It is the way we, as communications professionals, can assure our line managers that we are up to date, skilled and qualified to do the job at hand. How could I remain up-to-date, skilled and qualified to do my job without learning all the time?

Aha, I hear you say, but CPD is about paying for courses and I don’t have that budget. It is not about that. In fact, while CPD sits high-up on a pedestal, if you approach it at the eleventh hour; logging into the CIPR system and madly filling in the forms, it has not achieved its purpose. It is not a game.

I have worked with a chartered market researcher for years, and each time we worked together on a project there would be new ideas, different approaches, a different way of recruiting folk to take part or changes in how the data was presented or analysed. Three years ago, when I asked where these improvements had come from, she replied, “From the conference I attend each year on emerging themes. It’s all part of my ongoing learning. Every year I look at the areas where I want to improve, or learn more about and I make a plan. There is usually a conference, but also I read a lot of books and I find thought leadership pieces and free webinars just as valuable.”

It will be the same story if you talk to your HR colleagues, accountants, or legal counsel. My challenge is, if you were asked about how your skills and knowledge are kept up to date, what would you say? If your line manager asked you to submit your learning for the year as part of your appraisal, would you be found wanting?

Every year we are seeing more and more members submit a CPD return, but we know there are many more who are also undertaking some kind of continuous learning, they are just not writing it down.

I am determined that this year will be the year CPD is seen as a core business requirement within the communications and public

“I am determined that this year will be the year CPD is seen as a core business requirement within the communications profession”

relations professions in the same way that it is for our Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development colleagues.

When I worked in-house, I would develop my CPD by looking at the results of my 360 degree feedback, alongside the changes I believed were happening within my organisation and within our profession. Triangulated, I would find the cross over areas where my efforts would be best placed.

Before you read on, ask yourself the following questions: this time next year, what core PR skill do I want to have more confidence in? Am I up to date with the current tools and resources available for PR planning? Which business book am I going to read this year? Which area of social media would I like to improve on?

I suggest that you ascertain the most important project you or your team will do this year, then go online and read all the past winners of the CIPR PRide and Excellence Awards. Keep notes as you read and at the end of it you’ll have insight into what success factors your team can adopt.

Ensuring my accountant is fit to practice is vital to running my company. The certificates she proudly displays in her office provide me with assurance that she’s not just rather nice and good with figures (though she is those things too) she is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and she has up-to-date skills and the necessary knowledge to do the job well. We need to continue to be very nice and good with words, but please can we also be professional, well skilled and knowledgeable.

 Sarah Pinch is president of the CIPR