Pleased to meet you

It's amazing what you agree to after two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc. Sue and Liam, enjoy your respective holidays!

Hello, I'm the Black Belt Dojo's guest blogger for August 07.

I'm Charlotte Butler and I work for VMA Group. I'm a recruitment consultant. PLEASE DON'T LOG OUT!! Keep reading, it'll be worth it, I assure you.

If you've ever looked for an IC job or tried to hire Internal Comms people, chances are you'll have heard of VMA Group. We're the leading UK recruiter for the Corporate Communications profession, with the biggest Internal Comms specialist team, widest range of jobs of all level, nicest offices - I can feel the anti-pitch bristles rising from here. I'll stop.

Now, I'm going to come clean straight away and let you know that I have only been 'in recruitment' for a tender 5 months, but my esteemed colleagues David Broome, Rebecca Ward and Dan Chasemore have been showing me the ropes so hopefully over the next four weeks I can share some of my newfound skills and insights with you.

Only 5 months! Who is this upstart? Well, before VMA I worked for Melcrum for 5 years in various capacities, so can assert to have been at the centre of the Internal Comms world for a while really. Over the past 5 years I've probably been to more internal comms conferences/workshops/webinars and spoken to more people with IC in their job title than anyone else in the world. (Aside from maybe David Broome, Liam and Sue, Darren Briggs, Mandy and Bill Quirke). I launched internalcommsjobs.co.uk, managed the Forum, worked on the first ever Black Belt programme and made some pretty decent tea along the way.

Enough about me. What I'd really like to do with this honorary guest slot is to shed some light on the 'dark art' of Internal Communication recruitment and momentarily open the doors on a secret world of interviews, CVs, job descriptions and placements - discreetly, of course.

I'd like to find out what you really look for in a recruiter, both from a client and a candidate point of view. In return, over the next few weeks, I pledge to share some of my thoughts about what makes for a super-employable IC professional, notable recruitment trends and most importantly, how to get the most out of your Internal Communications career. We're all in this together!

Let me leave this (slightly over-indulgent) introduction with a question about social acceptance: Q. When you're at a dinner party and someone asks you what your job is, what do you say?

Comments

[Liam]

Welcome...

I do find it amazing how many people still don't get the job title "internal communicator"...that''s why I say I'm an artic explorer (and therefore no one is surprised when I ask for seconds)...

Liam

[Jasmine Epiro]

Welcome, guest blogger...or should I say, welcome back!
I'm often met with a blank stare when trying to explain what Melcrum does. I usually try and drop in some well-known company names, ie 'companies such as......have an internal comms department' - instant credibility!

[Charlie N]

When meeting my new family in the US, mainly at cookouts and dinner parties or while sitting on the porch, I try to explain what internal communications "make" or delivers:
"It's my responsibility to ensure that 90 000 employees worldwide understands our markets, customers, and business strategy. My job is to make our leaders and employees feel involved in setting the direction and committed to bring our strategies to success."
My fiancée usually pitch in at that point to explain that I've been driving the development of our intranet, magazines, etc. but to me that's only the tools of the trade.

[Charlotte]

Yes it's tough to describe without getting out an org chart.

I think we should ditch the 8 syllable-long version of the title and shorten Internal Communication to the snappier 'IC'. Take a lesson from our Public Relations cousins.

Or we all love a re-brand - what about 'Corporate Culture Manager' 'Employee Oracle' 'Head of People Buzz'? That'll get your fellow diners shunning the bruschetta to find out more.

[Robin Crumby]

My first job, fresh-faced from University, was calling up HR departments or PR departments in large corporates and asking to speak to the person who handles your internal communications, trying to find new subscribers to the newsletter, Internal Communication Focus. It was a hard slog. 14 years later, I would be surprised to hear a switch board operator's confused silence.

So, short answer, if people don't know what internal comms is, by now, clearly they know nothing. There's not a moment to lose. One should drain one's drink in a single gulp (no change there) and politely remark: "Do excuse me, I seem to have finished my drink" and keep walking.

[Mandy Thatcher]

If you think about it, the "internal" element of internal comms probably sounds a bit strange to people who aren't familiar with business functions or corporate communication. People in the circus, for example, or fighter pilots.

Perhaps "employee communication" is a bit more self-explanatory? It does what it says on the can...

[Charlotte]

I agree Mandy. Hopefully the readers of this blog are au fait with what it means(!) but the true meaning of Internal Communication can, and does go over people's heads sometimes. Not just casual acquaintances at barbecues, but colleagues in other areas of the business too. Believe me, people might think they know what it means - "oh, the signs about the car parks." But are they really getting it?

The good news is that according to recent research, Chief Execs know what it means which is the main thing. However, in this media-savvy candidate landscape, if the IC/EC function isn't positively and, more importantly, widely promoting itself as the all-important corporate driver it is, then what implications does this have for the continued growth and influence of IC?

Maybe it means not walking away from the uninformed, we're communicators after all - surely we should engage them!

[Charlie N]

Sorry to disagree, Mandy. "Employee communication" has already become tainted by the HR brush.
In the US, "employee communication" refers to information from HR about rewards, compensations, benefits, learning and career development. That's only a tiny portion of what internal communications is all about.

[Mark Darby]

Great to see you as the guest blogger this month Charlotte! Looking to learn from you over the next few weeks.

I'm partly with Liam on telling people what I do. For strangers I remain a stuntman and/or fighter pilot. To my friends, I am still Chandler Bing, and after several years they still have no idea what I do.

I have been using the term Business Coach for a while now, which is fantastically pretentious but delays the glazed over look for about 30 seconds.