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3 Lessons Associations Can Learn from Netflix

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Associations have more in common with for-profit businesses than you think. Thinking outside the nonprofit box can help you glean new insights that you can translate for your organization.

Take Netflix as an example. It’s had its ups and downs and made mistakes along the way. But it’s a company that’s not afraid to change direction when things aren’t going as planned – and it’s known for its innovative work culture.

Here are 3 lessons that Netflix has learned that are transferable to the association world.

1. Stick with Your Mission.

There was a point in Netflix history when the company built its own black box for streaming movies, but after investing a lot of time and money, they ended up deciding to ditch the box.

Why the sudden change in direction? It didn’t align with their mission of “having Netflix on every device on the planet that is connected to the internet.” So instead of competing with existing hardware providers, they convinced those providers to include Netflix on their devices.

The takeaway for Associations: If it feels like your products and services aren’t aligning with your true mission, take a step back and ask yourself, “Are our current products really what our members want?” If the answer is no, don’t be afraid to change directions. It might mean some wasted resources in the short term, but it will pay off in the long run.

2. Give Membership Options – and Make “Free” Part of Your Membership Strategy.

When you join Netflix, you get your first month free and the choice of Premium, Standard, or Basic memberships – and they allow you to change levels at any time. This is a pretty standard model for a lot of online membership-based companies.

Why does it work for Associations? Offering membership levels – including a free membership option – means that you can cast a wide net and capture nearly everyone in your target industry. It removes the cost barrier and allows people to choose the level that will give them the most value.

With technology, it’s easier and more affordable than ever to offer a free membership that grants access to online forums and content. And once you have members through the door, it’s much easier to sell them on paid memberships.

Association management software products have also made it quick and easy to manage multiple membership levels – another reason to introduce some variety into your membership model.

3. Invest in Your Leaders – they Define Your Culture.

It’s no secret that your leaders are your most valuable resources. But don’t look at them only as resources – look at them as the people who create the culture that attracts and retains the kind of employees and members you want.

Netflix has become known for its unconventional HR policies, and one of the keys to their success is giving their leaders ownership of creating the company culture. Netflix leaders know the company’s values. They are trusted to model and hire employees who align with those values, and Netflix gives them all the tools they need to build a great pool of talent.

For the most part, great leaders aren’t born that way. They’re coached, supported, and empowered – and they understand and fully embrace the organization’s mission and values. Earmark resources for leadership initiatives. Help your managers grow and empower them to build the culture of your organization.

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What Are Member Personas? And Why Do You Need Them?

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Do you know who your perfect members are? They’re the ones who stand to get the highest perceived value out of your organization and are willing to pay for what you are offering. Using information from surveys and research, you should be looking for common traits, needs, behaviors, and motivators for each of your membership segments.

Creating member personas enables you to better understand the needs of the people you want in your organization. This helps you package and price your benefits to provide the highest perceived value for each of your desired member groups – and tailor your messages and communications appropriately.

When members perceive your organization as valuable, they stay. When prospects think the benefits of being part of your organization is worth the investment, they join.

How to Create Member Personas

In our post, Growing Membership By Working Smarter, Not Harder, we explored how to segment your membership according to their needs and the perceived value they get from your organization. If you haven’t read that article yet, take some time to go back and refer to it.

If you have never surveyed your members – or haven’t in a while – that’s a step you shouldn’t skip. Research in the way of surveys, focus groups, or interviews is essential to understanding who your members are so that you can segment them according to common characteristics and needs.

Here are a few characteristics and themes you may want to explore as you create your member personas:

Membership type
Age
Level of experience and expertise
Common challenges and problems they are trying to solve
Size of their organization
Title or job function
Specific common interests (events, subscriptions, etc)
Annual investment
Level of participation in events and programs
Why they joined, what they like about the organization, what they dislike
What other industry organizations they belong to
What they are looking to get out of interacting with your organization
Most-used benefits
Website and social media interaction
Primary needs
Level of satisfaction with your organization
Barriers to renewing or joining.

Once you’ve assigned some characteristics to each of your membership segments, you may find that it’s easier to relate to them and understand what they need. You should keep re-visiting these personas as you create your membership strategy. They’ll remind you which members are getting the most out of your organization – and willing to pay for your services – and where you may need to make some changes to better cater for the segments you’re not connecting with.

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5 Things Every Association Should Have Check-listed

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Beyond the usual financial audits, the end of the year is a great time to review your operations and processes – and shed the inefficiencies that could hold you back from achieving your goals in 2015.

Here are five things (besides the obvious review of your business plan) you should consider doing before January rolls around.

#1 – Review Your Service Contracts

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” isn’t the motto to operate by when it comes to your service contracts. Your needs have likely changed since you first signed some of your contracts, and you could be wasting unnecessary time and money by sticking with a provider that you’ve outgrown.

Make a list of all your service providers – including utility and equipment rental companies, printers, professional service and software providers, and any others you use regularly. Consider how they’re priced, the value you get for the money, and their level of customer service.

Prioritize the services that are most critical to running your organization, and invite proposals and quotes from competing companies. Even if you ultimately stick with your current provider, doing the research may give you the leverage to negotiate lower prices or more favorable terms.

#2 – Evaluate Your Internal Processes

While you’re refining your business plan for next year, make it a point to review your day-to-day processes to determine how well they support your strategies. You can do this internally, or consider hiring a consultant to perform the assessment for you.

Ask staff and committee members to document the processes they use to fulfill their responsibilities. Brainstorm with your team to identify inefficiencies and come up with ways to improve. As you go through the process, don’t forget to research new technologies that can help you save on time and resources.

#3 – Update Your Policy Manual

If you don’t already have a policy manual, create one. If you have one, review it. Your policy manual is your blueprint for your internal operations – yet it’s an often-neglected document, particularly in smaller associations. It covers everything from human resources … to attendance and dress codes … to facilities management issues.

It’s important to review your policies every year to make sure they continue to meet changing employment and business laws. You’ll also want to check that they still align with your current practices and procedures.

#4 – Do a Marketing Audit

Using outdated marketing materials can reflect poorly on your organization – whether it’s letterhead with your old phone number or address on it, membership welcome packs that still mention old services, or a website that lists Board members who retired last year. Sometimes these details slip through the cracks, so gather all the collateral you currently use and go through it with a fine-tooth comb.

Ditch any materials that have information, messages, graphics, or branding that no longer reflect your organization’s direction, and put a plan in place setting out how and when you will update each piece with specific dates for completion.

#5 – Say Thank You

Recognize and thank staff , volunteers, members, committees, sponsors, and anyone else who had a part in your organization during the year. Convey your appreciation through cards, events, gifts, or just a special note in your newsletter if your budget is slim. “Feel-good” gestures will have everyone heading into the new year feeling appreciated and engaged with your organization.

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Community Management is About Strategy

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

This week’s blog post on online community management is re-posted with permission from Aaron D. Wolowiec, founder and president of Event Garde, a professional development consulting firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich. Website: www.eventgarde.com.

Although still relatively new, online communities are quickly becoming popular platforms for engagement, discussion, and membership.

But there’s still some confusion about best practices and culture, according to a new report by The Community Roundtable and Higher Logic.

“In the current environment, it’s easy to question or second guess ourselves, but one thing I feel strongly about is this: A community approach can help navigate these issues in a way that brings along customers, prospects and employees,” said Rachel Happe, principal and co-founder, The Community Roundtable. “It is the best way, and maybe the only way, to keep our organizations in sync with themselves and with their markets.”

Happe said communities are the most effective way to deliver learning and change – much better than social media platforms, which are inundated with advertisements.

The Higher Logic report contains data from 339 community programs from a range of industries. The first takeaway: strategy. Strategy is based upon a shared understanding of value. In other words, communities must define value to their organization and to their community to foster engagement. In addition, the report found those who could measure that value to determine ROI performed best.

Next: operations. Giving members a voice is key to community success. Communities that provide a formal feedback system, multi-tiered advocacy program and member-led community programs far outperformed their peers.

And then, tactics: Most communities measure basic activity and membership, but going beyond that, including regularly tracking activity, behavior change and outcomes, reaps big rewards.

Some recommendations from Higher Logic:

STRATEGY:

Create strong, defined value statements for your organization and members, highlighting the shared value of the community. Tip: Boil it down: What’s the value that the organization and members get from being a part of the community – and where do those value statements intersect?

OPERATIONS:

Engage and empower members, through feedback programs, member- and internal expert-led programs and by prioritizing getting organizational buy-in and understanding of community. Giving the community a say in its operation can help increase engagement and community contributions. Tip: Tap into the expertise in your membership – communities that include member-led programming demonstrate higher engagement and maturity than their peers.

TACTICS:

Focus metrics and measurement on the behaviors you want to see, not just the ones you can easily measure. Everyone measures something, but the best-in-class communities are digging into the metrics that demonstrate the impact of the community. Tip: Use frameworks to better connect behavior changes to metrics so that you can more readily explain the value of the community to members and the organization.

“As community professionals, we need to keep our focus on the fundamentals and continue to reinforce value and success,” Happe said. “Don’t lose sight of the basics; continue the dialog with those that can benefit from your community, and develop an ROI model to define the specific business value that is generated from the community.”

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10 Tips for Board Meeting Breakouts

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Breakout sessions can be highly beneficial at board meetings as a technique to increase board member engagement and reduce the likelihood of groupthink. They also introduce a different dynamic into the typical board meeting, which can increase the value perception held by board members, enhance relationship building and develop a team spirit. Depending on the issue at hand, all groups can be asked to work on the identical problem or each group can be asked to focus on a different aspect of the issue.

As you consider the use of breakouts, keep in mind that you want to vary meeting formats from time to time. If you use breakouts at every meeting, your board my experience “breakout fatigue.”

In order to enhance breakout effectiveness, keep the following considerations in mind:

Define the objective / problem: You can’t spend too much time defining the problem. Defining the right problem is key to solving any issue. Ultimately, your goal is to draft a problem statement in the form of a question that the breakout group(s) will discuss. Once you have a draft question (problem statement) that you think will work well, visualize a board breakout discussion addressing the problem. Listen to what they are saying and envision the different directions that the dialogue might take, along with possible outcomes. It the potential outcomes don’t really target the issue, you might need to continue developing your problem statement / question.

