Institute of Internal Communication

The presentations from the Chester 2010 conference can now be found in the members' resources section. Note: you must be logged in to access this section.

The rapid rise of robotics and other forms of advanced IT means that many currently valued workplace skills are destined to become obsolete and that ‘softer’, people skills will come into their own.

That was the message from futurologist Ian Pearson, who predicted that robots would be as intelligent as people by 2015, and 100 times more intelligent by 2020, with the progress of laptop capabilities following a similar pattern.

The only area in which artificial intelligence would lag behind humans for some years to come was interactional skills – for example, the ability to bond, build rapport with and counsel others.

For this reason, he contended that it was highly developed face-to-face communication skills that would be at a real premium in the future, while the human as ‘smart machine’ would no longer be required.

As women had traditionally been strong in relation to emotional intelligence, he envisaged that this change of emphasis would have a significant impact in terms of helping them rise to more senior positions and break down any glass ceilings. There would also be more opportunities for older people, as interactional skills increase as people age.

He argued that by 2020, with globalisation reducing most people to a commodity and machine intelligence eroding the value of most commodity level skills, only about 1% of the population would stand out in terms of their creative capabilities and, therefore, be in considerable demand from employers

Evolving technology will also make for very different workplaces. Much greater portability of devices will mean that traditional office spaces with desks and computers will be replaced by meeting places that double as work and social environments.

Helen Farrar, the company's head of internal communications, stressed the importance of not getting carried away with the latest technology when considering social networking. The key to success was understanding what employees would actually value and use in terms of building fruitful relationships across all locations and supporting high-level business performance.

The intranet is one of Virgin Media’s key methods for giving its people a voice. Every intranet story has an open comments function, with some resulting in feedback from 700-800 people. Members of the senior management team get involved, and this helps to show that they are listening to staff’.

New opportunities are opening up for people in work who want to gain qualifications, because of the flexible credit system that has been established.

In his breakout session, Dr Jon Talbot of the University of Chester explained how this worked and new methods of delivering qualifications that will increase choice even further.

The CiB/IoIC annual dinner took place on the evening on Thursday 13 May. President Alan Peaford and Chairman Dominic Walters both paid a fond farewell to CiB as the association became IoIC. Awards were presented and a raffle was held in aid of Help for Heroes and the Cornelia De Lange Syndrome Foundation.

In true tradition we toasted Tony the toastmaster before a NASA-type countdown to the name change and unveiling of the new IoIC brand. The logo was introduced with an ear-splitting bang as two cannons fired silver foil into the air. Once the smoke had cleared and ears had stopped ringing revellers were left to party the night away.

Organisation leaders have long been recognised as playing a pivotal role in effective internal communication. Speakers at the Active Leadership session discussed the form this should take, and the role of internal communicators in making it happen.