IOSH London Metropolitan Branch
Branch Meetings’ Report
April 2013 to March 2014
Highlights for 2013/14
 London Metropolitan Branch wins prestigious networks ‘Excellence in Communications’ Award.
 Invited to share our best practices with other Branches, so they can learn from us.
 Extremely high delegate satisfaction ratings in all areas measured.
 Average attendance fast approaching 100 - we had to change to a larger venue at The Kings Fund.
 Highly successful and varied range of Branch activities beyond the monthly meetings.
 Delegate visits from South Korea and Hong Kong.
The IOSH London Metropolitan Branch ran a successful schedule of 10 Branch meetings from April 2013 to March 2014, all taking
place on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. The Branch Committee’s unpaid Member volunteers also meet on the 4th Tuesday of
each month to arrange these and other activities and events run by the Branch. The schedule of topics and speakers is shown
below - it excludes August when the Committee takes a well-earned break due to the impact of the summer holiday season, and
December is represented by the Branch’s informal social quiz night that is not included in the analysis within this wider report.
Speaker(s)
Month
Topic
April
Code of Conduct and Ethics
Beyond Competency to Capability
May
CDM Update and IOSH Fire Safety Group
June
Managing Individuals’ Health and Safety in Conjunction with
Human Resources
July
Electrical Safety
Amy Lyons, Seaward Group
August
Summer break – No Branch meeting due to holidays
Not applicable
September
Industrial Noise
Peter Wilson, Industrial Noise and Vibration Centre
October
Legal Update
Kizzy Augustin, Pinsent Masons
November
Health and Safety Reporting
Liz Skelton, System Concepts
December
Christmas Quiz
IOSH London Met Branch Committee
January
IOSH - Engaging in the Future
Jan Chmiel, IOSH CEO
February
What is Significant Risk?
Bridget Leathley, The Safer Choice
March
Fire Safety in Hospitals
Phillip Gibbs, London Fire Brigade
Shaun Lundy, Guinness Partnership
Paul D’Arcy, Middlesex University
Philip Baker, London Met Branch Construction Section
Jerry Flechais, IOSH Fire Safety Group
Peter Marno, Corporate Healthcare
Helen Merfield, Spring Rehabilitation
Angela Simpson, HCML
The 10 Branch meetings with guest speaker presentations were held at ‘The Kings Fund’ building on Cavendish Square near to
Oxford Circus. They attracted a total of 927 attendees, at an average of 93 – lowest 57 highest 130. As the chart below shows, the
combination of a quality venue, friendly welcome, networking arrangements, targeted topics and high quality of speakers over the
past few years has led to strong attendances with very positive indicators for the future. Monthly feedback reports are available on
the Branch website and at branch meetings where they are prominently displayed. Additionally we have a ‘You Said We Did’ board
to demonstrate we do respond to suggestions where applicable.
It is worth noting that the lowest attendances clearly align with presentations that were niche or single topic focused, and/or
coincided with the holiday season or a planned tube strike. The Branch Committee is committed to organising presentations that
cater for all different types of Member needs. Consequently while most presentations will be of general interest regardless of
industry, some are inevitably more specialised and by their nature have a smaller target audience and history demonstrates they
are likely to attract smaller attendances.
Branch Meeting Attendances
(By Month 2013/14)
140
123
130
127
123
120
Average = 93 Attendees
100
100
Holiday Season
80
Tube
Strike
71
62
59
Jul
Sep
60
75
Attendees
57
40
20
0
Apr
May
Jun
Oct
Nov
Jan
Feb
Mar
In addition to the monthly meetings outlined in this report, the Branch also successfully ran a number of other events and activities
including those listed below:
Date
Event description
18 Sep 2013
Members’ Development Workshop
19 Sep 2013
Visit of Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Safety Specialist Committee
10 Oct 2013
Joint seminar with IOSH Communications and Media Group – Working together with the media
14 Nov 2013
Visit of South Korean members of Q-HSE Management Division of Samsung C&T Corporation
04 Mar 2014
Members’ Development Workshop
07 Apr 2014
Members’ visit to Earls Court Exhibition Centre
24 Apr 2014
Seminar – ‘A Day in Court’
Excellence in Communications Award
The London Metropolitan Branch is proud to report that in 2013 we were awarded the prestigious IOSH Networks’ Excellence in
Communication Award.
This was in recognition of our efforts over the past couple of years to maximise membership engagement opportunities through use
of a wide range of communication methods intended to consistently take advantage of our greatest asset - our monthly Branch
Meetings. We were found to have gone beyond expectations, demonstrated true professionalism and delivered consistent and
sustainable results.
Attendee Feedback
Part of our success has been the willingness of respondees to complete feedback forms, including both comments and suggestions
for the Committee’s consideration. As a result the Committee has been able to instigate a number of improvements to the way
Branch meetings are run and give valuable feedback to speakers. Reports detailing analysis of feedback for each meeting are
available on the London Metropolitan Branch IOSH web pages. 596 feedback forms were received throughout the year at an
average of 60 per meeting – lowest 38 highest 87 – meaning that on average 67% of attendees gave feedback – lowest 58%
highest 81%. These excellent feedback rates give a high degree of confidence in the statistical analysis of the Branch’s events and
the Committee accepts the feedback as a representative view of the overall attendee base.
