brand positioningWe’ve tightened our focus in order to advance our strategy, through these board decisions:

1. The approval of the Strategic Advisor career level focus as IABC’s primary audience and we are moving to align accordingly. This has been warmly welcomed by leaders across the world.

2. The approval for introducing a limited “paywall” on IABC’s website, again warmly welcomed by

leaders who see this as a way of emphasizing the value of our content.

Both are in the process of being rolled out.

I’m also very excited about the Editorial Committee getting off the ground. This promises the beginning of a new global conversation. Which leads us to…

Greater interaction, greater connectionWe continued the regular Leadership Forum, cutting across the organization, breaking down silos and increasing collaboration. One practical example is the useful Q&A on the IABC brand rollout. If you haven’t already, check out the brand toolkit — and use it as well. It contains useful key messaging, tone-of-voice guidance and more. After all, a brand is not just a logo.

In October, Executive Director Carlos Fulcher, IABC Vice Chair Dianne Chase and I participated and presented at the regional conferences in Baltimore (Heritage region), Calgary (Canada West region) and Denver (Southern region). We took away insights from incredibly smart professional members making great contributions to the profession. There is real value in regional conferences in bringing practitioners

A new stability has been reached, along with a platform for growth in

both reach and impact for the association .

together face to face. I look forward to the Europe, Middle East and North Africa conference coming up in Rotterdam this 18–19 April.

Also, as Chair I was honored to join 32 IABC leaders from across Asia-Pacific who met for the first Leadership Institute in the APAC region since 2012. The event was hugely successful and offered a balanced mix of workshops, educational sessions, networking opportunities and social events.

On that trip I did a further 40-plus engagements in seven cities during 14 back-to-back days on the road. Our leaders in APAC are nothing if not ambitious on behalf of IABC’s leadership. This included advocacy opportunities with:

• Five government departments, a major police force and other public service bodies.

• Australia and New Zealand’s biggest banks, a cellular operator, an insurer, a financial institution, a major engineering firm, and more.

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The strategic purpose for this was advocacy of the Global Standard, raising the profile of the new Communication Management Professional certification and the IABC Academy, and more broadly an opportunity to connect with strategic communicators working in some of our core markets.

It was also an opportunity for encouragement and recognition of regional and chapter leaders as part of our commitment to our Theory of Change, which puts leadership at the center of the delivery of our vision, mission and purpose, and validation of our focus on Strategic Advisors. You can read Field Notes from this and other trips on the board blog if you want to learn more.

Loyalty and development of our members and leadersLeadership Institute is approaching fast. Whether you’re attending LI or not, please continue to take the time to encourage the leaders in your network. A little thanks goes a long way. They work hard for all of us.

You are making a difference.

Thanks for all you do for IABC and to advance the profession.

Let’s #createconnection like never before.

Michael Ambjorn IABC Chair

. . . saving of $350,000 this year achieved by moving our headquarters

office .

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Update from our Executive Director

Dear IABC members,

In reflecting on the fourth quarter of 2015, I can’t help but review the entire year behind us. The past few months have brought the culmination of many activities that have been a year (or more) in development. I believe that we will look back on 2015 as a year that brought a new sense of stability for the organization, and during which we further refined and developed many of our traditional offerings, as well as brought new initiatives to the table.

Following the announcement of our first-ever Communication Management Professional (CMP) certification recipients, we saw another two communicators achieve certification during the fourth quarter, as well as a growing list of locations for applicants to sit for the exam around the world. The Global Communication Certification Council is now focused on growing the number of CMPs as well as on the continuing professional education for those already certified. This sets the stage for 2016 to bring the CMP certification to maturity and continue its global spread.

The IABC Academy assisted IABC in bringing to market a substantial calendar of professional development online workshops throughout the quarter. The workshops have been able to provide a range of topics throughout the year, enabling members (and non-members) to access expert advice and instruction from highly qualified and experienced presenters. It has also provided excellent insights into the needs and preferences of the marketplace, to help us refine our offerings in 2016.

