News from the FIR Blog

According to the Global Communication Certification Council, “Professional certifications through GCCC® give you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise and provide evidence of your outstanding abilities. Becoming certified engages you in the process of life-long learning that elevates your career and provides a structure for keeping your skills fresh and applicable.”

At 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 19, join moderator Shel Holtz, SCMP, and four IABC Fellows for a conversation about certification. The discussion will range from why certification matters and what the CMP and SCMP certifications represent to how to prepare and how to maintain certification after earning it. Participants in the live stream will be able to ask questions and share observations in real-time.
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Join four IABC Fellows for a look back on 2022, which was a consequential year for communicators. The evolution of COVID-19 from pandemic to endemic led companies to bring employees back to the office, creating a need to communicate the new hybrid work reality (or, in some cases, why employers were insisting everyone come back full-time while others retained a remote work arrangement). “Quiet Quitting” became a topic of discussion as dissatisfied employees dialed back the effort they gave to the organizations. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion remained an important topic. There were layoffs in the tech industry, along with other economic news that affected companies and employees. And there was no shortage of crises to occupy communicators’ time. These and other topics will be dissected in this special “Circle of Fellows,” scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, December 15.
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Is your trademark your company’s brand? Your logo? Or is your brand what your customers say about you when you’re not in the room? What’s a brand promise and how do you develop one that everyone can buy into? How do you build the brand internally so every employee projects it externally? What’s the communicator’s role in protecting the brand? And what do you do when your company fails to live up to it?

Four IABC Fellows will share their deep experience with brands and branding in the next “Circle of Fellows” episode, which will be broadcast live at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 17. You will be able to ask questions and share your own experiences in real-time during the conversation or watch the video replay or listen to the audio podcast later when it’s more convenient for you.
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You have gained experience as a communicator in an organization. Now, you want to establish a consulting practice. You have questions. Do you focus on a niche or will you be a generalist? Will you remain independent or hire staff? How do you build your business? What should you charge? Four IABC Fellows with decades of experience as communication consultants will answer your questions in episode 85 of “Circle of Fellows,” IABC’s monthly broadcast/panel discussion.
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In July, four IABC Fellows gathered to discuss what communication is…and isn’t. That conversation will continue at noon EDT on Thursday, August 18.

Too often, communicators are called upon to engage in activities some might consider communication. It may even qualify as communication under some definitions. But in the business world, simply distributing a routine notice is far from communication. It may be messaging, but even that is questionable if nobody reads it. Conversely, modifying a company process that is sending the wrong message to employees may not strike an executive as a means of communication — but it is.

Join us for this intriguing conversation and share your own thoughts, observations, experiences, and questions in real-time. If you are unable to participate during the live stream, you will be able to watch the video replay or listen to the audio podcast.
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Ask leaders what “communication” is and you are likely to hear a wide range of answers, especially when it comes to the role of a company communication function. Some of those answers may be accurate, others not so much. Too often, leaders see communication as a one-way messaging function, for example. In the first of this two-part discussion, four IABC Fellows will explore exactly what communication is…and isn’t.
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With today’s online discussions, forums, and social media platforms, communication professionals easily delve into what key stakeholders know-feel-do about something now. This enables comms pros to develop more efficient and effective plans to transform what stakeholders’ know-feel-do to achieve organizational goal(s) and objectives. Four IABC Fellows will dive into research and measurement in the next… Continue Reading →

As part of the IABC Career Roadmap, the business leader path is essential to our profession and its role within society. The business leader plays a critical role in shaping an organization’s future by adopting the Global Standard for the profession while building and maintaining a well-structured, competent, and trusted organizational communication function.

In this Circle of Fellows, our panel of top international communication advisors explores executive communication and leadership, its importance in organizations, and how we as communication professionals build the relationships and competence of executives. They will discuss how to add business value while expanding communication competencies and coaching the people who drive today’s organizations.
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“Strategic” communication is differentiated from other communication by one simple concept: It is “the communication principles, strategies, and initiatives used to further an organization’s goals,” according to one communication-focused website. (It’s not a bad definition, though it fails to mention “measurable,” which is a critical element of strategic communication.) The target of an organization’s strategic… Continue Reading →