Seek optimal diversity: Don’t allow the members to self-select their groups. Groups should either be designed before the meeting or determined by random selection techniques at the meeting. Also, make sure the groups are different from meeting to meeting. If you predetermine the groups, in order to ensure optimal diversity, take into consideration factors such as: industry sector, size of company, gender, experience levels, time served on board, expertise, level and style of typical engagement and personality. Also keep in mind that, ideally, you will want a good facilitator in each group. There are a number of techniques that can be used to “randomly” select groups at the meeting. A common approach is to have the board members go around the room and “count off” up to the desired number of groups. For example, count 1, 2, 3 – 1,2,3, etc., until everyone around the room has a number. Another spin on this is to have the board members form a line standing in alphabetical order based on the city they were born in. This protects against having the same groups every meeting if members often sit in the same order.

Identify predetermined space: Anticipate how much space you will need. If possible, a separate room should be set aside for each breakout group. Of course, one group can use the main boardroom. Although it can be done, putting more than one group in a room is not advisable. When choosing rooms, try to find rooms with plenty of wall or window space where flip chart pages can be posted. Wifi access is also helpful if you expect the group to bring in outside information.

Identify a facilitator for each group: The quality of output is often dependent of having a great facilitator. Facilitators should be chosen and identified before the day of the meeting. A good facilitator will keep the discussion on target with the end goal in mind, engage all of the group members in the dialogue and ensure that the contributions of all are considered. Most likely, you will find that you have a few outstanding facilitators on the board, some that are ok and some that just don’t work to well. If this is the case, try not to always rely on the great facilitator(s) from meeting to meeting. Rotation is important; just stay away from the not so good ones.

Provide the facilitator instructions: Prior to the day of the meeting, facilitators should receive a written document that contains a list of their responsibilities and instructions. Instructions might include information such as: at the beginning of the breakout, identify a time keeper and a presenter to report back the groups findings to the larger group; begin the dialogue with a discussion about the problem statement to gain buy in for the problem or to restate the problem statement; lead the session standing in from the front of the room and capture major items on the flipchart; use a separate flipchart page to capture ideas that are brought up, but not relevant to the discussion at hand; and, encourage everyone to participate, directly calling on those that are not engaging in the dialogue.

Clearly review the assignment: Before breaking into small groups, provided each group is addressing the same question, clearly define for the large group the assignment and what outcome you expect from each group. Also, provide the larger group with an explanation of what you expect to take place in the individual groups. Encourage questions to ensure clarity.

Provide a written problem statement: Each group should be given a written copy of any instructions regarding format, the objective(s) for the session and, most importantly, a written problem statement / question. Depending on the problem / issue to be discussed, a one-half to one page backgrounder may be helpful to frame the issue. Of course, if you intend to use the small groups to frame issues, you will want to refrain from using the background paper to frame the issue; instead you may want to provide some data or information.

Room set up: For small groups a conference table set up works fine and a “U” set up is generally not needed. Make sure each room has an ample supply of a variety of colored flipchart markers and masking tape to hang the sheets as they are filled. Of course, you will need flip charts in each room; if possible provide two so one can be used as a “parking lot” to capture ideas that are surfaced but not relevant to the conversation. So much the better if you can get “post it note” flip chart pads which have self-adhesive on each page.

Reporting back: Each group will report back their results to the whole board. In order to be efficient with time, you might ask the presenters to only report back “new information” that was not mentioned by previously reporting groups. The board members should be encouraged to ask questions and challenge the presentations. In fact, you may want to assign people to play devil’s advocates.

Transcribe the results: After the meeting, don’t just roll up the flip charts and put them in a corner. First, prior to leaving the board meeting location, make sure you have pictures of them all. Then, when back at the office, transcribe the sheets / document the findings. Often, the information and knowledge surfaced during the breakout sessions will be very useful as input into your strategy development process.

Breakout sessions have been around for a long time. But, to capture real advantage from sessions, thought must go into the design and execution of breakouts. Of course, notwithstanding pre planning and design, there will be times that breakout groups will engage in a dialogue or process that is entirely different than planned; when this happens, just accept it and reflect on their work.

How have you improved the effectiveness of breakouts at your board meetings? What has and has not worked?

About the Author

Robert Nelson, a Certified Association Executive (CAE), brings over a quarter-century of successful executive leadership experience, working with Boards and high-powered CEOs in a not-for-profit setting. He is the founder of Nelson Strategic Consulting and brings hands-on experience guiding and facilitating the design of strategy development processes and think tanks. His focus on organizational strategies and strategic solutions to complex organizational and global grand challenges for national as well as international organizations.

Contact Robert through his website, or learn more about Nelson Strategic Consulting at www.nscstrategies.com.

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7 Rules for Successful Membership Strategies

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

So you’ve brainstormed some exciting membership moves, but are you ready to play them? Here’s a list of things to remember when implementing your membership strategies to ensure they pan out just as you intend …

#1 – Do your research.

Don’t rely on a hunch – test your ideas on your members. Select a sample of current members – or prospects that represent your ideal member types – and conduct informal interviews with them. Once you have their feedback, there will undoubtedly be things you need to change or refine before you launch your new strategies. …

#2 – Plan and document your processes.

How will you administer your new membership structure? If you’re really serious about growing and have limited staff to help you do it, you will need to make your processes as efficient as possible. You may need to look for an affordable online membership management software to help you organize your member data and automate many of your day-to-day tasks.

You’ll also need to think about how you will communicate changes to your members and promote to non-members, what actions members need to take to sign up for new benefits or transition to other membership levels, how you will keep track of the different types of members, who will be responsible for each step of the process, how you will set up reporting to help you track the effectiveness of your strategies, and what systems and technologies you will need to manage your members.

#3 – Include your staff, volunteers, and Board.

Enlisting the help of the people “on the ground” can increase buy in. Go through the processes for each new service or initiative you’re introducing with your team, and assign someone responsibility for it. Do some mock run-throughs with your staff on the new procedures. Once you’ve confirmed your processes, document them so that everyone involved is consistently following them.

#4 – Pilot your programs.

If you’re introducing new programs, identify a sample of members or prospects to test the waters before you jump in – even if it’s just running the high-level idea past them. For example, if you’re introducing a new member portal online, have a diverse group of stakeholders test it out before you make it available to your entire organization.

#5 – Communication is key.

For any new event, initiative, program, or service offering, it is a good idea to create a communications plan that outlines the key stakeholders, messaging for each, time frame for communications, how you will deliver the communications, and overall goals. If you are making changes that impact your members in any way, always let them know well in advance, and continue to remind them as the scheduled changes approach.

#6 – Set specific, measurable goals.

Setting goals helps to create a sense of accountability for you and your staff. The basic metrics to measure will include participation in programs and events, sales and revenue from products, renewal and acquisition percentages, data from member satisfaction surveys, and your return on marketing investment. You may also have more specific metrics depending on your objectives.

#7 – Re-assess.

Make it a point to touch base with a few of your members through informal phone calls every month to get their feedback on what’s working and not working for them. Conduct another survey a year from now. It can be effective to use the same survey from the previous year so that you can make direct comparisons in the various areas. Analyze the data to see if your strategies helped you reach your overall goals, and continue to make adjustments on an ongoing basis.

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Choosing Membership Management Software: The Mistakes Associations Make

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Membership management software requires not only a financial commitment but also significant time and resources. Your staff members will be taking time out to learn the ins and outs of your new system, and it also takes time to go through the data migration and integration process. There are a lot of things to consider when software shopping, and a lot of ways you can get it wrong.

Here are some of the most common mistakes we see people make when selecting a membership management platform …

They Don’t Plan for Growth.

Don’t plan for where you are now, plan for where you want to be. If you’re a new-ish association or chapter, you likely have a pretty simple membership structure. Assuming that your goal is to expand, and not to shrink, you need a system that will grow with you.

Picture your organization three to five years down the road. By that time, you’ve diversified your membership levels to attract more members. You’ve put in place some new benefits and programs to generate additional revenue streams. Your membership is growing by the day. When you get to that point, I guarantee you’ll regret settling for an inflexible piece of membership management software that lacks the features you need.

There are several online membership management packages out there that will work within your budget and also support your growth.

They Don’t Consider the Possibilities.

Your membership management software doesn’t have to stand alone – and it shouldn’t. The purpose of investing in software is to cut down on your administrative workload, so you’ll want to make sure that whatever system you choose can integrate with your existing software – either directly or by downloading and uploading csv files.

Make a list of your existing programs, ask your software rep about the possibility of linking them with the membership management system, and see if you can’t get things a little more streamlined.

They Don’t Audit Their Current Processes.

Do you really know what you need? Have you talked to your staff members and had a brainstorming session around the processes that they feel could be made easier. Have you talked to current members about what they need? Get these questions answered first, shop for your software later.

When you demo different types of software, you should have a list of the features you’re looking for – with the most important prioritized on top.

They Don’t Include Users When Selecting Their Association Management Software.

Years back, an association I worked with was looking at putting a system in place and their finance manager decided to skip consultation with staff members and make all of the decisions herself. The staff didn’t know anything about the new system until it was actually implemented. The finance manager ticked all the boxes that were important from her perspective, but after spending thousands of dollars, discovered it made tasks and processes harder for the staff. In the end, all the spiffy new system actually achieved was to make tasks more time-consuming.

The lesson is obvious. The most important testers of your software are the people who are actually going to be using it. Invite them to your demos, ask them what most frustrates them about their processes, and observe how they currently execute their tasks so that you understand their needs.

They Choose a Membership Management Software with the Wrong Price Structure for Them.

Every software company structures their prices differently. Some charge monthly subscriptions, others charge by usage, and some add charges for upgrading features or processing credit cards.

After auditing your processes and talking to your staff, you should have a list of requirements. Being clear on what you’re looking for and asking a lot of questions up front can help you avoid paying hidden costs.

Many companies offer subscriptions that increase in price when you reach a certain number of members. For example, you may start out paying $100 monthly because you have under 500 members, but as soon as you increase to 501 members your subscription jumps to $200. This means you’re essentially paying an extra $100 per month for just one extra member. If you’re growing at lightning speed, this price structure could work. But in the real world, it makes sense to choose a package that lets you pay for only the members you have.

Here’s an idea: compare the total of all costs for each software provider based on the number of members you have now. Then do the same thing based on the number of members you hope to have in three years. Divide the total costs by the number of members, and that should give you a good feel for which solution is most beneficial for your organization.

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Association Strategy Pitfall: Looking for the “Right” Answer

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

As a society, we are so accustomed to being asked to find the right answer that we often don’t look beyond that answer. This can problematic when we develop an association strategy. In fact, it can be problematic anytime we are trying to solve a problem.