In the latter half of the quarter, the program for the 2016 World Conference in New Orleans was announced following a successful call-for-presentations process. The conference’s Program Advisory Committee worked tirelessly to review more than 200 speaker proposals and create a well-rounded program that balances expertise, experience, innovation and fresh content. Registration for the New Orleans event opened during the quarter, including the offer of a super-saver deadline registration package on December 31, which proved popular. We were also able to announce our first secured

keynote, Geoff Colvin, with more announcements to come in early 2016. The conference is already looking extremely strong and I feel confident it will be well worth the investment from communication professionals and their organizations to attend.

The early-bird deadline for the 2016 Gold Quill Awards closed in mid-November, with an encouraging number of entries. The Gold Quill Committee has been working on various improvements to the program, including new rubrics and tools to assist

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evaluators in their important tasks. As in previous years, a dedicated group of volunteers—the Blue Ribbon Panel Chairs in each region—will invest significant time in January and February of 2016 to ensure IABC enjoys another year of excellent evaluation of entries.

Membership Month in October proved to be a successful initiative for chapters, regions and IABC as a whole. As a result the promotion was extended into November. Significant effort was put into providing responsive customer service by the member relations team, and I know that many volunteers in regions and chapters put in hours of time to ensure the promotional messages were disseminated widely. As a result, 2015 closed out with IABC seeing a significant increase in membership numbers globally.

During the quarter we saw the first meeting of the Editorial Committee, which has been established to help guide the annual editorial calendar. The committee, working with our content team, will provide invaluable advice as we continue to provide high-quality content to our members through Communication World and CW Observer.

The IABC website project continues to gain ground. We were able to release improved online join functionality in time for Membership Month and restore vital access to MMA, the tool our chapter and regional leaders rely on in their work for the association. Work continues to keep improving some back-end processes related to credit card transactions. We are now in a more stable position to be able to take stock and conduct an analysis that will allow us to better assess our needs for the future.

As previously advised, the beginning of 2016 will bring change for IABC in the form of relocation: The headquarters office will move to a new location in San Francisco in late January. This move is the culmination of work throughout 2015 to create a more contemporary, virtual operation—and in developing the associated organization culture.

In summary, the October to December quarter has been an exceptionally positive close out to the year. Once again we’ve seen fantastic commitment and contribution from the various IABC committees. The

We were able to release improved online join functionality in time for

Membership Month and restore vital access to MMA, the tool our chapter and

regional leaders rely on in their work for the association .

hard work of our volunteers and the staff supporting them has created significant achievements for IABC, and has set us up for success in 2016.

Sincerely,

Carlos Fulcher, MBA, CAE Executive Director

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How IABC Can Effect ChangeThis is the Theory of Change and shows, in line with our bylaws, why IABC exists . This is how as an organization we

have influence and impact on our profession, the business world and society at large .

Business & Society

Profession

Members

Local Leaders

Global Leaders

Input — Leadership development

Philosophy: IABC is a practitioner-driven organization whose strength is derived from the dedication of its members to the advancement of their profession.

Purpose: IABC serves its organizational subdivisions and leadership by providing services, management support, leadership development, conferences and awards programs encouraging and recognizing innovation, creativity and best practices.

Output — our influence

Mission: Provide lifelong learning opportunities that give IABC members the tools and information they need to be the best in their chosen disciplines.

Mission: Share among our membership best global communication practices, ideas and experiences that will enable the development of highly ethical and effective performance standards for our profession.

Outcome — our impact

Mission: Champion the communication profession to business leaders.

Mission: Shape the future of the profession through ground-breaking research.

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The primary goal for IABC is financial recovery and sustainability, along with increasing member loyalty through development and retention programs. The opportunity facing IABC is to increase its reputation in the profession through better brand positioning and greater interaction with the broader communication profession — as a revenue generator and reputationally.

There are two key focus areas: business as usual and changing the business.

