Anyone who was involved in Internal Communications in its early stages will no doubt look back along that difficult road and feel a sense of achievement. And if they don't - they should! The level of patience, persistence and persuasion needed was enormous. Working with minimal budgets and in some cases none at all! Frequently sidelined and unrecognised, yet expected to deliver results.

Times are better now. The challenges are greater but at least there is recognition (in most companies) of the need for and benefits of Internal Communications. No longer relegated to the production of the newsletter and events organisation, Internal Communicators advise at board level and the practice itself has expanded to include its own specialties such as channels managers, intranet managers and of course editors to mention a few. This all good news but there is something else that is happening. Those early pioneers of the practice have now reached the top of their 'game' and with many years of career ahead are wondering 'What next?'. What indeed.

Many of the experienced Internal Communicators I speak to tell me they feel frustrated by the lack of challenge and room to manoeuvre. They have hit the ceiling. Some are considering freelance or contract work which gives them the freedom to choose their jobs - that is assuming the work is out there and there does seem to be enough to keep people occupied. The down side is the lack of security and if you are a sole breadwinner with a hefty mortgage that is a big decision to take.

Let's take it one step further - suppose the top internal comms practitioners start leaving permanent employment and head off into the world of freelance - won't that create a very different set of standards and ways of working? There are many different implications to this, not least the need to push the boundaries of influence and involvement of internal communications at board level.

One thing for sure, Internal Communications has come of age and there is no going back. There is change ahead and that change will be led by those practitioners who are passionate about what they do.