An end of year message from Rachel

Hi all, thank you for all your comments and messages following news of my President’s Medal yesterday.

I’ve tried to acknowledge them all and I’m grateful for your kindness.

I’m here to wish you a happy end of year, please see the short video below or watch it via my YouTube channel.

We’ve nearly made it to the end of 2020 and I’m so proud of all your hard work. Whether you’re in-house, looking for a new role or advising clients as a Consultant, I know it’s been a frenetic 12 months.

If you are looking for a new role, don’t forget to check out my jobs board.

I’ve loved supporting so many Comms professionals in 2020 through my in-person Masterclasses and strategy days at the start of the year, followed by virtual Masterclasses, Masterminds, desk reviews, consultation calls, mentoring and audits.

It’s been surprisingly successful to audit companies and gather qualitative feedback in lockdown. The rules have restricted in-person focus groups, but the new habits created by communicating online has meant we’ve been able to proceed as planned and listen effectively to employees.

Thank you Debbie West and Helen Deverell for supporting me this year, particularly for your efforts and energies making sure audits go smoothly for All Things IC’s clients. It’s been a pleasure to work with you both. Debbie thank you for your amazing work on my Online Masterclasses.

Congratulations to Helen on the birth of her little boy this year, I loved meeting him via video call recently and look forward to an in-person cuddle when it’s safe to do so.

Well done to my mentoring clients this year. Wow what a 12 months we’ve had! Being able to advise and support you confidentially is always a privilege I take seriously. I know how valuable you’ve found our sessions this year, thank you for trusting me to partner with you to help you make the right decisions.

I’m particularly proud of Tony Kluth, pictured below, for our work together in 2020. I wish him every success as he and his family have now moved to the US.

I miss you!

I miss seeing Comms pros in person. My dedicated training space, the All Things IC Hub, has sat empty since March and I can’t wait to get back in there in 2021, fingers crossed! I’ve popped there a handful of times between restrictions and it’s just not the same without you.

Thank you to the Comms teams around the globe who have invited me to train and advise you this year via in-person or remote Masterclasses. Companies I’ve created bespoke Masterclasses and strategy sessions for in 2020 include Nestlé, LEGO, TfL, Energy UK, Guardian Industries, Ferrero, Central Bank of Ireland, Vodafone Ireland, Vodafone, Met Office, Renewi, Aon, SUEZ and Entain.

I’ve also enjoyed running remote/virtual Masterclasses on topics such as change communication, Microsoft 365 – in partnership with my husband Jon, 2021 planning and being a Comms Consultant.

 

 

Learn at your own pace with my Online Masterclasses

Launching my Online Masterclasses has been in my head and heart for a couple of years, and I was thrilled to hit publish back in August 2020 on my dedicated website.

To date, over 1000 professional communicators have signed up to my online courses. I’ve loved hearing your feedback about how they have transformed the way you work and given you confidence to have difficult conversations with stakeholders, launch your own businesses and be brilliant in your roles.

These course have been designed with you in mind, they’re comprehensive and you can access them at your own pace. There’s no group learning or requirement to show up at a certain time. This is your course, done your way.

Feedback from Comms pros shows you love this flexibility and as you have 12 months to access the content, you can make it fit around you.

If you’re looking to increase your skills, knowledge and confidence on all things internal communication related, do check out the range of courses and sign up today.

Choose from:

• How to be an internal communicator – ideal if you’re starting out in the wonderful world of IC.
• An Introduction to internal communication channels – what is a channel? How can you choose the right one? This is the course for you.
• How to be a Comms Consultant – Exploration – thinking of going solo? This course will help you discover what you need to know
• Book a Power Hour call with Rachel for January – we’ll spend 60 minutes focused on you and brainstorming together.
• How to create a 90 day plan – coming soon. Pre-order available.

All of my Online Masterclasses are packed with bespoke videos, workbooks, text lessons, surveys and quizzes. CIPR members can claim CPD points.

Prices will be going up in 2021, so do enrol today to benefit from 2020’s prices. 

Well done to everyone who has completed my free 2021 planning Online Masterclass. There’s been a flurry of activity in the courses this week and I can see you’re investing time reviewing 2020 and planning 2021.

Don’t forget you only have until 31 December 2020 to access the free course.

New All Things IC website

Thank you to Alive With Ideas for creating my new All Things IC website, which went live in August 2020.

We shared what the process was like: How to create a new website for your company and I was fascinated to see how the team translated our ideas into reality and page structures. Thank you to Alan, Ally, Ian and the team for your creativity, inspiration and delivery.

Keynote speaking

I enjoyed being a guest on various podcasts this year including People Buy People, Engagement Express, You’re My CommsHero, The Internal Comms Podcast and Internal Miscommunications.

I was also the keynote speaker at Poppulo’s CommsBootcamp event.

One of my highlights was appearing on Bananatag’s The Morning Show back in March and speaking with Adam and Kyla over in Canada.

 

Spin The Wheel
I also thoroughly enjoyed partnering with my “work husband” and friend Chuck Gose and the team at SocialChorus to unite the global Comms community for Spin The Wheel.

