"Hello it's me, your new member, and I'm leaving"

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"Hello it's me, your new member, and I'm
leaving!" 

• Why Is Member Retention a Challenge?
• Denise Williams, Director
• Member Programs Branch/Region Development
• American Counseling Association
• 800.347.6647/703.823.9800, x303
• dwilliams_at_counseling.org

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Why Is Member Retention a Challenge?

• If you are finding it difficult to recruit and
  retain
• members to your association, ask why? What is it
• about the association that makes it unappealing?
   
• We have a tendency to look externally for the
• reasons, i.e., the economy or they are joining
  
• other associations. This may be true, but if you
  find
• these reasons often used, challenge yourself to
  take a
• look INTERNALLY as well. 

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Why Is Member Retention a Challenge?

• People fall in love with motivated or
  ganizations. 
• Members who love your association act
  substantially different than members who are
  simply "active." Passionately devoted members not
  only forgive you when you err they try to help
  you correct what caused the mistake. They don't
  just recommend you they assertively insist that
  their colleagues enroll for membership. They
  vehemently defend you when others are critical.
  Even if the reason for the criticism is accurate,
  they dismiss it as an exception. Some even guilt
  their fellow members into volunteering for
  association committees.
• Do you know how many of your members love you?
  When was the last time you asked?  

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Why Is Member Retention a Challenge?

• Ask your current members to evaluate your
• Association in the following areas to better
• understand where you are strong and where
• you need to direct more attention.
• Internal communication.
• Growth and development opportunities.
• Team building - cohesive membership.
• Membership participation.
• Recognition.  

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Do you know the generational makeup of your
membership?

• From baby boomers and annual conferences to
• social networking and generation Y, the impact
• of multiple generations and evolving technology
• has transformed how we should deliver value
• to members. Traits that distinguish the
• generations support many communications and
• product development decisions, but now many
• associations recognize that the future is now and
  are
• drawing gen X and baby boomers into the online
  world
• of gen Y. (See attachment 1)

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Tip 1 - Get Organized and Stay Organized

• Organization is key.  Keep a good list and
  record of all your officers, their positions, and
  objectives so that you and your group can look at
  them any time you need to.  

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Tip 2 Make your association worth the time to
join

• Empower your members, give them responsibility
  and the opportunity to practice their leadership
  skills.  This not only will increase their
  confidence level but will also make them more
  experienced officers in the future.

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Tip 3 - Recruitment is an on-going process

• If your organization gets involved in the
  beginning, that is a recruitment and image
  development opportunity if you co-sponsor or
  collaborate on a program with another group or
  participate in a community service opportunity
  with other non-members that is a recruitment and
  image development opportunity.
• Use those opportunities to educate people about
  your organization. All members should be prepared
  to answer the question, tell me about your
  organization, what you do?  Can your current
  members do that and is the message consistent?

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Tip 4 - Create a positive and welcoming
environment

• Know your members names.  Know your members
  needs.  Personal contact is the key.  Email is
  great and easy, but if you want to really keep
  your members and show them that you value them,
  you must work toward more personal contact.  
• Does your exec board know peoples names?  If
  there are too many members to know all their
  names, it is even more important to have personal
  contact.  People want to feel important and know
  that they are appreciated.  By knowing your
  members, it shows that you care and that this
  person matters to you regardless of the
  importance of their job.

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Tip 4 - Create a positive and welcoming
environment (continued)

• Some disagreements and conflicts, if handled in
  a professional and respectful way, make
  organizations stronger.  
• Strive to have a very diverse membership base.
   Different perspectives, experiences, and life
  styles will make the organization stronger as
  long as everyone is working towards the same
  vision and accomplishing the same goals.

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Tip 5 - Recruitment is not one persons job

• Although one person may need to coordinate
  efforts, EVERYONE should be responsible for
  maintaining and sustaining membership.   
• Your recruitment campaign should include
  specific techniques and tasks to be accomplished,
  a timeline, and an indication of who will be
  responsible for completing each task.

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Tip 6 - The GRAPE Principle

• GRAPE is the acronym for the five most common
  reasons people join organizations. Its important
  to ask everyone why they joined to make sure you
  understand your members needs. Ask them each
  year, since members needs will change.

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The GRAPE Principle

• G - GROWTH having opportunities to increase your
  skills and competencies, personal skill
  development opportunities, becoming more
  competent, experienced, and confident.
• R - RECOGNITION gaining respect from others you
  admire, receiving recognition and praise for a
  job well done, receiving feedback on your work
  within the organization.
• A - ACHIEVEMENT having the opportunity to solve
  problems, seeing the result of your efforts,
  being given meaningful responsibilities, seeing
  your feedback and ideas become reality.
• P - PARTICIPATION planning and scheduling work,
  given the opportunity and being allowed to make
  or contribute in important decision making, being
  active, not just a member.
• E - ENJOYMENT having fun, working as part of a
  team, feeling a part of something important.

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Rate your Associations Retention Recruitment
Effectiveness

• Organizations often describe their member
  retention strategies in terms of the services
  they offer and how they collect dues. Although
  it is important to offer services and programs
  that benefit members, and to collect membership
  dues efficiently and ensure positive cash flow,
  these alone do not encompass effective retention
  strategies.

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Rate your Association's Retention Recruitment
Effectiveness

• Member retention strategies are not based on
  reactive activities and additional paperwork.
• Use the handout Recruitment and Retention How
  Does Your Association Score to evaluate how well
  you use proactive strategies to retain members.
• Keep in mind, some Associations only have one
  person doing the job of 10. This scorecard can
  serve as the start of your membership recruitment
  plan to address those challenges mentioned in
  this presentation.

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• Hello it's me, your new member,
• and I think I will stick around for
• awhile!"