IAM feature The IAM has been working on defining its value for members. Here, Jodie Williamson, Professional Development and Membership Manager, explains the progress made Over the past few months, Ive been delighted to focus on a project that Ive been keen to start for a little while reviewing our individual value proposition and strengthening it to ensure that you get the most from your IAM membership. As part of the process, Ive held workshops with the IAM Board, Council, Patrons, and many of our committees. Its been great to hear from our stakeholders about what IAM membership means to them, and which products and services they value the most. But by far the most exciting bit has been thinking about what else we could be offering to maximise your membership. The workshops were created with an anything goes mindset there were lots of suggestions for new products and services that would create additional value from mentoring and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes to benevolent funds and wellbeing hubs. Of course, we cant implement all of them, so we prioritised those that would bring the most benefit to the most members and considered how we can enact them. With this in mind, we decided that our focus should be on developing mentoring and CPD support for members. Author bio Jodie Williamson is Professional Development and Membership Manager at the IAM. She was previously Professional Development Lead at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Mentoring toolkit We are also exploring a mentoring platform that can be used by all members to find a mentor at any time, anywhere in the world based on their individual needs As many of you will be aware, the IAM USA Chapter launched a mentoring programme in September 2021 that has proved extremely successful. Since reviewing the individual value proposition, Ive been working with the USA Chapter to create a mentoring toolkit that can be used by any of our Chapters that would like to run a similar mentoring programme. Of course, our Chapters can adapt the process to ensure that they deliver a programme that is suitable for members in their area, considering local needs. This approach is based on mentoring cohorts; mentors and mentees are paired for a defined period and the Chapter hosts regular mentoring sessions. During the mentoring sessions, all mentors and mentees come together to discuss relevant topics. Between these sessions, individual mentors meet their mentees to offer support and guidance. Alongside this, we are also exploring a mentoring platform that can be used by all members to find a mentor at any time, anywhere in the world based on their individual needs. However, this requires investment in the platform, so will take a little longer to develop. CPD hub Weve also worked on developing a framework for CPD to support members. Our CPD hub hosts advice and guidance on what good CPD looks like, examples of CPD activities, and guidance on reflective practice. It also offers templates for recording CPD and a guide as to how much CPD asset management professionals should be undertaking. As a long-term goal, we will be exploring the options for a learning hub where members will be able to record their CPD, access online training modules and IAM resources, and create a personal development plan. Hopefully, by now, youve seen our new discussion forum this is another enhancement to your membership. Connect with the asset management community and discuss the topics that are important to you. You can ask the community for their thoughts on a particular issue or start a discussion on a topic that you have a general interest in. Its a great way to connect with asset management professionals from around the world and share learning. Since the initial workshops, weve redefined our value proposition and made it easier to explain the benefits of becoming an IAM member. Look for our posts on LinkedIn sharing these benefits in bitesize chunks and why not share them with your network? Finally, if you have any questions, comments, or thoughts on our member benefits and the products and services that we offer, I would love to hear from you! If your organisation is interested in sponsoring a mentoring platform or a learning hub, we want to hear from you, so please get in touch.