Engaging Young Professionals

The hot topic for associations right now is engaging young professionals. Younger generations are either not seeing the value in membership or do not have the extra income to pay for one. Christina McCoy with AMPED spoke to our group on how to involve young professionals and provide them the value they are looking for rather than just a generic membership.

Identify the problem. What is causing young professionals to stay clear of your association? Is there a void in education? Are there enough networking opportunities? Many young professionals have the perception of “This isn’t for me yet.”

Set some goals in place to change this mindset. Obtain better data on the audience, advocate for money in the budget to be dedicated to young professionals, and create a dialogue between young professionals and other members. This will help to immerse them more in the organization. It could also help to provide opportunities and resources specifically for the young professionals. Hold an educational session for young professionals by young professionals or host a young professional breakfast at your conference. This will allow the group to connect with one another easier.

Another way to get this demographic engaged is to restructure parts of the organization to include young professionals. Create a committee for young professionals or include a spot on the board for one. This will allow people who understand the upcoming generations better to be making the decisions on how to engage them.

When making these changes, it is important to have the proper execution. Make sure to stay flexible. Some ideas will work and others will not. Be ready to adjust when those plans do not go as planned. It can also be helpful to create a timeline or use a project management tool to ensure things are moving at the right speed. This initiative cannot be something that falls off the radar after a few months or any time spent on it will be wasted.

It is also important to evaluate the success of the efforts after they have been made. Come back to your initial goals and see how much progress has been made. It might be as simple as noting engagement from young professionals on social media or tracking the increase of attendance from young professionals to the organization’s events. Any progress is something to be excited about but it is important to maintain the efforts moving forward. There will always be a new group with new challenges that you are trying to involve more in the association.

The Pros and Cons of Term Limits

Each organization is unique and has their own reasoning for setting things up the way they are set up. This doesn’t mean that the board should not always be evaluating whether or not that original set up still works for the association. One thing that should be set in the bylaws is whether or not the board has term limits. Term limits are most commonly 2-3 years and are set in place to keep order to the board and prevent one group of people from holding both the power and responsibility for too long. If you are unsure if term limits are for your organization or not, check out the pros and cons our clients have experienced below!

Pros:

• Term limits encourage other members of the organization to become further involved.

•  Ideas and systems are kept fresh with new mindsets.

• The board is able to keep a more diverse group of people rotating through it. Having limits allows for younger generations to get involved.

• Power and responsibility shift helping to avoid a monopoly by one group.

• Term limits allow for a more structured system. Without term limits, a large group of board members could leave at once, leaving the board at a loss. Term limits are usually set up to phase people in and out without an enormous loss on the team.

• There is a peaceful and easy way to get the troublemakers off the board. If someone has something negative to say about everyone’s ideas or is not pulling their weight on the team, there is an end date. This avoids an uncomfortable situation and lets things play out naturally.

Cons:

• The history of the organization might start to dwindle. Sometimes having someone that has been on the board for years, adds an immense amount of value. They have seen how things have been done and what has worked and what has not worked. They also have a core understanding of what the organization’s purpose is and typically work to preserve that.

• Term limits can cause the board to lose high performing and dedicated board members. This can take a hit to the productivity of the organization and can often be seen by members.

• Succession planning is not always a quick and painless process. The more something is passed on to someone else, the more information that can be lost in the process. It is important to set up a clear process for succession if you choose to have term limits.

• Relationships with board members are hard to hold on to. If your board member’s company sponsored the annual conference every year, they might be less likely to jump in with support if their employee is no longer on the board.

• There are not always many volunteers willing to join a board. Being that involved in an organization is a huge time commitment that not everyone is willing to take on. This can leave a board seat empty for longer than you might like.

No matter how your organization is set up, there will be positives and negatives. Understanding the needs of your organization is the most important part of making this decision. There are also other alternatives like making board terms longer and shorter that could make term limits a better fit for your organization. Learn more about Impact can help your organization: https://www.impactamc.com/nonprofit-association-management/support-for-your-association

4 Way to Increase Board Productivity

Boards are typically governed by the bylaws of the association. This allows for clear guidelines when it comes to decision making and levels of authority. Many bylaws, however, are often outdated or not followed closely. If this is the case, it is time to make some updates. Consider the following suggestions to improve your bylaws making the roles and governance of your board clear.

1.     Accurate job descriptions.

If you don’t have job descriptions for the officer roles, start there. Include anything that is a regular part of the job. If you do have descriptions, have each officer read over them and think of anything that is not currently listed. Duties might have shifted over the years and that is fine as long as it is reflected in the bylaws.

2.     On-boarding process.

New officers should review their position before committing to it. They should be completely aware of what they are getting themselves into.

3.     Continuous review.

If the task of reviewing the bylaws is daunting because there are so many changes that need to be made, it might be smart to include that review annually as one of the officer roles. This will ensure that any changes to the role are remembered and included from the previous year.

4.     Include clear guidelines for decision making.

The bylaws should clearly state who reports to whom, who has the authority to make financial decisions, and who can hire or fire contracted employees. This keeps things from getting sticky down the line and allows everyone to know their place.

Once all of your changes have been made and descriptions clarified, you simply need to follow the guidelines that you laid out for yourselves. Sticking to the bylaws ensures that everything is run as it should be eliminating confusion and mistakes

Upping your Email Game: 4 Ways to Better Reach your Members

Associations often use emails as their primary method of communication with members. Emails can be a great way to keep members engaged and informed, but they do need to be done right in order to see the best results. This might require a few test runs in order to fully understand what grabs the attention of your target audience. Here are a few ways you can up your email game and hold your members’ attention.

1. Segment your email lists.

The more specific you are to your audience, the more likely they will be to take action or at the very least read your email. Depending on the topic you want to reach your members about, create lists based on age, careers, special interest, geographic location. This will prevent people from receiving too many emails about things they are not interested in, which could result in the dreaded unsubscribe button being hit.

2. Emphasize your call to action.

Put it in the subject line, start the email with it, and end the email with it. You can never mention the reason you are emailing too much. Word it differently so that you don’t sound like a broken record but make sure to get your point across!

3. Send a test email.

Send yourself the email before sending out that final draft. Read it a few hours after you have finished it to see it with a clear mind. Does it get your point across? Does it feel personal? Will they understand all of the information? What questions would they have? If the answer to any of those questions is not what you intended, go make some edits!

4. Review the data!

Once your email has gone out into the universe and is no longer under your control, pay close attention to the results. Note who clicked on what, who didn’t even open the email, and anything else that could help you to have more effective emails in the future.

 After each email, make sure to note what worked and what didn’t. Always be open to making changes and taking the time to fully communicate your message to your recipients.

As seasoned association professionals, the Impact team has sent their fair share of membership emails. Too many to count! Learn how Impact can help your association see the most benefit from your member communication.