Business as usual priorities

1. A program to focus on retaining members. 2. Completing functionality of the new website to include chapter management tools and member

enrollment. 3. Ensuring our mature products (e.g. World Conference and the Gold Quill Awards) remain successful, both for

members and in creating net revenue. 4. Significantly uprating our external communications.

Changing the business priorities

1. Getting the Global Communications Certification Council and IABC Academy fully functional, delivering the first Certification exam, and launching a suite of training products.

2. Creating a new plan for engaging with communication practitioners worldwide, who are not, and who may not choose to become, IABC members (but who may benefit from the Association’s products and services while contributing to advance our mission).

3. Consulting on, then bringing into alignment, the different roles of the international, regional and chapter levels.

Our Strategy for Change

Primary goal: financial recovery and sustainability, along with increasing member loyalty through development and retention programs.

Opportunity: to increase our reputation within the profession through better brand positioning and greater interaction with the broader communication profession — as a revenue generator and reputationally.

The architects of the 2014-2017 strategy.

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Strategic Progress: Reports from IABC CommitteesYou can find out more about IABC’s committees on the website . Open calls for nominations for new members occur

periodically through the year .

Council of Regions (CoR) Dianne Chase, IABC Vice Chair

The Council of Regions, as the Leadership Institute (LI) Program Advisory Council, and the IABC Chair, have approved the final program for the 2016 LI. The session topics, speakers and discussions will serve the theme “Inspiring the Leader in You.” The Leader of the Year Awards judging panel has selected Region and Chapter Leaders of the Year, who will be announced and honored at LI. The chapter winners of the extended Membership Month campaign were announced during the December Leader Forum and will also be recognized at LI. Final tallies show significantly improved participation in the Chapter Management Awards, as well as in the Region and Chapter Leader of the Year entries, over last year.

Region chairs are tracking brand adoption across their chapters, with the majority reporting significant progress toward meeting the June 2016 deadline. Chapter leaders are encouraged to reach out for any needed support in their re-branding and to make use of the resources available on the Leader Centre.

A study committee from the CoR has launched an initiative aimed at adding value to the Leader Centre in the areas of content, awareness and access.

Leader Centre

Visit the Leader Centre for the brand guidelines and other tools, tips and templates to help run your chapter.

If you are a chapter leader join the IABC Chapter Leaders Group on LinkedIn to connect with other

chapter, regional and international IABC leaders.

Finance Committee Ginger D. Homan, IABC Treasurer

This past quarter, we worked with staff to create a balanced budget for 2016 and to ensure we are spending and investing our dollars wisely.

Serving on the finance committee is not always the first choice of communicators, but this group has been tireless in their efforts to achieve financial recovery and set guidelines to make that recovery sustainable for years to come. A big thanks to the committee members listed below and Brook Yciano, financial consultant, and Carlos Fulcher, Executive Director.

• Michael Ambjorn, IABC Chair• Dianne Chase, IABC Vice Chair• Victoria Dew• Ron Fuchs, APR, Director IEB• Alain Legault, Director IEB

This next quarter, the committee will focus on establishing best practices for the budgeting process and managing the funds to grow our financial base.

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Global Communication Certification Council (GCCC) Sue Heuman, ABC, Chair

Since launching the CMP certification level, 15 professionals have received their CMP designations. The GCCC began a comprehensive marketing program to encourage more applicants to the CMP certification program.

At the same time, the council spent time reviewing and researching the next level of certification to be developed. After some debate and consideration, the council has determined that the Senior Communication Management Professional (SCMP) level will be created next. The first step is to engage a consultant to develop the Job Task Analysis for this career level, after which exam questions will be developed.

The council welcomed a new member and is still seeking a non-IABC member to join.

Membership Task Force Claudia Vaccarone, Chair

The Membership Task Force was named in mid-2015 following consultation with CoR members and the IABC Chair, Vice Chair and Executive Director. A total of 17 members were appointed, covering all the regions.

During this quarter, the task force met monthly and worked on creating personas for the “Strategic Adviser” audience group, which will be presented in February to the IEB.

