IMI recognised for pandemic support of members

The Memcom awards have recognised the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) for its work in support of members in the Covid pandemic during 2020 and 2021. The institute won the Memcom Excellence 2022 award for ‘Best Member Support’, noting its focus on individuals’ wellbeing, communication, and work towards enhancing the skills and career opportunities of members.

Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI said, “From the beginning of the pandemic it was our stated intention to be there to support our members with whatever help they needed, with a concerted effort to engage with our members and extend the IMI’s special ‘family spirit’ to the wide community.

“In particular, Covid-19 had a devastating impact on the skills development of our sector. From the first lockdown training provision was shut down, businesses closed their doors, recruitment and training initiatives were paused or even cancelled, apprenticeship starts saw a devastating drop in numbers and some businesses made redundancies or put staff on furlough. All of these actions affected our members and their wellbeing and it was our responsibility to respond to the crisis with immediate and practical assistance.”

IMI initiatives included daily to “cuddle calls” to member operations for reassurance and to identify where support was needed. It introduced a Redundancy Register to help individuals find new work placements, including tailored assistance to those facing redundancy, including free online learning, CV writing and interview preparation, as well as legal advice via the member benefits package. It also launched a Careers Hub, which remains in place, to support members with career development, access to advertised jobs, job seekers support, soft skills learning and CV checking.

Nash concludes: “From giving members professional assistance as they navigated the daily challenges of working through a pandemic, to future-proofing careers with the development of new skills to address emerging motoring technologies, the IMI team took great pride in safeguarding its members during the Covid-19 crisis and we are thrilled that this has been recognised with the Memcom award win.”

The Memcom awards celebrate professional bodies, associations, charities and the wider not-for-profit sector, with awards judged by an independent panel chosen for their expertise in that particular field. Winners were announced on 29 September 2022 in London.