When developing strategy, it is imperative to think strategically. And, a key component of strategic thinking is creative thinking. Creative thinking is also vital when solving problems outside of the strategy development realm.

Find out how 123Signup Association Management Software can help solve your membership problems.

Creative thinking demands that we come up with a variety of solutions. Maybe our first “right” answer is the best solution, but maybe the best right answer is the second, fourth or tenth right answer. The point is, we won’t know if our first “right” answer is the best until we have developed other solutions to compare and contrast it to.

The first step to identifying the best right answer is asking the right question. That starts with by charging your team with finding the right solutions or answers, not the right solution or answer. It also requires that your team challenges or ignores its assumptions. How you word the question can make a difference as well.

If we ask an employee or group of people to solve a problem, they will typically rely on their assumptions and come up with the solution. They will find a sense of satisfaction when they first encounter the solution and be happy to demonstrate that they have the solution. What they often don’t do is continue to search for other answers. As a facilitator, leader or manager it is your job to encourage them to develop multiple answers or solutions.

THE RIGHT ANSWER

In Roger von Oech’s book “A whack on the Side of the Head, ” he has some excellent examples that demonstrate the importance of not stopping with the right answer and the importance of asking the right question. But first, I need you to select the shape below that is different from all of the others.

If you picked B, great job, you are right. B is the only shape that is made from all straight lines. Of course, if you picked C, you are right as well, as it is the only shape that is asymmetrical. But, then, A is also a right choice as it is the only shape with no points. As you give it more thought, you see that D is also the right answer; it is the only shape that has both straight curved lines.

The point is, often there are many right answers. However, the right answer in not always the best answer.

THE RIGHT QUESTION

Von Oech goes on to tell the story about a plague striking a village many centuries ago. Those stricken with the plague almost immediately fell into a death like coma. Most died within a day, although a few miraculously survived. One problem the village faced was that in the 1700s medical technology wasn’t very advanced and it was extremely difficult to tell the dead from those still alive.

The village was horrified one day when they discovered that someone was accidentally buried alive. So a group of villagers got together and solved the problem by agreeing to put a little food and water in each casket along with an air tube going to the surface. It was an expensive solution, but they knew it could save lives. A second group also got together and developed a cheaper solution; they would affix a knife blade to the inside top of each coffin that would pierce the heart of the victim as the coffin was closed, thereby assuring that no one would be buried alive.

The solutions were different because each group used a different question to find the solution. The first group asked, “what if we bury someone alive” and the second group asked, “how can we make sure everyone we bury is dead”?

FORGET ASSUMPTIONS

When confronted with a problem that is similar to a previous problem we have dealt with, it is human nature to assume that the solutions and results will be similar. However, when developing strategy and solving problems it is important to either forget or challenge assumptions. The fatal nature of not challenging assumptions is illustrated in the story of Croeus, the last ruler of the great Lydian Empire.

As Croeus contemplated attacking the Persians in 546 BC, he turned to two oracles for advice. They both answered that if he attacked the Persians, a great empire would be lost. This made him feel secure and gave him the confidence to move forward; so he formed an alliance and attacked the Persians. In the end, Croeus was defeated and true to the oracles statement, a great empire was lost. Croeus’ fatal assumption was two fold: he relied on the first right answer, which was the one he assumed he would find, and he assumed since he had went into battle before and won that he would get a similar result this time.

GOOD STRATEGY / EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

Good strategy and effective problem-solving demand that we ask the right questions, challenge our assumptions and develop a number of right solutions before moving forward with the best solution. The next time you ask a group or an employee to solve a problem, ask them to identify solutions not a singular solution. Then make sure you and they are challenging the assumption upon which the answer rests. Of course, before you even ask them to solve the problem, it is imperative that you’ve identified the right problem and ask the right question; after all a great strategy for the wrong problem is no strategy at all.

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Overcoming Misperceptions About Your Association

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Whether negative perceptions about your organization are accurate or not, they can get in the way of executing on your mission. In other words, misperceptions can be as damaging to your organization as are accurate, but negative, perceptions. As the old adage goes, perception is reality. As such, misperceptions must be taken seriously and often dealt with in the same way as accurate, negative perceptions.

Overcoming negative perceptions starts with identifying stakeholder perceptions, determining whether or not you are committed to overcoming the perception and then, if committed, taking real, substantive and often visible action to change the perception. If you are not serious about changing a negative perception or committed to real change, then it may be better to ignore the perception, knowing what the consequences might be. In other words, if you are only going to engage “window dressing” your efforts may likely backfire.

If you are intentional about it, your organization can overcome negative perceptions, whether or not they are accurate. Here are 10 steps to alter perceptions.

OVERCOMING MISPERCEPTIONS / NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS

Proactively seek out / determine stakeholder perceptions. You can’t alter perceptions if you don’t know what they are. Organizations should periodically field an attitudinal survey. Regularly surveying stakeholders, every other year, for example, will inform you about perceptions and provide you with baseline data against which to measure progress. This is also a great way to confirm what you might be “hearing in the street.” Do your best to survey all stakeholders, not just members.

Listen for the kernel of truth. Don’t be defensive. Be careful not to reject misperceptions. Rather than outright reject misperceptions, seek the kernel of truth in what stakeholders are saying. Give the stakeholders the benefit of the doubt.

Be willing to admit and accept there is an issue. There is no need to place blame. If your survey confirms that there are negative perceptions, accept the results as simply being a truth. For that matter, even if you don’t conduct a survey but are receiving feedback from multiple parties that has a common thread of negative perception running through it, accept that there is an issue.

Evaluate the perceptions. Some negative perceptions may bring more harm to you than others. Consider to what degree the various negative perceptions impede your mission or the execution of your strategy. In doing so, recognize that a group of different negative perceptions may all have the same root cause. On the other hand, take note of and celebrate the positive perceptions that you identify. Ask yourself if there is some way to exploit the positive perceptions in overcoming some of the negatives. Evaluating and prioritizing negative perceptions will inform your next steps.

Determine if you and your organization are willing to do what it takes to change the negatives. You only get one chance to start the journey of changing perceptions; a halfhearted attempt or a strategy that deploys “window dressing” could backfire. It comes down to whether you are committed to or just interested in changing perceptions. If you are committed, the perceived value of changing the perceptions is greater than the perceived difficulty of doing so; if you are interested, the perceived difficulty is greater than the perceived value. If you are committed, you act no matter what; if you are interested, you act if the circumstances permit. If you are committed, you will have results; if you are interested, you will have a bunch of reasons why you should act.

Determine the root cause. Put simply, this means figure out why those with negative perceptions think the way they do. Start by identifying some people that hold the negative perception and engage in a dialogue with them to find out why they hold the perception. Remember, don’t challenge them or be defensive, just listen and accept what they are saying. In fact, consider usingToyoda’s Five Whys root problem identification methodology. This step is probably the most important one; it is absolutely critical that you identify the right and real problem before you embark on developing a problem solving strategy.

Develop a strategy to change the perception. You may need different strategies for different stakeholder groups. Don’t develop your strategy in a vacuum; key to a sound strategy is diverse perspective. In this case, you will want to include those with negative perceptions in the strategy development process. There are many strategy development and problem solving models out there. One you might consider for this task is a force field problem-solving model. Make sure that your strategy contains sound metrics for evaluating / measuring success.

Take visible action. As you execute your strategy, seek some tactics that are visible and then promote the action being taken. But remember, changing perceptions requires more than those with negative perceptions seeing what is different. It is equally or more important that they feel the change as well. As you are considering tactics, always keep the root problem in mind and ask yourself if the tactic will truly attack the root problem. If the tactic doesn’t meet this test, it may very well be “window dressing.”

Be patient. Perceptions don’t change overnight. You need to have an ongoing strategy and a set of tactics that are rolled out and repeated over time. As you begin the journey of change, the goal is progress not perfection. Part of your job is building trust in those that held the negative perceptions; this takes time.

Measure progress. In addition to fielding follow up attitudinal surveys, it is important that you regularly check in with some of the initial critics. By engaging some of the critics in the strategy development process and then seeking their input as the changes progress you may very well end up with some of your organization’s best promoters.

About the Author

Contact Robert through his website, or learn more about Nelson Strategic Consulting at www.nscstrategies.com.

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Delegation: Six Steps

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Effective delegation is often thought of as one of the most challenging management skills to master. Yet, delegation is one of the most powerful management skills. In fact, if you are not an effective delegator, you are shortchanging yourself, your employees and your organization. Successful delegation entails delegating the right things to the right people at the right time, along with the authority and resources needed to carry out the assignment. Delegating, of course, conveys a number of benefits beyond getting the job done. It is an important part of employee development, employee motivation, self-development and succession planning.

Before exploring how to delegate more effectively, let’s take a look at why people don’t delegate. Often, those who are considered by their employees to be micromanagers simply have not perfected the art of delegating. Some people don’t delegate because they are perfectionists and others don’t want to take the time to delegate. Yes, it does take time to delegate properly, but the time invested pays dividends.

Some people think that they need to protect themselves; in part, this may be because when you delegate, although you delegate authority and responsibility, you don’t delegate liability. Some people just enjoy doing the tasks that they could be delegating. Often, it is a matter of trust; managers don’t trust the people working for them. Finally, some people are new to management and are not comfortable assigning tasks to others, especially those that were former peers.

Irrespective of the reason for not delegating effectively, we can all learn to delegate more effectively and reap the benefits that accrue to everyone involved. The first step is to identify work that can be delegated. Although there are some exceptions, I lean more toward the belief that you should delegate everything that either someone else can do or be trained / developed to do; to do otherwise is a disservice to your employees and your organization.

When identifying what you are going to delegate, try to delegate the complete job, rather than just some small tasks. By giving an employee a complete job, you can take better advantage of their creativity. Further, there is an exponential increase in employee pride and satisfaction when they can see that they took something from beginning to end.

Next, it is important that you plan ahead and provide enough time for the entire delegation process. That begins with setting clear objectives and boundaries, and ends with follow-up, completion of the task / job and feedback. The process may also require some employee development and / or training. Keep in mind, it may take an employee longer to complete a work assignment than it would you. Even considering that it may take longer for delegated work to be completed, for the reasons mentioned above, in the long run, delegation is worth it. The fact is, if you don’t delegate overall productivity declines due to your focus being taken away from critical issues that require your attention and a workforce that lacks motivation and is disengaged.