Branch Meeting Respondee Feedback
(By Month for 2013/14)
90
80
70
60
50
% completing a feedback
form
40
30
20
10
0
Apr May Jun
Jul
Sep Oct Nov Jan
Feb Mar
The following charts show the monthly characteristics and overall yearly ratings for the presentations at Branch meetings against
our five principal criteria. The Branch now consistently received extremely high satisfaction ratings in all areas, which are:





The presentation was informative.
The presenter came across as knowledgeable.
The presenter was clear and audible.
The question and answer session was engaging.
The reception arrangements were welcoming.
The Presentation was Informative
(By Month for 2013/14)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
The Presentation was Informative
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
2% 1%
11%
Strongly disagree
Disagree
48%
Neutral
Agree
Agree strongly
Agree strongly
38%
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
The Presenter was Knowledgeable
(By Month for 2013/14)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
The Presenter was Knowledgeable
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
4%
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree strongly
Agree
29%
Neutral
Neutral
Agree
64%
Agree strongly
The Presenter was Clear and Audible
(By Month for 2013/14)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2% 1%
Disagree
Strongly disagree
The Presenter was Clear and Audible
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
2%
9%
Strongly disagree
Agree strongly
Disagree
Agree
Neutral
Agree
Agree strongly
Neutral
30%
59%
Disagree
Strongly disagree
The Q&A was Engaging
(By Month for 2013/14)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Note: No Q&A
took place in
June due to time
constraints
Strongly disagree
Disagree
The Q&A was Engaging
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
4%
Agree strongly
19%
37%
Neutral
Agree
Disagree
Agree strongly
The Reception was Welcoming
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
2%
80%
20%
0%
Strongly disagree
39%
100%
40%
Agree
Neutral
The Reception was Welcoming
(By Month for 2013/14)
60%
1%
9%
Strongly disagree
Agree strongly
Disagree
Agree
Neutral
Agree
Agree strongly
50%
39%
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Membership status of respondees through the year is shown in the chart below left. It is great to see a good distribution between
different membership categories. The breakdown of membership grades broadly correlates with the breakdown of membership
grades that London Metropolitan Branch Members hold.
Branch Meeting Respondee Membership Status
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
6%
2%
2%
1%
How Respondees Heard of Branch
Meeting
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
Fellow
4%
Member
36%
23%
6%
Graduate
Technician
24%
Retired
26%
Non-Member
Word of mouth
6%
Associate
Affiliate
IOSH Connect
18%
IOSH Website
Committee member
7%
IOSH E-mail
39%
Other
The Committee also puts much thought into how events are communicated to Members and tries to use all different types of media.
As the chart above right demonstrates, the majority of respondees hear about branch events through the officially engaged IOSH
communication channels (81%); however the numbers who hear from other channels are significant (19%) and justify the use of a
diverse range of communication methods.
It is also pleasing to note the numbers of people who have attended for the first time, an improving trend. The increase in overall
trends of attendance suggests people like what they are seeing and hearing, and value the Branch meetings for both their learning
and networking opportunities, as well as their contribution to IOSH Members’ continuous professional development (CPD).
Branch Meeting Frequency of Attendance
(By Month 2013/14)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
7+ Meetings
Branch Meeting Frequency of
Attendance (within last 12 months)
(Overall - April 2013 to March 2014)
20%
23%
5-7 meetings
2-4 meetings
2-4 meetings
1st meeting
1st meeting
5-7 meetings
21%
36%
7+ Meetings
This year the Committee decided to also monitor whether people intended to return for the next meeting thereby giving leading
information; while recognizing that many other variable factors influence whether people do actually visit next time, such as the
presentation topic, holidays, work and personal commitments, etc. The chart below shows the feedback and generally points to a
positive reflection on the quality of Branch meetings.
Branch Meeting Respondees
Those Planning to Attend Next Meeting
Period April 2013 to March 2014
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Don’t Know
40%
No
30%
Yes
20%
10%
0%
The Branch also started monitoring the industries in which respondees’ work, as shown in the chart overleaf. This may enable the
Committee to better target future programmes of events to Members needs and better understand the makeup of its membership
base (or at least of those who attend Branch events).
Trade Union/Other
Agency
1%
Sports/Events Mgt
Rural/Agriculture 2%
0%
Retail & Distribution
2%
Religion
Unemployed/Student/Retired
Aviation & Aerospace
1%
1%
Advertising
1%
Charity
3%
Comms & Media
2%
Industries Respondees Work Within
Period April 2013 to March 2014
Training
0%
Transportation
2%
1%
Recruitment
1%
Railway
9%
Construction
19%
Public Services
12%
Consultancy/Mgt Services
11%
Police
1%
Pharmaceuticals/Medical
3%
Non Government Agency
Manufacturing
0%
1%
Housing
2%
Historic
Buildings
0%
Food & Drink
1%
Healthcare
8%
Education
7%
Energy/Oil & Gas/Utilities
Entertainment 3%
Fire Services Financial/Banking Services Estate/FM/Property Mgt
1%
4%
2%
0%
Environment/Waste Mgt
0%