Welcome to the Catalyst Member Spotlight series. Catalyst prioritizes sharing members’ stories to showcase the breadth of the IABC community, connect communicators across the globe and elevate personal stories to inspire fellow members. If you’d like to nominate yourself or a standout colleague to be featured in a spotlight, email the Catalyst editors at catalyst@iabc.com for more information.

Meet IABC member Meaghan Rentmeester, based in the British Columbia chapter. With 10 years of experience in the field, Meaghan is the senior communications lead at Monogram Communications.

Here, she discusses her passion for building strategy, the impact of COVID-19 on her work and the importance of interdepartmental communications. Get to know Meaghan below and connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

What is the most exciting aspect of your role as a communicator?

Personally, I love the strategy and discovery part of communications work. Whether it’s a PR strategy, a brand refresh or a campaign launch, it always starts the same. You do your background research, start building your goals, objectives and tactics, and then all of a sudden you see the plan come to life. You start to envision the types of work required and the people who will support it, and there is that anticipation and excitement of a project about to kick off.

Tell us about a situation or project that made you feel valued as a communicator.

I am sure many can relate when I say the COVID-19 pandemic changed the game for communicators. I was working at a sport and fitness centre when COVID-19 shut down the world, which required immediate action to share the right information as fast as possible to staff, clients, partners and stakeholders. With everyone working from home, internal communications also became a major priority. I can’t think of another time my work as a communicator was more valued.     

Think back on a time when you, as a communicator, collaborated with another department to bring a project to life. What made this process successful?

It is very rare I work in a silo. The work I do is almost always in collaboration with other departments. The most collaborative projects I have worked on are website and intranet launches. This requires significant, ongoing, interdepartmental work — surveying each department to learn about its goals and needs, involvement in copy creation and resource gathering, integrations of third-party software, supporting the testing process and fostering a team of internal ambassadors when the new site is launched. The earlier you can involve other departments in the process, the more receptive people are and the easier the work is. You are inviting people to be a part of the project instead of just assigning them tasks. 

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received? Who gave it?

I have been lucky to have some incredible mentors in my career so far. One of my favorite pieces of advice was: “You don’t have to be great at everything. Know what you are good at, and know what you aren’t good at, and bring the right people around the table to fill those gaps.” This advice was shared with me by the owner and founder of a company I worked at for several years.

Tell us about a favorite resource that helps you stay connected and informed in the industry.

Social Media Examiner is a fantastic resource for keeping on top of all things social media!

Interested in joining the IABC community to collaborate with professionals like Meaghan? Become a member of our global network today.

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