DELEGATION PROCESS

Determine to whom to delegate: Don’t just delegate to those who are the least busy. Delegate to those that are best equipped to handle the job or be trained to do the job. Don’t always go to the same people; if you find you can only rely on a small select group of people to successfully complete delegate work on time and at the level you require, it may be time to determine if you have the right people on your team. Likewise, don’t only delegate to those that you know can handle the job with little or no training and development; plan ahead so you have time to equip employees with the tools/knowledge to do the job.

Provide clear instruction: Articulate clear, observable and measurable objectives. The employee must understand exactly what outcome(s) you expect. The goal is to communicate the outcome, not how you expect them to do the job. This is a balancing act. You don’t want to micromanage; on the other hand, you want to provide them with enough input that sets them up for success. In determining how much information to give the employee beyond the objective(s), consider the employee’s experience with the specific task / job, the employee’s past performance related to taking initiative to figure things out, and their overall performance on previously delegated work. Also, communicate boundaries or constraints, if any, that the employee should abide by in carrying out the assignment.

Determine resource and development requirements: Engage in a conversation with the employee to determine what additional training / development they feel they will need to complete the job. Also, find out from the employee what resources they believe they will need. As a manager, it is your responsibility to make sure the employee has the resources and training necessary to succeed. I find it best to start by asking the employee what their needs are and let the conversation flow from there; again, you don’t want to micromanage. You may also want to ask the employee how they plan to proceed with the work; this often informs what resources or development may be needed.

Agree on a timeline: Once the objectives are agreed on and training / development needs are determined, agreement should be reached on when the assignment is due. Again, I find it best to begin this conversation by asking the employee when, considering their current workload and other responsibilities, do they think it would be reasonable to have the work at hand completed in a manner that meets objectives and rises to the quality expectations? In my experience, it is helpful if you raise the issue of the employee’s other responsibilities, because it often results in the employee suggesting a more realistic deadline. In fact, I find employees are often over ambitious when estimating the timeframe needed to complete a work assignment. Often, when an employee suggests a timeframe, I respond with a suggestion that they take a minimum of 50 percent more time to complete the work. For example, if the employee states they could complete the job in two weeks, I ask them if they think 3 weeks might be more reasonable. Keep in mind, as a manager you want to create a situation that results in the employee’s success. Always factor in enough time to re-do or improve on the submitted work; let the complexity of the job and employee background / experience be your guide.

Agree on follow-up plan: At the outset, you and the employee should agree on follow-up plan. Determine how often you and the employee will check-in to monitor the progress of the work. Depending on the work, you may agree to check in when the assignment it complete or you may set weekly or milestone check-ins. Regardless of whether or not “check-ins” are agreed to, it is important to let the employee know that irrespective of scheduled follow ups, you are available should the employee run into a roadblock. A word of caution, however, on check-ins: if the employee comes to you with a problem or question, make sure that you don’t end up being on the receiving end of someone delegating up. Only in a very rare situation should you permit work to be delegate back to you. Just as you delegated the responsibility to the employee to get the work done, the employee must take the responsibility and complete the task.

Provide Feedback: Once the task is complete, provide the employee with feedback on the results. You may want to discuss the actual results and the process the employee engaged in in completing the work. The goal in these discussions is two fold: look for opportunities to give positive feedback and look for opportunities for you to learn something from the employee.

Finally, give credit where credit is due. Look for every opportunity to give credit to the employee for the work well done. On the other hand, if your board or members criticize the work or the job doesn’t come out like expected, it is important that you take full responsibility. Regardless of the circumstances, I firmly believe that as leaders we should always give credit to others, and take full responsibility when things go south.

Are there tasks / responsibilities that you think should never be delegated?

About the Author

Contact Robert through his website, or learn more about Nelson Strategic Consulting at www.nscstrategies.com.

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How to Write a Mission Statement That’s Meaningful

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

How much time do you spend thinking about your mission statement? Mission statements are intended to communicate the vision and purpose of organizations. That’s an important function, so it deserves some time and thought. Even if your organization already has a mission statement, it’s important to re-visit it periodically to make sure it still reflects your purpose and direction.

Creating your mission statement (or updating it) is as simple as answering some questions about your organization, then conveying these answers in language that is compelling and succinct.

To formulate your mission statement, start by answering these questions:

What does your organization do to serve your members?
Who are your ideal members?
What value do you bring to your members’ lives?
What differentiates you from other membership-based organizations in your industry?
What underlying values or philosophies guide the way you work with your members?
How do you want your staff to interact with members?

Think about whether you want your mission statement to reflect your short- or long-term goals. When focusing short term, you can be more specific. Long-term goals require a more general statement. Think bigger than your day-to-day operations, products, or service offerings. What are the underlying values that drive your decisions and actions?

One of the best things you can do is involve your board, and staff if appropriate, in the process. Have a brainstorming session around the questions above, and distill your discussion down to common themes and key words.

Once you have your top key words and phrases, work on putting them together in a sentence or two. You should be able to convey why your association exists in an inspiring, believable, and relevant way. And you should be able to convey HOW you’ll deliver on your mission. The most effective mission statements aren’t too vague or too specific, and they use simple language. You’ll want to avoid using complex language or industry jargon.

Come up with three or four options, and test them on your staff. Ultimately, the mission statement you choose should be customer-focused, but should also inspire your staff to get behind the cause. You want the words to be powerful enough to evoke emotion …

Who could resist Starbucks’ mission statement: ” To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”

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Getting Your Board to Think Strategically

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Many associations don’t have the luxury of having their board members professionally trained. On volunteer boards, directors are often selected because they are good at their trade or well-known in their industry – not because of their background in governance. This often leaves CEOs and executive directors in a challenging position. How do you get your board to elevate their focus from details to the bigger picture?

Robert Nelson of Nelson Strategic Consulting gives some great insights in his article, How to Create Strategic-Thinking Boards – and he’s sharing it with our readers …

Transitioning a board to a strategic thinking entity requires intentionality. It is not a matter of teaching the board members to think strategically, but, rather, it is a matter of facilitating their learning by creating strategic thinking experiences. In other words, teaching strategic thinking through lectures or presentations on strategic thinking theory is trumped by engaging the board in the experience of strategic thinking. Since boards meet periodically, it is imperative that you intentionally design strategic thinking experiences into each board meeting.

If you are intentional about transitioning your board to a strategic thinking entity, the first step is to recognize that, ultimately, a revolutionary change in culture may be required. In such a scenario, it is helpful to have a clear understanding of the purpose of the transition, along with a well-articulated vision of the future state. Equally important are a solid change strategy and an execution plan.

Although the chief executive will most likely be the catalyst for the change, it is important that “champions” are identified early on in the process. Hopefully, you will be able to recruit 5 to 10 percent of your Board as champions for change, with the chairperson playing the role of chief change agent. These champions will be key influencers as you work to develop board consensus and support for the need to transition to a strategic thinking board. Likewise, the champions will be key supporters for the behavioral changes that will be needed to complete the transition.

I firmly believe if you want to change an organization, simply change the agenda. This is especially true for transitioning a board to a strategic thinking entity. Strategic issues and dialogue should be the first items on the agenda, immediately after adoption of the agenda. The strategic issues / dialogue are followed by actions the board must take and oversight issues geared to monitoring performance. The last item on the agenda should be the consent agenda that contains all of the written reports. The main objectives are to engage the board in strategic dialogue about big issues at the beginning of the meeting and minimize the time the board spends talking about the past by placing committee and other reports in a consent agenda, which is adopted at the end of the meeting.

Ample time and considerable thought should be given to determining what strategic issues are going to be placed on the agenda. It is important that the issues are truly “big” issues with strategic implications for the organization. Strategic issues can be identified through environmental scanning and by engaging in off-line discussions with members of the board and other stakeholders. A board meeting itself can also be used to identify strategic issues of import to the organization.

Although boards are often accustomed to discussing issues for the purpose of making a decision or taking action, it is important to realize that decisions don’t have to be made in conjunction with strategic dialogue. In fact, strategic agendas often contain “reflection” items. Most, if not all, of your board meeting agendas should contain strategic “reflection” items, in addition to any “action” items. These agenda items are intentionally used to carve out time for dialogue and reflection. The board agrees up front, before the dialogue begins, that no decisions are going to be made at the conclusion of the dialogue. The sole purpose of the strategic reflection items is to dialogue about the issues and reflect on them. This practice is consistent with the adage “don’t just do something, sit there.”

These decision-free strategic dialogues are excellent opportunities for the board to engage in generative thinking. And, the chairperson should guide the dialogue in a manner that engages the board in a process of inquiry. Ideally, the board members will enter and engage in the dialogue with learning mind.

Following are 19 examples of questions that can be used as tools of inquiry. They are the types of questions that drive strategic thinking.

What would have to be true to make this work?
What do we know about the strategic position of our organization related to this issue?
What is happening in the environment that could impact this issue?
Does this really align with our strategy? How?
What are the opportunity costs associated with this issue?
How does this reflect our priorities?
Looking back over a period of time, what changes appear to be happening that might be associated with the issue? How have these changes impacted the issue?
What changes in the association might be related to this issue?
What changes in the industry may be related to the issue?
What assumptions do we hold about this issue? Ask questions to challenge the assumptions.
In what other ways could we handle this issue / situation?
Why is the issue occurring? Engage Toyoda’s 5 Whys and ask the question multiple times.
How could we get a broader perspective of the issue?
What critical information do we need to know to solve this issue?
What do we know we know about this issue?
What do we think we know about this issue?
What do we know that we don’t know about this issue?

Strategic thinking can also be practiced during action item discussions. For this to occur, it is imperative that options, not recommendations, be brought to the board. Too often, traditional boards are presented with a recommendation from staff or a committee. Strategic thinking boards are presented with multiple options to consider, rather than a recommendation. Such an approach increases the engagement of the board members and fosters strategic thinking as the options are discussed.

Pre-designating a board member to argue in opposition to an option and a board member to argue in favor of a particular option further increases board engagement and creates a richer strategic dialogue. However, prior to the arguments being presented inquiring dialogue should take place. In other words: dialogue before deliberation.

If you are going to be intentional about engaging your board in strategic thinking, you must be intentional about the type of information you provide your board. As such, considerable thought must be given to the background material that is placed in the board book. When identifying materials for your board book, ask yourself what data, information, and knowledge would be helpful to stimulate strategic discussion? What data, information, and knowledge are needed to formulate an informed decision? Do the data, information, and knowledge being provided deliver a 360-degree view of the issue at hand?

