IEMA is soon to unveil changes to increase the impact of the organisation and its members.
In April 2013, I was preparing to join IEMA and doing my homework, finding out what the institute had achieved and where it said it wanted to be. What I realised was that IEMA was an organisation with a huge wealth of knowledge and equity, which had grown quickly for all the right reasons and boasted a network of thousands of committed and passionate professionals.
Over the next three months you will see IEMA change including greater clarity about what being a member at any level means
Fast forward a few months and, after spending time getting to know the staff, volunteers and many members, I discovered that the institute was a little listless: capable of huge things but held back by some self-imposed barriers. That is not unusual for a professional body. As beasts they can feel a little cool to the touch and are rarely set up to maximise the passion members have for their careers. I knew I wanted IEMA to be different and members told me time and again they wanted the same thing.
Three years later, I can tell you that we have been working hard to reshape IEMA to become what you want and need us to be. We’ve removed the barriers that constricted our ambition, creativity and growth. We are building the IEMA brand to have a bigger impact and to be readily recognised. Most importantly, with the help of members, employers and universities, we have worked to make membership more meaningful and more valuable than ever. We now consider ourselves to be a bright, open and brave organisation that is fit for the future and ready to fulfil the collective ambition of its members.
Over the next three months you will see IEMA change in the right ways and because members said that’s what they need. You will see a refreshed look and feel to our logo and website. You will hear IEMA’s comment and voice get louder. You will also get greater professional value from your membership. From June, you will have greater clarity about what being an IEMA member at any level means and the tools to better explain it to employers. The member journey will be clearer and you will have more opportunities to develop and progress. Innovations to the way those new to the profession can join IEMA will help the institute to grow, making your professional network stronger, wider and more diverse.
Please keep an eye out for the updates we will be delivering to you in the months ahead because they will explain the important changes in far greater detail than this column allows. I am genuinely excited to see all we have worked on together come to fruition. I hope you are too.
