New administrative centres take over from regional branches under Institute’s One CIOB rebrand.
The 29 new UK and Ireland hubs of the CIOB officially begin their work at the start of January, as part of a reorganisation of the CIOB structure aimed at improving communication and services to members.
The initiative was originally announced last year under a CIOB rebrand known as One CIOB.
The new hubs are administrative centres that will take over the work of the former regional branches. Hubs will have dedicated staff, budget and six elected committee members. They will deliver events and services but also try to engage with major employers, local government and education in their areas.
As part of the work the new work hubs will be doing during 2017, there will be a greater focus on online work such as a new member’s portal, new webinars and greater use of online tools for areas such as CPD.
Speaking at the announcement of One CIOB last year, Chris Blythe, chief executive of the CIOB, said the changes in structure were born from a frustration over how services and courses were being delivered to members.
Blythe said: “Basically this is all about how to better support local level members and giving them exactly the content they want. It’s using the most modern methods of communication and technology.”
One CIOB will also be introducing quality assurance for local events that do take place – by introducing this it hopes the overall standard of events offered to members will be improved over the coming year.
Another way One CIOB differs from the old structure is that it is not strictly geographically limited and members can join any hub. As most of the industry spends a large amount of time travelling on the road or changing location of jobs, this is seen as a practical leap forward for members.
The CIOB is also keen to recruit to local hub committees this year and also encourage more people to become involved, no matter what their position or age within the industry.
In February, there will also be a call for applications for international local hub committees for members who work overseas.
Further details about how One CIOB will bring a more accessible member experience can be accessed at: www.ciob.org.uk/one-ciob