Another key opportunity to provide a strategic thinking experience is the strategy development process itself. All organizations should have a well thought out process for developing a strategy. A well-designed strategy development process in and of itself facilitates strategic thinking, presents a tremendous learning opportunity for the board and builds the strategic capacity of the board.

If you are interested in 10 additional tips for a strategic thinking board, click here.

What have you found to be helpful in transitioning a board to a strategic thinking entity

This article is re-blogged from the NSC Strategies Blog.

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What Does Member Engagement Mean, Anyway?

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

The phrase “member engagement” is big in the association world. But what does it really mean, and how do we measure it?

Member engagement runs deeper than member satisfaction. You would use the word “satisfaction” to describe a member’s attitude toward your organization. But engagement covers both attitudes and behaviors, and gives you a measure of your relationship with your members. Retention is all about building strong relationships, so it’s really important to know where you stand with your members.

Recently, the Loyalty Research Company (LRC) did research to determine the key indicators of member engagement, and found that engaged members are more likely to:

Consider renewal an “automatic” decision – translating to a 90% retention rate and ensuring a committed long-term membership base, and dependable cash flow.
Serve as ambassadors and refer their friends and colleagues in the industry to your organization. This is your best and lowest-cost form of marketing.
Participate through meeting and event attendance, and purchasing fee-based products like publications or training sessions. These members drive non-dues revenue and make it more predictable in tough economic times, when it can tend to drop off.
Establish themselves as leaders in the organization, starting by volunteering, and then getting involved on committees, task forces, or on your board.

It boils down to this: a strongly engaged member equals higher non-dues revenue and strong participation. A weakly engaged member is less likely to buy “extras” and rarely participates.

You should know who your highly-engaged and moderately-engaged members are, and what aspects of your membership value proposition are most important to them. That information should drive your business strategies. You’ll want to put the most effort and resources into the initiatives that are most important to these groups because that’s how you’ll keep them, and attract new members.

So how do you determine an engaged member from a non-engaged member?

You check in with them through surveys and other forms of member research. Matt Braun from LRC says when it comes to measuring engagement in surveys, it’s not a one-question solution. You’ll want to include questions that cover:

The perceived value they get from membership (what they pay and what they receive in return).
Their likelihood of speaking highly of your organization and referring colleagues and friends.
How likely are they to renew their membership next time it comes due.

The combination of responses to those questions will tell you whether the member is strongly engaged, moderately engaged, or weakly engaged.

If your members’ behaviors don’t seem to be matching up with the answers they provided on the survey, that’s a sign you may need to dig a little deeper to find out what’s going on. But this is a good place to start.

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The Public is Listening, and Associations Are Spending

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

This week’s blog is re-posted with permission from Aaron D. Wolowiec, MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA. Aaron is the founder and president of Event Garde, a professional development consulting firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich. Website: www.eventgarde.com.

As a public relations professional, imagine my excitement when I stumbled across a new report that found associations are spending an unprecedented amount of money to sway public opinion.

No, I’m not excited that associations are shelling out big bucks, but it’s validation.

It’s true that we’re spin doctors, but we’re there when you need us. It’s our job to help you sort through the clutter of public confusion, misinformation and media madness.

Last month, the Center for Public Integrity released a report on the PR spending of Washington, D.C.-based trade associations.

“It’s been well-publicized how much industry spends on lobbying the government, but little is known about how much money goes toward influencing the public,” the center says. “In an effort to find out more, Center for Public Integrity reporters examined the tax returns for trade associations that spent more than $1 million on lobbying in 2012. The IRS requires the groups to report their top five contractors.”

The report found that from 2008 to 2012, 144 trade groups spent $1.2 billion – 37 percent of the total amount spent on contracts – on PR and marketing. By industry sector, energy and natural resources associations were the big spenders. Business associations came in second, spending more than $200 million on public relations, marketing and ad services. And, perhaps of special interest to our readers: The food and beverage association ranked No. 4 in PR spending.

At one time, associations earmarked thousands of dollars for lobbyists. But that’s slowly shrinking, thanks to the advent of social media, blogs and citizen journalism. Whereas lobbying engages policy makers, public relations engages a public platform devoid of class, gender, race and socioeconomic divisions.

So why the shift to public relations?

“They certainly want to influence the general public because the general public will then influence the politicians, the lawmakers or the regulators in that particular industry,” said Steve Barrett, editor-in-chief of trade magazine PR Week.

And it seems Edelman is thriving. The nation’s largest public relations firm, which employs 5,000 people, netted the most revenue. According to the report, associations paid Edelman nearly $350 million, with the American Petroleum Institute carrying most of the load.

It’s important to note that the report measured only the most politically active associations in Washington, D.C., so some key players could have been left out of the analysis.

However, “the contractor information provides an inside look at the way trade associations use PR and advertising to ply the American mind,” the Center for Public Integrity says. “Trade groups determined to fight regulations and boost profits of their members have spent heavily to influence how the public perceives policies that affect everything from the air we breathe to the beverages we drink.”

A word of caution: Transparency is important. If you budget for public relations efforts, make sure your members know where your association stands.

So, all this said….what do we do?

Essentially, PR pros are message makers. In a sticky situation, it’s our job to help clients maintain their integrity. But we’re also storytellers. Earned media (or non-paid media coverage) is key to reputation building, especially in a market in which PR pros outnumber journalists.

Is your association setting a trend? Does your association have an awesome success story to share, i.e. outreach or community service? Do you have a member organization that’s doing something incredible? That’s where PR can help. For starters, check outPublic Relations Society of America, which includes a directory of PR firms and service providers.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

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Make Your Passwords Secure

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Having your membership data in the cloud is convenient, cost-effective, and efficient. But with the many advantages comes the risk of data security breaches. If your membership database is hosted online, it’s your responsibility to do everything in your control to safeguard your members’ personal information.

If you’re using an online software provider to host your membership database and store credit card information, it’s up to them to make sure the system meets PCI Security Standards. But your users will need to do their part to keep client data safe.

Here are some common-sense rules for data security that you and your staff should be following!

Keep Your Administrators Up to Date

It’s pretty obvious that when someone leaves your organization, they should no longer have access to your membership data. But this one tops the list because it is so often overlooked. There is nothing complicated about it– just remember to update your administrators when positions change.

Don’t Share Passwords if You Can Help It

If possible, everyone who accesses your membership database should have a different username and password for several reasons. First, every transaction and change that is processed through your system should have an administrator attached to it. If an issue ever arises, you’ll know exactly who you need to approach to fix it. It also prevents people from leaving your organization with your log-in information (if you forget to change it).

Make your passwords at least eight characters, and include both letters and numbers. Use both upper and lower cases and if you can help it, don’t use words you can find in the dictionary. It’s best to have a unique username and password for every website you log on to so that if one website gets compromised, you don’t risk compromising the others.

Your email password should be extra secure because when you forget a password online, that’s where a replacement password will be sent.

Don’t write your passwords on a post-it and stick it to your computer, and if you have a document that contains all of your usernames and passwords, use an encryption tool to keep the information secure.

Be Careful of How You Collect and Store Information

Never ask your members to send you credit card details or other sensitive information by email, and don’t be casual about taking credit card information by phone. If you write it down on a piece of paper, process it immediately and dispose of it securely or store it in a locked drawer. If you are taking payments online through your software provider, check to make sure they meet current security standards.

Create a Data Security Policy

Data security is not top-of-mind for most people, so it can be helpful to create a security policy and ask each member of your staff to read and sign it. This is an effective way of raising awareness of the risks and ensuring that your staff acts mindfully when it comes to member data.

You probably know people who avoid using technology because of fears around security – maybe you’re one of them. The truth is, these fears are justified and having your data compromised is possible. However, it’s often not the technology that’s insecure, but the practices of people using which may lead to a security issue. Even with the best software in the world, you can still inadvertently have your data hacked if you’re not mindful about your day-to-day processes.

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How Will the New Overtime Rules Affect Your Association?

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

In May, the United States Department of Labor released new overtime rules that will take effect on Dec. 1.

Since December will be here before we know it, nonprofits are already making adjustments, as the new rules will have significant implications for the nonprofit sector.

According to the National Council of Nonprofits, it all comes down to salary requirements.

With limited resources, many nonprofits can’t afford to pay their staff big bucks. Under the new regulations, most employees earning less than $47,500 will be entitled to overtime compensation. So think about your events and meetings. What will that mean?

If you’ve got limited staff resources, 123Signup can help you do more with less.

That said, it’s a complex formula for understanding compliance, but the U.S. Department of Labor has published resources.

According to DOL, employers have a few options:

Pay time-and-a-half for overtime work.

Raise workers’ salaries above the new threshold.

Limit workers’ hours to 40 hours per week.

Combine options above.

The council offers some tips, as well.

“Employers have various options to comply with these change in overtime rules, ranging from increasing exempt employees’ salaries to the new level, converting them to hourly employees and paying overtime or making other changes to benefits or operations,” the National Council of Nonprofits said. “Nonprofits with budget years ending on June 30 will need to develop new budgets for the fiscal year beginning in six weeks that take these new changes into account. Nonprofits with budget years ending on Dec. 31 have more time to adjust and plan for 2017.”

In addition, the rules allow for the use of volunteers under certain circumstances, but DOL warns nonprofits shouldn’t use volunteers to skirt the regulations.

The department contends its new regulations will ensure companies – including nonprofits – adhere to the Fair Labor and Standards Act. It also says the new regulations will lead to a better work-life balance while increasing productivity and reducing turnover.

“Job titles never determine exempt status under the FLSA,” DOL said. “Additionally, receiving a particular salary, alone, does not indicate that an employee is exempt from overtime and minimum wage protections.”

Regardless of the exemptions the new rule provide, associations are concerned about the ramifications. According to ASAE, more than 250,000 associations submitted comments on the proposed rule to the department last year.

“Because the rule would dramatically expand the number of employees now eligible for overtime pay, associations and other employers could be forced to lay off staff or limit employees’ work outside of core business hours, stinting employees’ career growth and harming productivity,” wrote Chris Vest on June 1 in “Associations Now.”

Additionally, Alex Beall wrote about the new regulations, offering advice from Julia Judish, special counsel with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

“Once the employer has identified which of its currently exempt employees would convert to nonexempt, the employer should start now requiring those employees to do the equivalent of clocking in and clocking out and track their average hours,” Judish said.

As December approaches, we’ll track the new DOL overtime rules and report changes and their implications for nonprofits.

