The association’s long-time executive director who managed every aspect of the professional association, is leaving and to fulfill this role, the association’s Board of Directors has hired an association management company (AMC). But what does this mean? How will it benefit membership? And will it be expensive? Just a [...]
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart." – Elizabeth Andrew. Recently I saw a post on an association's member forum with a negative comment about the Board of Directors and the perks they receive. It shocked me that association members may not see or understand [...]
“The unique and multifaceted relationship between the board and its executive is perhaps the most important relationship leading to organizational success or failure. Like the two partners in a skating competition, each side can either bring out the best in the other or prevent the other from skating well.” [...]
Members of associations across all professions are finding it increasingly difficult to rationalize membership and return on investment in belonging to an organization. They want new services offered by associations to help provide them with the tools they need as a professional. Association leaders, such as boards of directors, [...]
One of the biggest traits of a high-performing association is member satisfaction! But how do you quantify and obtain member satisfaction, ensuring all are satisfied with their investment in the association and that their opinions are of value? (See one of my past articles highlighting the characteristics of a [...]
Now that in-person events are re-emerging, it is time to start planning! Your association members are ready to meet in person and begin receiving the benefits of their membership. Your association’s operating budget is begging for increased revenue to help provide better services and programs to your members. There [...]
In the association management profession in Canada, we are now learning to adapt to the new normal and bring back business procedures that we used pre-pandemic. One of the hot topics that was on the back burner for many association leaders was membership recruitment. There was so much uncertainty [...]
In the association world, executive directors/Chief Staff Officers come and go. Sometimes it does not make sense to continue a relationship with an Executive Director for a variety of reasons and other times an association realizes the potential for excellence by making a change. In this article I’ll be [...]
For associations, staff turnover happens. Whether it’s a reassignment of duties best suited for the staff’s skill set, a promotion to a new position within the association, or leaving the association for other ventures. Associations need to be ready to adapt to staff change while showing no delay in [...]
My husband, Jarred inspired me to write this article. Jarred is a board volunteer. Earlier this year, he became Board President of a minor hockey association. After an election where thousands of members of the catchment voted him into this role, he hit the ground running. The COVID-19 pandemic [...]
