The hidden agenda?
4th June 2007 by Meryl David, ABC, GAICD
As usual, as I look at the conference program this year I am wrestling with the challenge of how to attend all the sessions I want to attend and hear all the speakers presenting on great topics across the spectrum of communication. The Strategy and Counsel track covers areas as diverse as aligning talent and business goals, reputation management, cultural sensitivity and breaking through the gender barrier in business.
But I had to ask myself where is corporate responsibility on the strategy and counsel agenda? And just because it’s not on the conference agenda as such, does that mean this vital topic will be missing from the discussions? Issues related to climate change, pandemic risk, poverty, conflict are part of our daily diet of news and will impact every one of us in some way or other sooner or later. They should be on every communicator’s agenda in the 21st century because if we don’t care about these issues, the leaders we counsel and the strategies we develop will be the poorer and our future as strategic counsellors at risk. It was certainly on the agenda of the Australian Institute of Company Directors conference held in Shanghai this year.
IABC is participating in the development of the ISO 26000 standard on social responsibility - a strategic move on IABC’s part. We had the brilliant Steve Lewis as a keynote speaker at last year’s conference and the Habitat for Humanity initiative is one of IABC’s resposnes. But what have we been doing in our organisations since that emotionally gripping call to action? And what are you going to do at this year’s conference to make sure this topic gets the strategic coverage it deserves?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Meryl - You’re right about the CSR void in topics on the June conference agenda. In past years, when IABC held breakout sessions on social responsibility issues, attendance was sparse. The program committee and staff focused this year on the hands-on build with Habitat for Humanity, hammering it home with donation forms onsite at conference. We’re also fast forwarding to 2008 with green initiatives for the June conference in New York with speaker handouts and registrant directory on DVDs/flash drive (instead of paper), online session evaluations, recycled name badges, charitable donations instead of speaker gifts, etc. Our guess is many of these changes will be unpopular . . .
June 4th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Chris,
You can count me as one supporter of the many green initiatives being planned/suggested for the 2008 conference. I applaud IABC for leaping into the green zone in both fundamental and experimental ways.
Bravo!
June 4th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Ditto for my support of your ideas, Chris. Perhaps we can add to the list an opportunity to purchase carbon credits at the time of registration to offset our naughty airplane emmissions to get there!
All green fun aside, I also agree with you, Meryl, that conversations on this topic can and will happen, whether we have formal sessions set aside for them or not. See y’all soon!
June 4th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Chris and Meryl,
I’m excited about the work being done “behind-the-scenes” to get something accomplished in the area of social responsibility. Meryl, you are right that it deserves some focus, which is happening, I believe. I look forward to meeting in New Orleans with Michael Zimet, who is leading the IABC’s advocacy initiative, as well as anyone else who feels compelled to get involved.
Chris, I love the “green choices” that you and other IABC staff are making. Please keep it up!
June 4th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Just so I’m clear about this, I think the fact that CSR doesn’t have much air time on the official conference presentation agenda is an opportunity - for conference goers to talk with each other about what implications each session has for our corporate and social responsibility. A conference is not just about the official agenda - it’s about the valuable conversations people have that reinforce and enrich the formal learning opportunities. And full marks to you Chris for what you have planned for 2008 - way to go!
June 4th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Couldn’t agree more. Employees are now looking for more than just a paypacket - they want to know how we’re contributing to the community and minimising our environmental footprint. So there’s definately a role for us communicators. Of course, being green isn’t just about what an organisation does (or doesn’t do). It’s also about their choice of service providers, recognising their purchasing power. So, in the planning process for next year’s conference, has any consideration been given to the hotel/conference facilities - how green are they? What are their green credentials - and would the IABC make a stand and choose an alternative location if they’re not up to scratch? But I applaud the green initiatives for the 2008 conference. Personally, I don’t think they will be unpopular. Perhaps ask this year’s attendees if they have any other ideas.
June 6th, 2007 at 5:40 am
Great to see IABC going green. I, for one, will welcome less paper and more environmentally friendly approaches to traditional, paper-heavy communications to attendees. Congratulations on this great initiative!
June 6th, 2007 at 6:05 am
And “corporate responsibility” can take many forms - not “just” encompass the important topics you mentioned..
For example, it can include the support of outside causes such as Habitat for H. and/or it can include review of how a business/organization operates (energy use, employee pay, from top to bottom, etc.) or how its corporate responsibility directly reflects the interests/values of its customers and the employees..
This approach can tap the roles of every part of a company or other organization of any kind or size.
Another topic that is not covered at IABC is our role as communicators in enabling our organizations to explore other ways to meet, from a small department meeting, to conference formats to models of a mix of face-to-face meetings and tech-enabled meetings.
In this flattening world during the so-called Age of Engagement, dedicated to the Power of Us, we could get ahead of the parade and help the people we serve with the missing piece: ways to communicate to connect with others to better collaborate, cross-consult, co-create, crowd-source etc.
That’s a topic of global and local interest.
Also think of having the folks from mashable, TechCrunch, PaidContent, Federated Media Publishing on a panel to give IABC members “what-if” scenarios for our potential roles in furthering the communicate-to-connect skills related to the technology they see unfolding - and the social, financial, political changes they are causing.
This is not to say that the folks have not done a GREAT job in offering the rich mix of programs for us. They have!
I look forward to meeting anyone in New Orleans who shares this interest, even though my speaking topic is different than this. Thanks for “listening.”