One of things that makes me most proud to be chief executive of IEMA is members' ambition to get involved and have a voice.
Whenever we ask for your feedback, you respond in droves and that attitude says so much about this profession. Passionate, committed, knowledgeable, engaged, broad minded and optimistic – those traits come through time and again, and that has become more apparent than ever in recent months while IEMA has been changing. In fact, the entire reason we changed at all was because members loudly told us that was needed when we asked in 2013.
Lots of you have taken the time to let us know how you feel about the recent changes to the membership structure, and the new website, brand and skills map. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and I would like to thank every one of you for keeping such a close eye on the developments and taking the time to let us know how they will benefit you.
There is much more for us to do, but now your membership has more relevance and value than it did previously. Seeing so many emails and tweets that confirm how you feel shows what a well-defined brief you gave to us. Many organisations struggle to deliver complex change programmes, and typically that’s due to unclear objectives. We did not have this issue, and that is thanks to you.
Further evidence of the quality of feedback offered by IEMA members comes from the recent polls we conducted in the UK ahead of last month’s EU referendum. You generated 4,000 survey responses in just a few weeks, which ensured IEMA had a series of powerful and influential messages to take to the media and stakeholders.
A journalist at a national daily newspaper recently remarked to one of my team that they have never seen poll responses of the quality and quantity that IEMA regularly provides. High praise from someone who is deluged with press releases every working day. Again, that’s because this profession seizes every opportunity to share knowledge and stand up for important issues.
I encourage you to continue to tell us how we are doing and take advantage of all the opportunities to get involved created for you by the new-look IEMA. Members have a proven reputation for giving invaluable feedback that we’ve come to depend on – keep it up!