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Stakeholder Analysis: The Key to Good Strategy

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Stakeholder audits are a critical component of an ongoing strategy development process. Your organization can profit from stakeholder audits in other ways as well. Stakeholder audits are an imperative component of an issues management program, they are part and parcel of good governance, and they are key to collaboration.

Stakeholder analysis should be undertaken as part of your environmental scanning activity. In addition, such analysis can play an important role in strategy execution, as you seek to align stakeholders with your strategy. Although you may take a “stakeholder management” approach when conducting environmental scanning, a different mindset is suggested for strategy execution. When possible, in strategy execution, the goal is to take a collaborative approach with stakeholders. Ultimately, a mutually defined, reciprocal relationship should be sought.

Stakeholder Identification

The first step is to identify your stakeholders. For purposes of a stakeholder audit, stakeholders are defined as anyone or any organization that could be affected or that could influence your organization or its outcomes. Take an expansive or divergent approach when identifying stakeholders. Early in the process, it is important to identify all of your stakeholders. It is often helpful to take a systems approach.

Stakeholder Analysis

Once you have identified all of your stakeholders, it is time to conduct an analysis of the stakeholders. Make a determination to use either (or both) qualitative or quantitative analyses. Likewise, you will want to engage in both primary research and secondary research. The types of stakeholders and your current relationships with them, along with your ultimate research goal, will dictate the research methodology you employ. The objectives of the research are to: gain an understanding of their influence, determine their needs, determine their concerns and issues, assess their level of commitment or resistance, and understand their perceptions of your organization.

When evaluating the influence of stakeholders, take into consideration their constituencies, credibility and capacity. You will also want to consider whom they are connected to.

A complete analysis also takes an inward view. You will want to give consideration to what you want from each stakeholder. Finally, you will want to make a determination of the importance each stakeholder represents to your organization.

Stakeholder Prioritization

Relative importance and influence are two key elements generally considered when engaging in stakeholder prioritization. The following matrix can be used to map stakeholders and determine their priority level.

Protect: This quadrant contains stakeholders that are considered to be very important to your organization, but they do not have a lot of influence. As such, it will be important to pay particular attention to the group to make sure that their interests are protected and considered as strategy is developed. In fact, you may want to make sure they are well represented at any strategy development think tank.

Good Relations: You will want to make sure that you develop a close and constructive working relationship with this group. If engaged properly, these stakeholders can have a significant multiplier effect on your strategy execution and programs. They are considered to be high priority stakeholders.

Monitor: These stakeholders wield significant influence, but they are not very important to the organization. As such, they can be a source of risk to the organization. In the strategy development process, it is important that you recognize the potential risk and consider risk scenarios.

Low Priority: These stakeholders are of relatively low importance to the organization and do not carry much influence.

The priority level classification of each stakeholder is taken into consideration as strategy is developed. Priority levels are also fed into an issues management program.

In summary, the primary goal is to take a collaborative approach with stakeholders, especially those in the “protect” and “good relations” categories. This demands a mindset wherein you consider the stakeholders as sources of opportunity and competitive advantage. On the other hand, some stakeholders, such as those in the “monitor” category, could present risks and, therefore, require a stakeholder management approach to ensure that you mitigate the potential negative impact.

In today’s rapidly changing environment, it is important that you engage in a comprehensive stakeholder audit every 12 to 18 months. Most importantly, it is critical that you begin with an all-inclusive list of stakeholders; taking a systems approach to stakeholder identification can help ensure you are considering all potential stakeholders.

How do you engage stakeholders in the strategy development process?

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If Events Could Talk: 10 Strategies for Fueling a Powerful Voice

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Has your association conducted a communication audit within the last three years? More specifically, are your meetings and publications teams working together to ensure your association’s events are effectively marketed?

If your events suffer from stagnant or declining attendance, sponsors or exhibitors – or if you have difficulty securing quality speakers – the answer lies not in a silo, but rather in your team. Following are 10 strategies your association can immediately implement to boost the reputation of its signature events and, in turn, its bottom line.

Branding – A uniform event name, acronym or hashtag from one year to the next is just the beginning. To ensure your members easily recognize an event at first glance, consider how colors, logos, fonts and overall design elements are used consistently across communication platforms.
Differentiation – Briefly scan the professional development landscape and you’ll find fierce competition all around you – colleges and universities, other associations and even your own members. Event messaging must clearly illustrate in both quantitative and qualitative terms how your event is different from the rest.
Value proposition – Every event comprises some combination of learning and networking. One way to elevate yours above the others is to demonstrate the value attendees can expect to gain in both the short-term (e.g., contacts, ideas, goals, objectives) and the long-term (e.g., strategy, tactics, products, services, profit).
Voice – If your event could talk, what would it sound like? An elderly grandparent? A progressive hipster? Ensure written collateral closely resembles the tone and sophistication of your audience. As appropriate, add in elements of levity, informality, slang and pop culture to also make them fun and interesting to read.
Brevity – Promotional pieces are not the place to be long-winded. Prospective attendees are inundated with messaging each and every day, so make it easy for them to cut through the noise and connect with your publications. Don’t be surprised if fewer words result in improved open and click-through rates, too.
Channels – Determine how your association communicates. And don’t just think in terms of print communications – include all digital and social media platforms, as well. Optimal event marketing is multimedia in nature and should include messaging in most – if not all – of these communication channels.
Testimonials – Never underestimate the power of an exceptional experience, particularly by Generation Yelp. Gather and share both written and video testimonials from attendees, sponsors, exhibitors and speakers. Ultimately, it means more coming from their peers than it does from you.
Images – We know a picture is worth a thousand words, so ditch the clipart and invest in a professional photographer to take pictures during your signature events. Use these photographs throughout your marketing materials to tell your event’s story: who attends, how they engage and what they learn.
Sample content – Sometimes prospective attendees and their supervisors are looking for added insurance your event will be worth their time and money. Sharing sample content in the form of slide decks, handouts, executive summaries and video clips may be just the ticket to secure their participation.
Volunteers – Identify your repeat attendees and arm them with the tools needed to promote your events. Consider guest blog posts, social media chats and featured magazine columns. Likewise, remove as many barriers as possible to encourage easy sharing of member-generated materials.

While you may not have the resources to employ each of these tactics between now and your next annual meeting, take some time this month to identify and address the low-hanging fruit. Then develop a long-term strategic plan for implementing the remaining marketing and communication ideas, remembering to include representation from both the meetings and publications teams.

At the end of the day, you simply can’t afford to ignore what your events are saying about you, your department and your organization.

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Social Media Associations’ Top Strategy for Member Engagement

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Member engagement doesn’t happen randomly. Associations with increases in overall membership are “also more likely to have a strategic initiative in place for increasing engagement,” according to the 2015 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report from Marketing General.

Those that have been most successful – according to this study – cite participation in public social networking as the engagement strategy that has been most effective for driving engagement – more than young professionals programs, webinar attendance, and members-only website areas.

This makes sense. You can offer all the value-adding programs and services you want, but you won’t get very far unless you aggressively promote them, and social media has become a go-to tool for doing just that.

According to the study, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are the most-used platforms by hopeful associations looking to find new ways of connecting with members. Most of them have learned that the saying “if you build it they will come” doesn’t apply in the realm of social media. You have to actively build and nurture your social media page with timely, relevant content that’s helpful to your audience in order to increase exposure.

Association executives shared some of their best practices from their social media experience, including:

Ask volunteers to post on a regular basis to keep content fresh
Create Facebook groups based on interests or industry
Ask questions and actively stimulate discussion
Plan and post regular, original content – and make it relevant
Be more aggressive in encouraging members to participate on social media platforms by promoting more prominently on the website, in emails, and in monthly communications.
Follow and comment on influencers on Facebook
Instead of measuring “likes” or the number of people who join your community, look to increase how much interaction your posts are getting
Encourage members to post to Facebook and Twitter at events and conferences
Post Videos on YouTube as regularly as possible
Thank new and renewing members publicly on Facebook and Twitter – these posts are often liked and shared
Offer to help members at large conferences set up social media accounts
Showcase member-only content on public social networks to reinforce to non-members your value proposition
Vary your content – articles, videos, podcasts, quick quotes, and anything else you can think of that’s unique and original

One thing to add … don’t make your content all about you. People get tired of seeing promotional content constantly – and eventually, Facebook won’t even show your posts in your fans’ newsfeeds. Try to make the majority of your posts serve your members’ and prospective members’ interests – it’ll make them more likely to read the occasional post promoting your next event.

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The Six Stages of Brainstorming

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

The power of brainstorming as a creative thinking technique is enhanced by engaging the six stages of brainstorming during a brainstorming session. Although brainstorming has been used since the 1930’s and many, if not most, people have engaged in informal brainstorming, few have led formal brainstorming sessions. To get maximum benefit from a brainstorming session, it is important that brainstorming session leaders understand the six stages. The stages were originally identified by J. Geoffrey Rawlinson in the book he published for the British Institute of Management in 1971.

State the Problem and Discuss

Either the leader or the person who requested the session states the problem. If optimal diversity is present in the room, there will be varying degrees of familiarity with the problem. Therefore, time (usually not more than five minutes) is given to discussing the problem. It is important that the discussion not get into too much detail about the problem, as you don’t want to get into a discussion of solutions at this point and it is helpful that some in the diverse group are not overly familiar with the problem.

Restate the Problem

After the problem has been stated and captured on a flip chart, the group is asked to restate the problem in as many ways as possible. Often, the problem can be restated in 20 to 100 different ways. In asking the group to restate the problem, ask them to step back and look at the problem as a huge elephant. Ask them to look at it from different angles and sides, to climb over it and identify as many different facets as possible. All of the restatements should be phrases that begin with “How to…” Each restatement is phrased in terms of “how to” do something. The “how to” statements must make sense in a literal way; otherwise, it is likely that a solution, rather than the problem, is being identified. If a restatement doesn’t make sense, the leader should ask the participant to restate the thought in a way that makes sense in the “how to” statement form.

Select a Basic Restatement

Selecting the problem restatement that will be used for brainstorming can be done in one of two ways: autocratic or democratic. Either the leader can pick the restatement that will be used or the group can pick it. It the group is asked to pick, the leader can ask can capture a few group suggestions (4 or 5) on a flip chart and then have the group narrow the list down to the top one (or two) by voting or another method. Once the top restatement is identified, it should be re-written in the following format: “in how many ways can we…” Reformatting the restatement transitions the group from the restatements to the identification of solutions.

