Staying in touch, with family and friends as well as for work, has changed entirely in the last 14 months. CIOB head of digital Tim Cawood explains why the institute has launched its own app.
Whether you’re keeping in touch with peers, colleagues, and mentors; collaborating on your next project; or learning a new skill, the world of work is changing – and with it, professional membership.
The increasing dependence on digital has been highlighted by the past 12 months – and 58% (Gartner 2021) of the workforce have reported skill transformation in the last year.
The CIOB had been working to improve user engagement throughout 2019 and following its first digital AGM in June 2020, its digital team set about engaging with customers and members to understand how the institute can support this transition.
It took lessons learned from surveys and workshops with hundreds of members and non-members to see how we could deliver the greatest value and the outcome was that we developed CIOB Connect.
The first version of the app will focus on a few key areas (outlined below). And we have already planned further development including a focus on events, a membership directory and further filtering and personalisation.
Professional development
Bringing opportunities to learn through the app was consistently the most sought-after feature among every user group. Working with the institute’s academy, we created a library of video-based CPD, which can be explored and engaged with through the app.
Learning is at the heart of all professional bodies, learning the latest techniques, learning best practices, or just sharing knowledge, and it’s also at the heart of our mobile application.
Latest news
Keeping up to date with what is happening throughout the world of construction was the second most desired feature for a mobile application. We wanted to give members a way to stay in touch but also to offer personalisation.
We’ve created a news feed that combines stories from our key publications, Construction Manager Magazine, and Global Construction Review, and will be growing this to include BIM+ soon.
Users expressed the importance of being able to control this feed and we will be providing filtering, which in the future will also include a full personalisation by topic.
Connect
It’s called CIOB Connect, because we want it to connect members, students, experts, and professionals at every stage of their career path. More than that, though, we want the app to be a place where you can get help, share ideas, and engage with the CIOB community.
You can collaborate on topics, ask questions, share ideas and discover the forces influencing the built environment globally. It’s been built with you in mind and we encourage you to take part and share your voice in our community.
Chat
Whether it’s conducting daily stand-ups on Zoom or hosting conferences, we’re all trying to find ways to stay connected. This was a challenge we felt was central to delivering our app, we wanted it to be more than just a place where you could access information, but to be a place that helps you keep in touch.
Through the app users will be able to chat directly with each other, should they wish, and form groups as part of the initial offering.
Engage with policy
The work we do around the world as an organisation is central to what it means to be a member of the CIOB. Our policy positions provide an area where users can engage with emerging topics, comment on consultations, or digest the latest research from across the industry.
With that in mind, we have integrated a ‘policy hub’ into our app to help members interact with the work being led by our policy team.
