Members air their views at roundtable
Chief Executive John Hurrell held the first of his roundtables for members last month, an experience that he described as “incredibly useful”.
“The people who attended were pleased to be AIRMIC members and positive about the services we provide, but they hadn’t come just to praise us to the skies. There are clearly things we can do better,” he said.
Roundtables involve informal discussion over a sandwich lunch at the AIRMIC offices, with particular emphasis on encouraging non- Council members to air their views about the association. So what did Hurrell take away from the occasion in terms of desired improvements?
“It’s clear we must continue to look at the way we communicate. The attendees did not know about, or were only vaguely aware of all the things we are doing and events we are holding. They would also prefer more targeted communication,” he said.
“And I took away the feeling that they would support attempts to make our meetings accessible by electronic means. They really value the opportunity to attend special interest groups, but time is at a premium.
One of the real values of AIRMIC, as expressed by the group, was networking. Perhaps the quote of the day, from Patrick Smith was “I want to network with AIRMIC members who are kept awake at night by the same things as I am! I think I need more help from AIRMIC to find them.” he said.
Hurrell says “I can’t promise to resolve these issues overnight, but I’ve certainly taken on board their wishes and have already started discussing them with colleagues.”