Warm-up Session

A warm-up session is used to get the group to focus on the session and to get them used to “free-wheeling.” The leader’s objective during the warm-up session is to create some laughter and excitement in the room. Warm-up sessions are short but can last up to 5 minutes. They are based on the audience throwing out ideas to complete a key phrase that begins with “other ideas for…” For example, other ideas for rubber boots or other ideas for a dining room table or other ideas for a fan, etc.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming begins with the leader reading the chosen restatement and calling for ideas. All of the ideas should be captured on flip chart pages, with each idea (ideally) numbered. It is important that the flip chart pages, as they are filled, are posted on the wall for all participants to see throughout the session. It is also important to keep the session moving, so the leader should be prepared to offer solutions/ideas. The leader should also encourage laughter and noise. Ultimately, noise is good during brainstorming; either the leader or participants should be saying something at all times. Unplanned silence can kill a brainstorming session. If the session slows down, the leader can ask for a moment of “silent incubation,” by asking participants to read a list near them to stimulate more ideas. Then, after about a minute, the leader repeats the current restatement and the flow of ideas begins again. Other methods to re-invigorate a session include taking an idea that was previously stated and asking the participants to state variants of the original idea, using a second or third restatement, or taking a break to do an additional, funny warm-up session.

Wildest Idea

The final stage of brainstorming is the wildest idea. After all ideas have dried up, the leader closes the session by asking the group to find the wildest and most foolish idea. The wildest ideas are captured on a fresh spreadsheet. Once they are captured, ask the group to come up with additional ideas based the wildest and foolish ideas. This will generate a few more ideas (often 10 to 15) and end the session on a high and fun note.

Ultimately, conducting brainstorming sessions effectively takes practice. Through practice, you will be able to move through the stages in a seamless manner. Of course, there are some other tricks to the trade, but these basic stages will get you started on running powerful brainstorming sessions.

How do you structure your brainstorming sessions?

About the Author

Contact Robert through his website, or learn more about Nelson Strategic Consulting at www.nscstrategies.com.

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Technology Truths for Meetings and Events

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

This week’s blog by Kristen Parker is re-posted with permission from Aaron D. Wolowiec, MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA. Aaron is the founder and president of Event Garde, a professional development consulting firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich. Website: www.eventgarde.com.

I’ve admitted it before and I’ll do it again: I’m a social media and technology addict. So when I’m choosing conferences to attend, I look for technology use. Is there a hashtag? Will speakers engage with participants in real time – or afterward – via social media? If something comes up, will the organizer provide content virtually? Also, is there an app that can help me plan where to eat, where to stay and sights to see?

According to a report by American Express Meetings and Events, I’m not alone.

In the first half of 2014, American Express Global Business and Travel surveyed 336 meeting planners and 161 meeting and event attendees to learn more about the evolving landscape of technology in meetings.

Overall, the survey found smartphones and wireless data/streaming video have had the most influence on the meetings industry. In fact, according to the study, 77 percent of smartphone holders use their phones “always” or “often” for business during a meeting or conference.

And almost all attendees have computers, which makes virtual attendance a breeze. While virtual meetings are becoming more popular, they’re still far less common than on-the-ground events, the study found.

Survey respondents ranked less time away from the office and a reduced need to travel as the top reasons for attending virtual or hybrid events. But interestingly, most event planners reported they don’t offer virtual options. Among the top reasons: distraction. They seem to be worried that a virtual environment offers too many temptations to pay full attention.

From the report: “There is strong agreement that in-person attendance still provides the best overall experience. Seventy-four percent of attendees and 85% of planners feel that: ‘In-person meetings are more valuable to me because they allow more social interaction.’”

So, American Express Meetings and Events recommends event planners survey target audiences to gauge interest and need for virtual events. Once it’s determined virtual events are necessary, planners need to provide tailored content, specific for the web.

Now. Let’s talk social media. Event organizers use Twitter and Facebook to spread the word about events and to track interest among users. But there seems to be a divide: The survey found social media is more important to planners than it is to attendees. (This surprised me!) Forty-three percent of planners said social media capabilities were important, while only 35 percent of attendees said the same. So it follows, then, that planners ranked hashtags as more important than attendees.

The report speculates that social media users are still a bit hesitant about posting things that aren’t relevant to their followers, i.e. a conference/event they aren’t attending. And, there’s still concern about privacy.

Like social media, meeting planners rank meeting apps as more useful than participants – 67 percent vs. 55 percent. Access to basic event information and scheduling features are important app features for both groups. (See page 13 of the report for a comprehensive chart of important features.)

Specifically, networking capabilities of an app are important to both groups, especially when it offers search functions so users can search by company. Meeting apps that provide the ability to schedule meetings with exhibitors and vendors are also valuable to both groups, according to the report.

Event planners also listed apps as the most effective measurement tools for success, followed by social media. That said, in-person monitoring and post-event surveys are still the most popular.

“Technology continues to change the landscape of meetings and events, presenting new opportunities to increase engagement, reach a broader audience and deliver value for attendees and meeting owners alike,” the report said. “Meeting planners and meeting owners bear the burden of incorporating these technologies into meetings and events in a way that drives value for meeting attendees. Understanding the expectations of your meeting attendees as it relates to technology is an important step in the meeting planning process.”

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Increasing Board Engagement for Better Governance

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

Good governance demands that boards are engaged. An engaged board is a board that spends most of its time actively engaging in dialogue that explores big issues that really matter to the organization. High-performing boards engage in framing issues, asking (the right) questions, and considering options. They engage in critical and creative thinking as they explore issues.

Have you ever left a board meeting where it seems that majority of the board meeting was spent on listening to reports or presentations and conducting perfunctory business? Have you ever left a board meeting doubting that the meeting really added value to the organization? Or left concerned that some of the board members might be wondering why they even spent their valuable time going to the meeting?

If so, it is likely that your board is not actively engaged in a good governance sense.

Active engagement doesn’t “just happen.” If you want board members to actively and effectively engage in dialogue (around the right issues), you need to spend time designing a meeting/experience that encourages, welcomes and facilitates dialogue around the right issues.

If you are serious about increasing board member engagement, the first step is to evaluate the current level of board member engagement. Examine your last few board agendas and think back over the last year to calculate what portion of the board meetings were spent in true dialogue about big issues. Then, set a goal for where you want to be in a year or two’s time. In calculating where you want to be, keep in mind your Board’s culture and determine if the incremental change or revolutionary change makes more sense.

Once you determine where you want to be, develop a change management strategy to get there. Early on in the process, you will want to engage in dialogue with the chairperson and other key board members. Ultimately, it will be important to gain the support for the transition. In my experience, it is helpful to present the concept in a positive light; you are looking to enhance the performance of the board, rather than fix any problem.

As I mentioned in How to Create a Strategic Thinking Board, agenda design is key to increasing board engagement. However, in designing a highly engaged board meeting, you need to think beyond the agenda itself.

Rich dialogue is more apt to occur if there if there is a strong sense of “team” amongst the board members, and the board members feel comfortable working and contributing to the team effort. The challenge that most organizations face is that board members are only together three to four times a year, so there is little opportunity to build relationships. As such, a priority should be placed on including a social event in conjunction with each board meeting.

If you can inject a little bit of fun into the social event, so much the better. Again, be guided by the culture of your board or the culture you want to develop. Your social event could be a dinner or reception the night before the meeting. Or it could be an evening of bowling. As far as receptions, I have held them at the association office, on a boat, in a restaurant/hotel, and in a celebrity’s house. If you are going to hold a dinner, especially if you have a large board, try to precede it with a reception where the members can more freely mingle. If you do hold a dinner, especially if you have a large board, use rounds of no more than eight to facilitate conversation amongst everyone at the table.

Consideration must also be given to the type and quantity of information you provide the board prior to the meeting. In making the decision on what information to provide for the “big issue” discussion(s), ask yourself, will this information inspire robust dialogue or will it stifle creative thinking and critical thought? In considering what background information to provide, keep in mind that your goal is to get the board to engage in a divergent conversation, not a convergent one.

You will want to provide data and information that provides a 360-degree view, including opposing points or options for the board to consider. At all costs, you don’t want to provide one viewpoint or a recommendation. In deciding what information to provide, you want to protect against anchoring. Anchoring is when a board or board member locks onto an idea or piece of information upfront and uses that information as the basis for future judgments, which then stifles divergent thought. In my experience, less information is usually better than more. It is also important that the information you provide the board doesn’t inadvertently frame the issue before the meeting. Although it might be uncomfortable for some, ambiguity in the information can be a good thing. Of course, the issue or topic will also drive the selection of background material.

Selecting the right topic is key to raising the governance bar. You want to make sure that the topic is something that really matters and is of strategic import. Selection should not occur in a vacuum. Use your committees and the board itself to identify topics. Likewise, you can review your strategy and conduct environmental scans to identify big issues. In fact, a good way to begin your journey to a more engaged board might be to engage the board in a high-level discussion about what issues could be of strategic import. These issues could then be prioritized and fully explored at future meetings.

When it comes to the design of the meeting itself, it is important that the big issue discussions take place at the beginning of the meeting while the board members are still fresh. It is also important that you are explicit about the guidelines and objective(s) of the dialogue in which the board will partake.

First, the board needs to understand that the purpose of the dialogue is to engage in divergent thinking. It should be clear that the purpose is not to make a decision, rather, it is to creatively explore an issue from as many viewpoints as possible for the purpose of surfacing ideas, not decisions. This requires that individual members actively listen with an open mind to what is being said. People have a tendency to judge what is being said and be thinking about how they are going to respond to a comment; in active listening, no judgment is being made. Instead, the listener is trying to gain an understanding of what the speaker is saying.

Board members should also strive to ask questions, rather than make statements. What would have to happen for that to be true? What does that mean for us? Is there another way to look at that? What information would we have to know to make the best decision on this issue? Does this really advance our mission? Are we asking the right question(s)? What principles should we consider as we dialogue about this? Who does this issue impact? What would they think about the issue? What could be the unintended consequences? How could we frame this differently?

Above all, board members must actively challenge their individual assumptions and those of the group at large. They must also actively seek out opposing views and data that supports opposing views. This requires a willingness to look at issues from different perspectives and an openness to consider the different viewpoints as being right. Depending on the issue, you might consider periodically inviting non-board members, who bring a totally different perspective, to participate in big issue discussions.