Task force members also started conducting membership focus groups. So far, two have been completed with the leadership teams of IABC France and IABC Netherlands, who kindly provided valuable insights on their current strengths and struggles when it comes to membership.

The task force invites chapter leaders to run this exercise and it has developed a set of focus group guidelines to facilitate the task. You can find more on Leader Centre.

IABC Policy Committee Zora Artis, Chair

It’s been a busy quarter for the IABC Policy Committee, as we are well underway in our systematic review of the IABC Policy Manual with the goal of having the finalized version to the IEB for approval at the Leadership Institute in February. This involves evaluating all sections of the Policy Manual to ensure that they are relevant, consistent, clear and up-to-date, and making appropriate recommendations for change to the IEB.

Our remit also includes reviewing governance documents, processes and policies. With this in mind, the Policy Committee has completed reviews of the Council of Regions Manual, and the Terms of Reference for the Ethics Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee.

Aside from successfully managing the workload, another highlight has been the addition of a talented member to the Policy Committee. Victor Zalakos (from Australia) joined the committee as Vice-Chair and has been an invaluable contributor to our team.

Strategic Progress: Reports from IABC Committees

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Communication Committee Katie Macaulay, Chair

The committee presented a new two-year communication strategy for non-members in October 2015. This was approved by the board, which requested it be implemented swiftly.

An action plan has been created consisting of five work streams relating to the five core elements of strategy:

• Objectives• Audiences• Global communication themes• Resources, roles and processes• Activities and channels

Discussions are now underway on how to best implement the strategy.

Editorial Committee John G. Clemons, ABC, APR, IABC Fellow, Chair

The first meeting of the new IABC Editorial Committee was held on 15 December 2015—and we have not slowed down since! The committee members (Ruth Kinzey, vice chair, and members Cheryl Carr, Melyssa Prince, Stephen Welch, Christine Elmer and Paul Ladd) embraced the charge to take a closer look at our online publications (CW and CW Observer), their content, and processes associated with monthly preparation and global distribution.

Three editorial areas are currently under review:

• Completion of the 2016 editorial calendar.• Differentiating CW and CW Observer.• Access to CW information by members and non-

members.

The Editorial Committee and the editorial team at IABC headquarters have already agreed that CW

and CW Observer would no longer be distributed the first week of each month to eliminate potential confusion about the two online publications. CW is now distributed the first week of each month and CW Observer is now sent the second, third and fourth weeks of the month to capture timely news, trends and issues.

Additionally, we are reviewing CW topics for the calendar year as well as writers, and providing input to make the proposed articles even more global, useful and aligned with the interests of our members. We are excited about the work ahead. Thank you for your support!

Strategic Progress: Reports from IABC Committees

Follow updates

from the 2016

IABC International

Leadership Institute:

#IABCLI

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Ethics Committee Barbara Puffer, MA, ABC, IABC Fellow, Chair

Since the reforming of IABC’s Ethics Committee in late 2014 and up through this past quarter, a stellar committee has been drafting and evangelizing a “rebirth” of the IABC Code of Ethics that has been endorsed annually by members for decades. Our top priority was to write a shorter, easier-to-read draft that is more focused and sensitive to IABC’s global reach. This quarter, the draft is being tested with leaders and experts in and outside of IABC membership. So far, we’ve heard only positive feedback. We heard reinforcement that IABC’s Code of Ethics has been a “true north” for many and a reference framework that has been helpful in both professional and volunteer decisions.

The new Code is expected to come to a full vote of the membership at the Annual General Meeting in June. You can expect the topic of ethics to be integrated into many IABC channels and discussed widely through cases and examples in forums and programs at all levels of our association.

In addition to updating the Code of Ethics, we formalized and/or modified necessary policies and procedures around such issues as confidentially documenting and handling reported violations, recruiting and seating the Ethics Committee with staggered terms and more.

