The path to professional development

Communication World, May-June, 2005 by Wilma Mathews

From the beginning, the founders of IABC attempted to create an organization that would grow organically and adapt to whatever the future would hold for the field of professional communication.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the three most significant guiding factors of IABC: to produce and provide knowledge; to develop and build credibility; and to welcome and embrace all communication professionals under the umbrella of opportunity.

Knowledge

Recognizing that the field once known as industrial editing was fast giving way to a more complex, valued profession, the IABC founders looked upon professional development as a core value and a differentiating factor for the organization.

From its simple beginnings, IABC has evolved into a dynamic provider of professional development that today includes best practices (through the IABC Gold Quill program); an international conference augmented by regional, district and chapter conferences; an award-winning member magazine; teleseminars and web seminars; a Knowledge Centre; a speakers bureau; and the IABC Research Foundation.

Credibility

Our founders also hoped that the fledgling field of industrial editing would someday encompass broader responsibilities and different skill sets. Because there was no licensing for any area of communication, the idea of self-assessment and peer validation led them to establish an accreditation program in order to provide measured credibility with ability.

Unlike other accreditation programs that relied on a single skill set or specified texts, the IABC program was based on a candidate's ability to respond to real-life problems. The examinations, written and oral, would focus on a candidate's knowledge of the profession's skills and practices, philosophy of the field, and ethics. As the communication field changed, so would the program and materials. Today, IABC boasts the only truly global accreditation program, with exams offered in multiple languages and, in some cases, recast to reflect language and cultural differences.

Another initiative effected to help individual members achieve credibility was the creation of a code of ethics. The IABC Code has been continually rewritten and refined to reflect the evolving world of IABC's members and their employers.

Opportunity

Perhaps most extraordinary in our history is the criteria upon which IABC membership is based.

There are none.

The IABC founders chose not to limit membership to people practicing only one type of communication or only in a defined geographical space. No references were needed, and people could join right out of college.

There wasn't even a secret handshake.

This open-door policy demonstrates the finest of all the decisions made 35 years ago. Anyone practicing in any area of communication, anywhere in the world, speaking any language and with any degree of experience, could become a member of the International Association of Business Communicators.

What the future holds

As IABC continues to mature, it will continue to change and adapt as envisioned by the people to whom we owe so much, who worked so hard to get us this far.

Wilma Mathews is the director of constituent relations for Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, USA, and is a past chairman of IABC's Accreditation Council.