Next, a decision needs to be made regarding the format of the discussion. I have found that breaking the board into small groups is very effective. In addition to visually sending a message that “we are doing something different,” breakouts help protect against groupthink and increase the probability that all of the board members actively engage in the dialogue. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, you might assign all groups to the same issue or question to explore or provide each breakout group with a different issue or question. Either way, after the breakouts, the board returns and each group presents their findings. This is not the end of the dialogue, however.

Once the groups have reported back, the full board should be encouraged to challenge the findings and further dialogue on the issue. Again, the board should be encouraged to ask questions in favor of making statements and challenge the assumptions of the smaller group. One technique that I have used is to have the board think about how many ways the assumptions, concepts or conclusions of the small group could be wrong.

I would advise against using breakout sessions at all meetings. It is important that you vary dialogue methods from time to time to limit the probability of board fatigue with a particular practice. Again, ask yourself if a particular issue or set of issues is better explored in a large group or small group environment.

In summary, high-performance governance demands a high level of board member engagement. Achieving a high level of engagement requires intentionality and design thought. It is also only achieved if all of the board members engage, which, at times, requires a skilled chairperson, facilitator or discussion leader. Transitioning to this level of engagement may require the application of change management techniques and is often more effectively accomplished through incremental change. It also requires setting aside board procedural formalities and creating a retreat type environment.

Finally, it is important to monitor the implementation and success of your engagement effort(s). After each board meeting, survey the board to find out what they liked best and least about the methods used. In the beginning of your journey to a higher engaged board, you could also survey the board to get their ideas on how engagement could be increased and to determine their perception of the then current level of engagement.

About the Author

Contact Robert through his website, or learn more about Nelson Strategic Consulting at www.nscstrategies.com.

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5 Reasons Your Event Registration Numbers Are Low

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

You have the date set, your event organizing a committee on board, and your online registration site all set up. You’ve got an amazing event planned, so why aren’t people registering?

It might be that you need to give your marketing strategy a little more thought. Here are our top five reasons why you may not be filling your seats.

#1: They Don’t Know About It.

It’s too obvious, right? But when you are eyeball-deep in event logistics, it’s easy for marketing to become an afterthought. In reality, marketing should be the FIRST thing you think about when planning your event.

Start by putting together a simple event marketing strategy. Who are you trying to attract? What do they care about? How will you make the content of the event relevant and exciting to them? What are they willing to pay? What industry websites and publications do they read for their information? How and when will you communicate with them? Once you have the answers to these questions, you’ll better understand how to bring value to your audience through your content and speakers.

#2: They Can’t Relate.

Prospective attendees should immediately connect with the event, and be compelled to learn more. They need to know exactly how they’ll benefit right off the bat. Fancy slogans can sometimes miss the mark. So when you’re putting together your marketing materials, always include a simple and brief description that includes who should attend, and specifically how they will benefit. This simple step can make a big difference.

#3: Your Topics and Speakers Are Old News.

People attend conferences and seminars to get new ideas. You need to give them valuable content, or they’ll move on to the next event. Find fresh ideas for topics and speakers by looking at industry websites and publications and making a list of topical themes in the most recent blog posts and articles. Check the Facebook pages of leading industry organizations to see which posts have generated the most activity.

It is good practice to pull out surveys from previous events to remind yourself of what went over well, and what didn’t. Looking back at reports from previous years will also give you an idea of which sessions were most attended, and who attended them. Even better, ask past attendees about which subjects most interest them.

If you’re struggling to generate the reports you need to make decisions, you may want to consider looking at event registration software that gives you in-depth event reports and built-in survey functionality. It’s worth the investment if it can help you make better decisions in the future.

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Improve Your Employees’ Performance in 4 Steps

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

As managers and leaders, as Ken Blanchard stated if we want to “help people reach their full potential, catch them doing something right.” In fact, wouldn’t be great if we started each day with the conscious goal of catching our employees doing something right and giving them immediate positive feedback?

Unfortunately, even if our default position is to catch people doing things right, there will be times that an employee’s performance doesn’t meet our expectations. When this occurs, immediate feedback is also necessary. Of course, unlike positive feedback that is great to give in public, comments regarding negative performance are best given in private.

Most often, employee performance issues can be corrected informally. It is simply a matter of bringing the issue to the attention of the employee, clarifying the expected behavior and talking about what the employee can do to improve the performance. However, there are times when a more formal approach needs to be taken. In these cases, a performance improvement plan can be put into place prior to the need to take disciplinary action.

Performance Improvement Plan

The goals of a performance improvement plan are to identify the causes of the poor performance and to develop a solution(s) to help the employee succeed. Creating a performance improvement plan is a four-step process.

Meet with the Employee

First, one meets with the employee, preferably in their office, to discuss the issue and to let the employee know that a performance improvement plan is going to be developed. During this meeting, it is important that you inform the employee, in specific terms, what the problem behavior/performance is and clearly define what your expectations are for acceptable performance/behavior. This initial meeting is also an opportunity to listen to what the employee has to say about the poor performance and engage in a dialogue about what the employee thinks is the cause for the poor performance and what tools if any, the employee might need to improve the performance. The objective of the conversation is listening for cues from the employee about what appropriate action(s) might be useful in improving the performance. This dialogue will often provide information that you can reflect on as you develop a formal performance improvement plan.

Write the Performance Improvement Plan

The second step is to actually write up a performance improvement plan. The written plan should pinpoint the performance needing improvement, explain how that performance impacts the organization and clearly state what action steps need to be taken to get the performance up to standard.

When pinpointing the performance that needs improvement, it is important that specific examples are provided. For instance, if it is an issue with coming to work late, state specific dates and times that employee has arrived late. If it is an issue with deadlines not being met, list the specific assignments, the dates they were due and the actual completion dates. If it is an issue with the manner in which an employee communicates with other employees or customers, list specific examples.

Next, explain how the performance impacts the business. It is important that the employee understands how their performance impacts other employees and the business at large.

Finally, the plan should contain an action plan, with specific target dates, that pinpoints the steps to get the performance up to standard and maintained at the standard. This section should also include what the follow-up process will be for monitoring the employee’s improvement, including the frequency of follow-up meetings. If it is a performance issue that requires professional development, the should state exactly what professional development should be engaged in, be it attending certain training programs, reading certain books, registering for a particular webinar, etc. If it is a more basic issue such as arriving at work on time, the plan might require to an employee to record his / her arrival time each day on a graph and meet with you once a week to review the graph.

Review the Plan with the Employee

After the plan is written up, meet with the employee and review the entire document. It is important that you review all of the information in the plan to ensure that the employee understands what is documented therein. It is also important that the employee understands that their job could be in jeopardy if they fail to meet and maintain the expected performance standard(s).

Follow Up with the Employee

Meet with the employee at the intervals specified in the plan to provide feedback on the employee’s improvement or lack thereof. These follow-up meetings might be fairly frequent during the beginning of the performance improvement cycle with the frequency diminishing over time until the performance improvement timeframe, as defined in the plan, concludes.

At the end of the performance improvement timeframe laid out in the plan, the employee will have met the requirements of the plan in their entirety, demonstrated improvement but not fully met the requirements set forth in the plan or failed to comply with the plan. If the employee meets the requirements, it is important to give the employee positive feedback and communicate the importance of maintaining the standard going forward. If the employee should be marked improvement but didn’t fully meet the requirements set forth in the plan, you may come to the conclusion that some of the requirements were too aggressive and consider the performance improvement timeframe to be over; or, you may revise the plan to give the employee a little more time to comply. If the employee did not meet the plan requirements and made little or no progress, termination may be in order. Of course, if legal counsel has not reviewed your termination procedures, you may want to seek the advice of an employment attorney before triggering the termination process.

Click here for a Performance Improvement Plan template.

How does your performance improvement process differ from this?

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The Right Questions to Ask on Your Next Membership Survey

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Miranda Pruitt

You might say, “I already know my members – I am constantly talking to them and getting their feedback.” That’s a great start, and will definitely help you make an overall assessment of your members’ needs. However, there’s a danger in assuming that the select group of people you are talking to all share the same common attitudes and opinions.

You’ll need to draw on more quantitative, objective information for your analysis. The insights that come out of your analysis should form the basis of the decisions you make from then on.

So how do you get to know your members? There are a lot of different research methods you can use. A combination of formal membership surveys and informal interviews is ideal. It’s best to start with broader surveys. Once you’ve analyzed the results, you can ask a handful of members to schedule informal interviews so that you can get a better understanding of why the survey participants responded the way they did.

An effective membership survey collects all of the information you need while being as short as possible. Respondents should be able to finish it in 10 minutes or less. Anything longer can cause them to drop off before completion.

It’s a good idea to have the survey available online and as a hard copy to increase response rates. Most membership management software has built-in survey tools, which allow you to connect your members’ responses to their demographic information. This is really useful when analyzing the information.

Getting the Right Information

If you’re looking at your members only in terms of their titles, industries, or membership levels, you are likely missing vital information that will help you create more value for your target members and prospects.

The truly valuable insights are reached when you evaluate your members and prospects based on their behaviors, needs, values, interests, motivations, and attitudes. Everything you do – from building membership packages to creating marketing messages – should be based on these key elements.

Demographic & Personal Information

In order to get your members and prospects to take positive actions, you must address their personal needs. Access to demographic and personal information can help you connect your members’ actions – attending events, purchasing subscriptions, or discontinuing memberships – to the motivations and attitudes that triggered the actions. Demographic information also assists you in identifying the characteristics your key members and prospects have in common.

Every association is different, so the types of information you choose to collect will vary according to your objectives. Some examples of demographic or personal information include:

Demographics (age, gender, income, geography, education level, size of employer or practice)
Experience level (early-career, mid-career, or late-career)
Education level
Personality traits (outgoing or reserved, introverted or extroverted, planned or spontaneous, leader or follower)
Access to and familiarity with technology
Size of their organization
Other industry organizations they belong to
Other hobbies and interests.

To understand how this information is useful in practice, consider the example of two engineers belonging to an industry association. One of them is new to the field, and the other has 35 years of experience.

The young engineer joined so he could access educational resources and advance his career. The more experienced electrician has already done all the learning he is interested in doing. To him, the value of being a member is having his interests represented through the organization’s advocacy work.

Promoting the value of advocacy to the young engineer would be totally ineffective because it doesn’t really matter to him. To attract and keep members, you need to find ways to express what matters to them. Demographic and personal data help you do that.

Be sure to check back next week, when we’ll cover what kinds of questions to ask your members to get an insight into how they perceive your organization, what kind of value they get from their membership, and the needs you should be meeting.