The IOIC's Rebecca Nicholls: "This night has a really special feeling"

Next Thursday sees the welcome return of the Institute of Internal Communication (IOIC) Awards, the long-standing annual evening of recognition and acknowledgement for internal communication professionals. Comms Leaders is one of this year’s sponsors, and we caught up with the IOIC’s Rebecca Nicholls to see how the event is coming together. 

Rebecca Nicholls is Events, Networks and Awards Manager at the IOIC, the well-known professional association for internal communication and long-time partner of Comms Leaders. She looks after the organisation's events, oversees the Awards programme, and supports IOIC's networks and volunteers.  

Before joining IOIC, Rebecca worked in internal communication across a wide range of sectors, giving her a real appreciation for the power of great communication and strong communities. Outside work, she enjoys spending time with her family (which includes three cats), going to the cinema, listening to podcasts and travelling the world. She is also a member of a book club that, in practice, involves rather more karaoke than reading.

The awards are just around the corner now - how are preparations going?

"I cannot believe we are here again - it feels like it comes round so quickly. Like any event, the Awards Dinner takes over my working life in the run-up, and that is exactly why preparations are in such good shape: the food has been tasted, the slides created and the walk-up music chosen. "It is nice to be back at the Hurlingham Club, it is such a spectacular place. We have worked really hard with the venue and audio-visual team to increase capacity this year, because last year we sold out. This year we have sold out again.

"It is so great to see that people want to celebrate their success together, so I promise to those who could not get a seat, we are moving somewhere bigger next year. Watch this space, literally."   Most people only see what happens on the night, but how much effort and planning goes into these awards?

"It is really important to me that everyone who attends feels welcome and has a fantastic time. This night has a really special feeling, one of camaraderie. I am usually by the side of the stage passing up trophies, so I get to see the look of delight on people's faces as their names are announced, and see people on their table cheering for them, when they were strangers an hour or so before.  

"That does not just happen. I spend a long time on table planning to make sure those relationships can form, for example making sure people are not sat next to others they are ‘competing’ with for the same award. "I work with our production partner, CE, on slides and staging, because people need a great background to stand in front of. I write the scripts, so our hosts know exactly what to say and who to announce (no one wants a Moonlight at the Oscars moment!).

"I work with the venue to ensure great service. And I work with our marketing manager on the book of the night, the step and repeat, and all the certificates and trophies. But I could not do any of it without our chief executive, Jennifer Sproul, and our awards chair, Justine Stevenson [both pictured with Rebecca above]. The three of us are the Awards ‘tripod.’  

"Of course, you can plan as much as possible and things still go wrong. It is a live event. My job is to make sure those attending would never know when things do. Event planning has been described as the art of managing the unexpected, repeatedly, while smiling. That sums it up for me."  

At the IoIC Festival in May, speakers were often brutally honest about the challenges currently faced by internal comms professionals. Do you see these awards as an opportunity to counter that stark realism with a more celebratory vibe?

"Absolutely. Although I want to be clear that celebratory doesn’t mean not serious. The work that goes into the entries always impresses me. I am in complete awe of what internal communicators do, often with little resource and budget.

"I have to quote our wonderful judges here, they said: “it was a pleasure to see the quality, creativity and commitment, with the entries offering a valuable reminder of the important contribution internal communication makes to organisations.”

"That is what these awards offer, a chance for internal communicators to celebrate what they have achieved, to take a minute and really congratulate themselves."  

Does the broad range of categories today - there are just under forty - reflect how the internal comms profession has evolved?   

"I work with Jennifer and Justine every year to change up the classes to reflect internal communication in that moment. Of course, some things remain – Change, Teams, Intranet. But we’ve also seen, in recent years, the introduction of Internal/External Alignment, Best Podcast and this year, a class dedicated to AI Skills.  

"We also listen to the feedback, for example the teams class used to just be ‘Best team’ – well, a team of one is very different to a team of twenty. Same with the people category, we’ve changed those classes to better represent the levels of internal communication professions in organisations.

"It’s important that the IOIC Awards reflect the depth and breadth of the profession – the skills needed, the campaigns run, the innovation and the creativity, as well as the people behind it all."  

Ten years ago, few would have predicted a Best Podcast category in 2026. Thinking of the trajectory of the profession, what categories might we see introduced over the next decade?

"That is a great question. I never would have guessed we’d have a Best COVID Response class back in 2021, or as you say Best Podcast.

"We are actually going to change things up next year to better reflect the IOIC. You may have seen we launched a new brand this year. We didn't do it for a new look. We did it to be clearer about what we believe and bolder about saying it.

"Great internal communication unlocks organisational success. That is our belief. Our purpose is to champion the power of internal communication in the world. Not quietly. Not apologetically. Clearly, and with conviction, so it is important that our Awards recognise this. 

"One thing that will not change: we will still give everyone who entered a written critique with honest, expert feedback that tells you what landed, what could go further and where the opportunity lies. 

"As for a new class, how about Best Inter-dimensional Communication – all about how the organisation is communicating with its employees across the galaxy. Well, the Awards are out of this world."

The 2026 IOIC Awards take place at London’s Hurlingham Club on 17 September. See who is up for this year’s awards and find out about the courses and workshops Comms Leaders delivers for the IOIC here.