The best in the IC business were celebrated at IoIC’s ICon Awards and Communicator of the Year lunch yesterday in London.
Kate Jones (pictured right), head of internal communications at Tarmac, was named Internal Communicator of the Year.
Congratulations Kate for a thoroughly well-deserved win.
In presenting this award, Institute of Internal Communication @IOICNews chief executive Jennifer Sproul commented: “This year’s winner has an internal communication track record to be proud of, and her submission is a powerful and compelling piece of communication in its own right. It’s clear that she has made an impact wherever she has worked, and testimonials from a succession of employers bear this out.
“Focus. Business understanding. Solutions. Impact. Evidence – it’s all here. There are lots of talented IC professionals, but seemingly very few who can so convincingly demonstrate their mastery of IC.”
Not gonna lie, I am *this excited* – thank you @IoICNews https://t.co/kFnURlv1wI #IoICicons16 pic.twitter.com/6HeRk584Sx
— Kate Jones (@how_IC_it) November 10, 2016
High achievers
This year’s event also saw the first ever awards for high achievers in the Institute’s qualifications. The award for the Foundation Diploma went to Rebecca Leonard and for the Advanced Diploma to John Stasi.
The ceremony took place at London’s Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel yesterday and celebrated the achievements of the ICons of internal communication – the individuals who through their skills, knowledge, consistency and dedication stand out from the crowd and are an inspiration to others in the sector.
It was a pleasure to be involved in judging the awards. Well done to everyone who was honoured, you can’t beat seeing professional communicators recognised for their hard work.
Congratulations to you all.
Some of our #ioicicons16 winners and highly commended: Anastasia Sichkarenko, Becky Leonard and Caroline Cowe. pic.twitter.com/uEX9OC0w9j
— Institute of IC (@IoICNews) November 10, 2016
A huge congratulations to our very own Chuck Cumming on winning @IoICNews The Best Visual Creator ICon award #icon #ouricon #ioicicons16 pic.twitter.com/kPcSWBm59l
— 20/20 Productions (@2020productions) November 10, 2016
Delighted to be celebrating the hard work of our people today at #ioicicons16 . #ioic #internalcomms pic.twitter.com/A6rxx2EhB2
— Headlines (@HeadlinesComms) November 10, 2016
Just won the Institue of Internal Comms ICon Award for Best Internal Communications Manager! #shucks #IoICicons16 pic.twitter.com/aU6cncbaFN
— Leanne Taylor Flett (@loveleaT) November 10, 2016
ICon Award winners
Best IC manager
Winner: Leanne Taylor of AXA
Highly commended: Nicola Watson of Metrolink
Best writer
Winner: Bevan Frank
Best editor
Winner: Caroline Cowe of RBS
Highly commended: Duncan Mills of AB Publishing
Best designer
Winner: Nick McCarthy of Synergy Creative
Highly commended: Chris Keller of Headlines
Best visual creator
Winner: Chuck Cumming of 20/20 Productions
Highly commended: Anastasia Sichkarenko of Sequel Group
Best freelance
Winner: Jennifer Ball
Rising talent award
Winner: Marii Stoltsen of 20/20 Productions
Highly commended: Andrew Hubbard of Domino’s Pizza Group
High achiever awards
Foundation Diploma: Rebecca Leonard of Sequel Group
Advanced Diploma: John Stasi of HMRC
You can follow the conversations about the awards via Twitter #ioicicons16
Get your hard work recognised
If you would like to be considered for an award, don’t forget the CIPR Inside #insidestory awards are currently calling for entries.
See my recent blog post to find out all you need to know.
The deadline for early entries is 30 November 2016 and late entries will be accepted until 14 December 2016.
Find a new comms job
If you’re looking for a new comms role, don’t forget to check out the All Things IC jobs page.
The latest companies to advertise their roles are CTN and EY.
CTN is looking for a Head of Engagement Strategy and EY have various roles at the moment including 12-month maternity cover positions.
You can place your job advert for just £50+VAT per week and can find them listed on the site and on Twitter @AllthingsICjobs.
All Things IC Masterclasses
There are a couple of spaces left for my upcoming Strategic Internal Communication Masterclass on 1 December 2016 in London.
If you are a senior-level communicator and would like to boost your skills, meet peers and ask questions in a confidential environment, this is the course for you.
See the Masterclasses website for all you need to know and to save your space.
Places cost just £499+VAT and there is a 20 per cent discount if you are a nonprofit. If you’re working for a nonprofit organisation, contact me for the discount code.
I’m also working alongside a number of companies at the moment to create a bespoke Masterclass for them.
Interested in having an All Things IC Masterclass in your workplace? If there are five or more people in your organisation interested in a particular course, we may be able to run one at your office or create a bespoke course just for you.
Contact All Things IC with your requirements and we can discuss. Prices are by individual arrangement.
And finally…
Today the world lost an icon in the legendary Leonard Cohen who has died at the age of 82.
His way with words, particularly one of my favourite quotes, feels poignant for me today:
“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
I hope you have a great weekend, thank you for stopping by,
Rachel
Post author: Rachel Miller
First published on the All Things IC blog 11 November 2016.