IECA Live? IECA Faculty? It seems every time you turn around these days there is a new catchy phrase or buzz word. Keeping up with them is difficult! But don’t worry-these particular new buzz words aren’t really new; in fact, they’ve been used in IECA training circles for years, if not decades. It’s just that now something new is really happening with them.
IECA Live is our “in-house” live classroom training, the same thing you have seen and probably participated in over the last several years at the EC0-whatever conferences. Now, however, the courses are being more actively offered outside of the IECA conferences. Yes, they have been offered at Chapter conferences, and even at other venues before, but more from specific instructors on their own than through IECA as an offering. IECA Faculty is a newer term, or at least in this context, it’s a bit more fresh. IECA’s concept is to use the term to identify and designate IECA’s best instructors as “Faculty.” In fact, IECA intends to elevate the entire program and, through IECA Live, mobilize our best instructors in a more deliberate and regionally based manner.
So, is this a good thing? In terms of enabling IECA members to provide input on which instructors provide the best, most up-to-date, instruction-yes, it’s a good thing. In terms of IECA identifying and selecting the best instructors-yes, it’s a good thing. In terms of the Faculty instructors being promoted beyond the conferences-yes, it’s a good thing. And, in terms of the Faculty instructors being compensated better than they would be if they were simply presenting their courses themselves as individuals-this had better be a good thing, or we won’t get the best instructors!
With that being said, what’s in this for the member, the Faculty instructor, and IECA? And, why would it be a better thing for an outside entity wanting instruction to go through IECA, rather than go straight to the instructor? After all, isn’t that the American way-to cut out the middleman and get the lowest possible price? For the member, this program means better instructors-ideally, the very best instructors. For the Faculty instructor, the benefit is better compensation and better exposure to the market. For IECA, being able to promote our members as the very best instructors directly ties in with our goal of promoting members’ work and their contributions to society. And, the big one-why would it be better for outside entities to use IECA Faculty? This, obviously, will be the challenge, because if it isn’t better, the instructors will just go straight to the source to provide their services. We couldn’t blame them one bit. IECA must find a way to make it more beneficial for both the instructor and the outside entity to use IECA Faculty. There are many ways to do this, and there are many ways for outside groups to short circuit the process and go directly to the instructors. However, if IECA can offer a better service, such as by providing better printed materials, organizational support, advertising, or promotion outside of their own means, and still compensate the instructors at a fair rate, then yes, this could be a benefit to the outside entity as well. IECA will be challenged here, and I believe will be up to the task!
Time will tell how well this new initiative will work. By the time you read this, we should probably have a good feel for the success of the program and valuable feedback on how to make it even better to meet the needs of a constantly evolving industry.
