Why register with IRCM CIC when you’ve already registered with a Professional Body?
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In a previous blog, we promised to explain how registration with the IRCM CIC is different from registering with a Professional Body, and why as a coach or mentor (or as a coaching or mentoring training provider, for that matter) you should probably want to do both.
Let’s start with a quick reminder of the IRCM’s remit. We are here to bring this industry together and raise its profile, for the benefit and protection of the consumer.
The coaching and mentoring industry, as any industry, is made up by consumers and suppliers. The consumers are individuals and companies who purchase coaching, mentoring, coaching or mentoring training and/or coaching or mentoring accreditation. The suppliers are individuals and companies providing coaching and mentoring services, training providers training possibly certifying coaches and mentors, and professional bodies accrediting (or credentialling) coaches, mentors and training providers. This also means that many parties involved in this industry will be both consumer and supplier, as they may provide coaching, mentoring and/or training themselves, whilst at the same time purchasing coaching, mentoring, training and/or accreditation.
To date, the coaching and mentoring industry is self-regulated. This means that anyone and everyone can call themselves a coach or mentor, can offer coaching or mentoring training, and can even start a professional body! Thankfully, many in our industry take the profession seriously and offer quality service, training and accreditation. But unfortunately, our industry and collective reputation are jeopardised by those who don’t!
And that’s where the IRCM CIC comes in. As the only approved industry regulator, we want to change this. We want to bring this industry together, and together with all parties involved agree on a little more regulation, as such collectively protecting our industry and weeding out those who threaten the industry with unprofessional and unethical behaviour. This will not only benefit all consumers in our industry but ultimately it will also benefit the reputation of this industry and therefore everyone working within this industry!
As we have outlined in a previous blog, registering with the IRCM as a coach or mentor will help you to:
- demonstrate your commitment to providing excellence to your customers, and protecting their interests, by supporting our ombudsman service (this will also help you to stand out from the competition!)
- demonstrate your commitment to building trust and confidence, protecting the reputation, and raising the bar for our industry as a whole
- help us bring this industry together for the good of the consumer and everyone working in this industry
- positively influence the coaching and/or mentoring industry by actively participating in our surveys to help us shape the future of this industry.
And it will help us, and therefore the entire industry, to achieve our mission!
Professional Bodies have a slightly different remit. They are dedicated to the advancement of the knowledge and practice of professions (the coaching and mentoring profession in this case), and as such, they set standards for technical and ethical competence. They assess coaches, mentors and training programmes on those standards, and then accredit those who meet the standards. Professional Bodies as such provide an independent third-party validation of your professional competencies as a coach or mentor.
The IRCM CIC therefore also encourages all coaches and mentors to register and gain accreditation with a Professional Body, as this will help you to:
- demonstrate your commitment to being professional in your work
- demonstrate your commitment to your personal on-going continuous professional development.
- gain an independent assessment of your professional capability, through accreditation or credentialing.
So, to summarise: registering with a professional body shows your commitment to providing quality coaching, mentoring or coaching/mentoring training, and registering with the IRCM CIC shows your commitment to putting your customer first and your support for further professionalizing this industry.
