IABC looks to begin NZ unit next year

IABC is a global community especially for communicators, says Glenda Holmes. Picture / Dean Purcell

The International Association of Business Communicators will be hard pressed to top the show put on at their Melbourne conference this week when they meet in Auckland today.

In speaker Phil Burgess, Telstra's group managing director of public policy and communications, the IABC had a perfect example of why business communications matter.

The speech to the Victorian chapter's Leaders in Communication conference was one of the spin-doctor's first public appearances since he was criticised by Australian Prime Minister John Howard for saying he would not recommend Telstra shares to his mother.

Telstra shares have since shed more than a tenth of their value and the Australian Financial Review reported this plum from Burgess' remarks: "When the life savings of millions of shareholders are at stake, the business communicator has a responsibility to break through the gobbledygook."

Asia Pacific director Bish Mukherjee said the conference was the kind of programme the IABC could bring to New Zealand if it had an outpost here.

Executives from the IABC are meeting about 60 New Zealand members and potential members to gauge interest in setting up a chapter in Auckland early next year.

Among them is Glenda Holmes, the IABC executive board vice-president. The Texas-based Holmes said the group aimed to build a wide body of knowledge of use to members and also offer a worldwide community for communicators.

"One of the big benefits of the IABC is we do offer a global perspective. That really is the main differentiating factor," she said.

In practical terms that could be useful. If the head of communications at a New Zealand company found an overseas operation was being affected by a problem peculiar to the foreign market, he or she could seek advice from the IABC network in that country to tap into the knowledge and business experience needed to manage the situation.

IABC aims to serve a wide range of communications professionals, from public relations to government relations to advertising and teaching.

"Part of the power of IABC is the diversity of its membership," said Holmes. That had allowed it to work with local organisations such as the 900-member Public Relations Institute of New Zealand, instead of in competition with them.

Mukherjee said the Asia-Pacific region was the fastest-growing part of the organisation, expanding 52 per cent since 2002. IABC, which has more than 13,400 members in 60-plus countries, added chapters in Bangkok and Canberra last year.

Its 30 or 40 members in New Zealand have been included through tele-seminars in the past, but with a local chapter could host meetings and conferences.

"What we do is all business-linked," said Mukherjee. "With so many companies in New Zealand spreading their wings and going global or across the Tasman, there's always a requirement for people to know what other people are doing in terms of communication."

IABC is big on research. Recent papers include a report into best practice in employee communication and a four-year study into communications in small organisations.

The first found almost half of 472 organisations surveyed worldwide had failed to effectively explain to employees the purpose of their jobs and the mission and strategy of their businesses.

The second found that success of a small organisation's public relations often rested in the communication skills and perseverance of the top decision-makers - with chief executives playing a central role.

The key component of PR at small organisations was the role of building relationships with the public rather than getting publicity, it found.

Holmes said the content side of the association was as important as its networking aspect.

"We offer access to information that can help develop the skill set of our members, as well as perspective and background to deal with the issues that their organisations are facing in a global marketplace."