We went live every week for eight weeks during lockdown via LinkedIn to solve conundrums, discuss hot topics and share our thoughts.

You can catch the whole series via YouTube.

 

What’s coming up in 2021? Australian and New Zealand Masterclasses

If you subscribe to my monthly email newsletter, The Water Cooler, you’ll already know some of the treats I’ve got in store for you next year.

They include brand new remote Masterclasses for Internal Communicators in Australia and New Zealand. I know my blog has a lot of readers over the over side of the globe and I appreciate your loyalty over the years. So, I’m hosting two Masterclasses for you in 2021, they’ll be at your breakfast time, which is my supper time.

 

Want to add your name to the list to be kept informed about what’s happening?

Please complete this short form and I’ll be in touch in the New Year.

Thank you to everyone who has already added their name and sent me messages, I’m thrilled you’re looking forward to having your own dedicated sessions. Change Comms is a popular topic with Australian communicators at the moment.

What’s coming up in 2021? The All Things IC Inner Circle

The Water Cooler readers will also know that I shared news of The All Things IC Inner Circle. Working in-house in a senior level Comms role can be an invigorating, challenging and fulfilling experience.

It can also feel isolating, frustrating and lonely. You’re in a visible role, often without peers, and expected to know all the answers.

The All Things IC Inner Circle has been designed to support, advise and nurture Comms Directors and Heads of IC. It is a six-month membership consisting of monthly Masterclass and 1-2-1 Power Hours with me, plus conversations between Masterclasses.

It’s only open to eight Comms professionals at a time, and I’m personally inviting the first cohort.

Want to be considered for the second cohort mid-2021? Please complete this form. Thank you to everyone who has added their name so far and sent me messages.

Clients will know I’ve been researching this idea for three years, I’ve picked your brains many times and tested the format. Thank you. I also shared it with fellow entrepreneurs at the Youpreneur conference back in 2018 and 2019.

I’m excited to finally be able to create The All Things IC Inner Circle and provide dedicated support for senior-level professionals.

I would have loved to be part of such a group when I was in-house, I know how valuable the conversations, collaborations and connections will be for you.

The All Things IC blog

Thank you for all your feedback about my blog this year. I concentrated on creating content to teach, advise and nurture Comms professionals as 2020 continued to lob uncertainty and stress our way.

I know how hard you’ve been working to make sure your employees can access credible, accurate, reliable information to help keep them safe, share their views and make the right decisions.

It’s what we do as professional communicators. But in 2020, we’ve been under an intense spotlight and you’ve risen to the occasion.

I made the decision on 10 March 2020 to make my crisis communication guide available to you for free, because the volume of messages I received from Comms pros asking for help made me realise you were stuck.

You had to suddenly create crisis communication strategies to tackle COVID-19, advise your leaders and hit the ground running. I known from all the feedback I received how useful you’ve found this guide.

 

 

It’s hard to imagine I’d never written the word furlough before! But alongside bubbles and tiers, new words became commonplace in our comms. I’m personally ready to ditch unprecedented, pivot, new normal… it’s a long list!

Ps. Look out for a new episode of the Internal Miscommunications podcast in the near future – you’ll hear me on there discussing this topic and many more alongside global Comms friends. We’re pictured below, a few days ago.

Thank you @ICMiscomms podcast hosts @ericamgoodwin and @itskeithriley for a fun hour tonight. It was wonderful to reflect & listen to global Comms friends. I’ll let E&K share what’s coming up. What a year. What a time to be an IC pro. Beyond proud to know these wonderful people. pic.twitter.com/9V5BBfApRh

— Rachel Miller, All Things IC (@AllthingsIC) December 16, 2020

 

Thank you to everyone who invited me to be a guest on your podcast this year. The latest interview was with Asif Choudry for the You’re My CommsHero Podcast.

It’s out now and includes:

• why internal communicators need to focus on mindset and skillset
• how to plan successful internal communication in 2021 and beyond
• what running my own business for eight years has taught me, ahead of All Things IC’s birthday in January
• what I wish I knew back in 2013
• the importance of personal branding.

 

Thank you to everyone I’ve hired to advise me this year, including my accountant, business coaches, designers Lisa Kirkbride and artist Anna Ebdon, Caroline King and Adam Driver.

Finally, thank you so much to my brilliant PA Louise Mackenney for all your support in 2020. I could not have got through it without you, particularly when we were both trying to juggle our respective families and serve my clients.

Your skills at knowing exactly what to say and expertise aligning my diary with my husband’s so I could both work and homeschool in lockdown was marvellous.

I know it wasn’t easy and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, my family and my clients this year. Thank you Louise.

I hope the rest of your year goes well.

My twin sons are turning six on Christmas Day, I’m plotting a day of LEGO and cake for them, which sounds like a wonderful combination!

My eight-year-old daughter and I have lots of plans up our sleeve for them, to try and make their special day feel special as the five of us, (plus our kitten).

Take good care and I hope to see you virtually or in-person in 2021.

Rachel

First published on the All Things IC blog 18 December 2020.