Facilitate Magazine November 2020

Doing things differently

Challenges bring out the best in us and nowhere was this more evident than at our IWFM Impact Awards last month – our first virtual Awards ceremony. I was incredibly honoured to join the judges and others in announcing our 15 winners, four of whom were in our Covid-19 Response categories.

These amazing people embody the powerful influence of our profession and its ability to adapt to extraordinary circumstances with ingenuity, skill and often compassion. I hope you enjoy reading about them in this issue and take inspiration from their outstanding work.

In lieu of clinking glasses, we had a lively chat function abuzz with positivity and congratulations from the hundreds in attendance. This gives me pause to consider our virtual offering this year and how we all can find ways to do things differently. Of course, online delivery has been around for years but before March, our community and IWFM events were almost exclusively delivered face-to-face (f2f); now our weekly webinars reach larger audiences than our f2f events ever have.

Furthermore, IWFM Academy’s engaging live virtual training is helping our profession to upskill from home and, of course, we held our week-long virtual conference – the content is available to delegates until the end of 2020.

November marks two years since we became IWFM – another example of doing things differently. With the huge emphasis we’re seeing on the future of work and the changing workplace in these uncertain times, our transition has proved to be extremely timely. We will be with you every step of the way through the coming changes, guiding our profession and celebrating your successes.

Linda Hausmanis is CEO of the IWFM