Update: Full conference programme now available to download (PDF).
Alex Aiken, Director of Communication
and Strategy, leads an award-winning communication team at
Westminster City Council and will be presenting a case study at the
IoIC conference in Bournemouth on Friday 13 May 2011.
He agrees that the subject of this
year’s conference, ‘the rise of the fearless communicator’, is
timely in the changing landscape of internal communication. He will
share his views on the challenges we face as communication
professionals and how to break down barriers.
 “Whilst the
workload and the demand for internal communications has increased
recently, this is yet to manifest itself as more influence. It takes
time to build that influence but it will come if communicators are
fearless, if they speak the truth, and if they admit mistakes, and
learn from them – that’s what leads to genuine
authority.”
Alex’s team has a leading role within
Westminster Council, so much so, that it is regularly approached
by other local authorities for communications consultancy and advice.
The team holds three open days each year to share best practice and
has sold its communications services to 20 other authorities,
starting with Richmond-Upon-Thames Council in 2004. Its advice has
certainly proved its worth as, since 2004, the number of council
employees at Richmond who feel well informed has tripled, from 24% to
74%.
Alex strongly believes in the importance of giving senior
management the platforms to lead the organisation. “Managers can
only effectively lead if they have face time with their staff, the
tools to effectively communicate and the support of staff campaigns
to engage their teams in shaping the business.”
When asked
what key lesson his team have learned this year, Alex commented: “The
need to constantly communicate, especially when times are tough, has
been our major lesson. With more than 700 people leaving the Council
communication is more important than ever to give people the
direction and reassurance they need.”
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