Speaker: Jed Cawthorne, AIIM Fellow
Jed Cawthorne: Hi, I'm Jed Cawthorne. I'm the practice lead for the modern work practice, a consultancy called Creo Sparks, a Microsoft partner. But I have worked in many Information Management technology spaces over the last 20 plus years. I've been a member of AIIM, in its current form as AIIM International, since it came into existence. Yes, I am so old. I was a member of AIIM Europe when it was a separate entity. But whether it's AIIM Europe or AIIM International, as it currently is now, I have made the most of my membership of this fantastic organization. I'm a Certified Information Professional a CIP, but I'm also a Fellow, a member of the AIIM College of Fellows. So how has AIIM been useful for me? Well, 20 something years ago when I moved from being a generalist, as an IT support person into the information management space, the training courses were fantastically helpful. This was the pre CIP era and we had uh certifications in ECM and Information Organization and Access and many courses, um Business Process Engineering and things like that. So I did lots of those certifications and they were very, very useful in building the early career. Luckily I worked for organizations that understood the value of such training, uh and took it seriously. Which brings us on to the next step, how AIIM membership is useful within your organizations. Since moving to Canada, I've been lucky to work for large corporate organizations that actually understood the value of training and professional development. And so I've been in a situation where I've been able to finance people to do their CIP and to pay for a membership for my team. And also to be able to put CIP as a requirement when recruiting. So the utility and the value of a membership to large or small organizations that understand information management is also extremely useful. And of course, the third element is networking. So I can honestly say I probably wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for people I had met through AIIM. And that's going back 20 something years meeting people flying across from the UK at a conference in the US and making business relationships which turn to friendships which exist to this very day. But we've also got our local chapters which I thoroughly recommend if you've got one near you. We used to have a Toronto Chapter which has now expanded to become a True North, which is very active. And there is of course the online community and finally, you can go to conference and meet people in real life too! So, training the value of explaining information management to organizations and networking amongst our peers. All super valuable and all elements of AIIM membership that have helped me build a successful career and get where I am today. Thank you AIIM!