2016 World Conference Program Advisory Committee (PAC) Stacy Wilson, Chair

Conference content planning and logistics are going well. PAC members successfully reviewed nearly 200 speaker proposals and invited a full slate of breakout speakers. Two keynotes have already been announced, with more to come in the next two months. The team also submitted accepted recommendations for the Foundation event and Circles of Wisdom and is collaborating on implementation. In addition, the team is working to finalize the last two keynote sessions. Finally, the PAC leadership is collaborating with the Ethics Committee to produce an ethics panel for the conference.

The team is actively involved in promoting the conference, having promoted the first keynote announcement and the December super-saver deadline (the super-saver registration goal was met).

Shortly, the team will begin working to prepare a strategic plan for the World Conference under the direction and guidance of the IEB.

Strategic Progress: Reports from IABC Committees

Are you registered for the IABC World Conference? Check out the keynote speakers for June 5-8 in New Orleans. Meet you at Cafe Du Monde!

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Free-to-member webinarsIABC offered free-to-member webinars this quarter including:

• Influencing your audience: Crafting messages that motivate people to say yes, with Ken O’Quinn• What really engages employees? The four things that make a real difference, with Deb Lavoy• What the media really want from you, with Erin Dick

Communication WorldCommunication World (CW), IABC’s online monthly magazine, covered the topics of targeted communication, change management and the communication trends forecast for 2016. New case studies, based on Gold Quill Award-winning submissions were also added, along with interviews in the form of podcasts and videos.

CW ObserverCW Observer is a weekly supplement to CW magazine. In the last quarter, the most popular topics were:

• How to conduct a communication audit• Creating a communication plan when there’s no solid business strategy• Branding and internal communication for millennials• Avoiding email marketing pitfalls

Content Updates Take a look at what is coming next to Communication

World, and find out how to contribute.

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IABC Year at a GlanceThere is a reason it always feels like an IABC event is happening somewhere . Here is a time line that shows key events

for chapters, regions, the International Executive Board and headquarters .

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Professional Development

28 January Writing for the Online Reader

4 February CMP exam at IABC Leadership Institute

4–6 February IABC Leadership Institute, Long Beach, California

9 February The Engaging, Strategic Presentation

25 February The Indispensable Strategic Communication Adviser

7 March Using Analytics to Drive Social Media Success

9 April 2016 CMP exam, Cincinnati chapter

18–19 April 2016 IABC Eurocomm conference

Diary Dates

27 January 2016 Gold Quill Awards late deadline

5–8 June 2016 IABC World Conference

Do you have a chapter or regional event to share? Use the Submit Event link on the Member Dashboard to create a listing on the iabc.com events page.

Coming Events Contributors

Thank you to these IABC members who contributed to this quarterly report.

Cover photo:

Nathan Harmon Photography Phone: 918.269.6284

Map of IABC locations and Year at a Glance graphic:

Byers Creative Phone: 918.949.3399

Layout design:

Zia Communications Phone: 918.619.3756

If you or your firm would like to contribute photography, graphic design or layout services, please contact news@iabc.com.

Have you got a chapter or regional event to

share?

Don’t forget to use the Submit Event link on the

Member Dashboard.

IABC OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2015 QUARTERLY REPORT 18 HOME

International Executive Board

The International Executive Board, or IEB, is the governing body of IABC and is accountable to its members. The IEB develops the strategic plan and direction for the association under the guidance of the Association Bylaws approved by the IABC membership. The IEB serves as the Board of Trustees for the IABC Foundation.

Find out more about IABC’s International Executive Board.

Chapters and Regions

IABC operates around the world via eight regions and more than 80 chapters.

Find out more about IABC’s regions and chapters.

View more photos of IABC people and events on IABC’s Flickr account.

Stay

Phone: +1 415 .544 .4700Toll Free: 800 .776 .4222Fax: +1 415 .544 .4747Email: member_relations@iabc .com

International Association of Business Communicators601 Montgomery StreetSuite 1900San Francisco, Calif . 94111 USA

Join the conversations on Twitter: #createconnection, #IABC, #IABCieb, #IABCLI, #IABC16