Lessons from my first six months as a CIPR regional co-chair

When Seb Greene and I stepped into the role of co-chairs of CIPR Midlands at the start of the year, we weren’t looking to reinvent the wheel but we did want to give it a purposeful spin. We were united by a clear ambition: to inject fresh momentum into the committee and open new pathways for people to get involved. We wanted to make participation more accessible, meaningful and rewarding.

Halfway through our first year it feels like the right moment to pause, reflect and share some honest lessons from the frontline of regional volunteering. It’s been a period of energy, experimentation and – if I’m being truthful – a bit of exhaustion too.

All too often, a professional committee can feel like closed circle. We were keen to open this up, to encourage a wider cross-section of our regional community to not just have a seat at the table but to feel welcomed, supported and equipped to actively contribute. That meant tackling the full journey of involvement; from invitation and expressions of interest, through onboarding, and sustained participation and recognition.

Meet and greets

We triggered this with a social media ‘campaign’ called Passion for PR – in reality little more than a series of posts. But this struck a chord and the resulting expressions of interest gave us the opportunity to follow up with individual one-to-one ‘meet and greets’. These informal chats helped us understand people’s motivations, interests, and available time, and gave us a chance to match them with roles or sub-groups that aligned with their skill sets and enthusiasm.

Some people, inevitably, dropped out of the process – other priorities may have taken over or the timing wasn’t quite right – but others stepped up, rolled up their sleeves and joined us as co-opted members. Some were already CIPR members, others weren’t (but a few have since joined). Their addition has helped energise the committee and diversify our thinking.

To support this, we created working sub-groups focused on events (both online and in person), social media and communications, and engagement with our region’s agencies and corporate affiliates. These sub-groups offer newer members the chance to contribute meaningfully without being overwhelmed, often working alongside or shadowing more experienced volunteers to gain confidence and context. It’s created a collegiate atmosphere, minimising barriers to active involvement.

CPD points and CIPR awards

We’ve also developed a framework for recognising the contribution of volunteers outside the existing CPD points system and HQ’s annual awards – because encouragement and appreciation are critical to retention.

This renewed energy is bearing fruit. In just over half a year, we’ve welcomed more than 130 new members to the Midlands region – bringing our total to over 960. With a collective push, we might just hit the 1,000 milestone by year end. Of course, membership ebbs and flows but we hope that by delivering a strong, regionally-focused calendar of events and opportunities, we’ll keep many more people engaged, informed and invested in their professional community.

We’ve done most this on a shoestring. We inherited depleted reserves, which meant taking a hard-nosed look at finances. We adopted a business planning approach to forecast income, expenditure and cashflow against our plans. It involved making some difficult decisions, curbing over-ambitions ideas, being realistic about rising costs (especially hospitality), and accepting that we couldn’t do everything at once. I hated having to be ‘all George Osborne’ about this, but a touch of austerity was necessary to put us on a more sustainable footing.

Throughout this process, the support of CIPR HQ has been invaluable (especially the volunteer support team). We’ve also appreciated the involvement CIPR leadership and past, present, and future presidents engaging with our region. It reinforces the message that regional voices matter and are being heard.

Today’s volunteers, tomorrow’s leaders

So what have I personally learned?

Being co-chair is more time-consuming than I expected, even as someone with five years’ regional volunteering experience, two years on council and current involvement on the coordination committee. It’s a bridge role: between HQ and the committee, strategy and delivery, today’s volunteers and tomorrow’s leaders. It requires visibility, availability, and often being the person people turn to for advice, motivation or mentoring.

Luckily, I have my ‘CIPR husband’, Seb. We share what needs to be done: alternating attendance at key meetings, sharing planning and admin and supporting our sub-groups and volunteers. WhatsApp is our virtual office, where weekly updates and real-time decisions happen. Messages and calls often end with the promise of a glass of wine!

What I’ve rediscovered through this experience is the fundamental truth about volunteering: you get out what you put in. But when that effort is shared, the load is lighter and the rewards greater.

As we look ahead to our AGM, our 2026-27 activity planning and our future budget, we’re focused on extending our reach, aligning more closely with HQ priorities and providing greater value to corporate affiliates. But our greatest hope is that we leave the Midlands committee happy, healthy, and thriving – a fertile space for new voices, future leaders, and a profession that continues to evolve, together.

Alison Gallagher-Hughes is a chartered PR practitioner and founder of Tillymint PR. She and Seb are taking part in Advita Patel's President Live broadcast on Tuesday 19 August on the CIPR's YouTube channel.

Read more by Alison

The art of Persuasion: Jane Austen’s timeless lessons for modern PRs
You don’t trust an unskilled mechanic on your car. PR is no different