“Our business is coming back faster than I had ever imagined. That’s really good news, so I should be thrilled. But why am I not feeling relieved?” a senior leader asked me recently.

When governments relax restrictions and begin stimulating economic growth, the recovery phase of the Covid-19 crisis starts unfolding for businesses. On the surface, this phase is about returning to normal, restarting operations and getting back to offices, production lines, and shop floors. In Europe, where I live and where many countries are reopening, many leaders I speak with are surprised both by the speed of the recovery and how rapidly everyday life has come to resemble the way it was before.

Below the surface, however, there is still turmoil. Intuitively, I would have expected leaders to be driven by the victory rush that naturally follows when the tension of the regression phase is released. But many report having mixed emotions. Their sense of optimism and clarity is laced with withdrawal, loss, and doubt. Even among leaders who have weathered the crisis well, the absence of relief is the rule rather than the exception.

Recovery presents new challenges for leaders and teams. What can you expect and how can you navigate?

Facing the New Reality

Speaking with leaders and their teams in recent weeks about their experience with managing the recovery, three themes emerge:

The unexpected high points brought on by the crisis are waning. Quick decision-making. Efficiency of meetings. Honest, concise, and frequent communications. Freedom to organize your day and work from home. Informal and authentic team interactions.

Several teams mentioned that they actually miss the stimulating rush of the emergency and the profound feelings of significance and community that they experienced during the lockdown. They wanted to sustain these new ways of working and maintain the urgency and intimacy of the crisis. But any good intentions slipped through their fingers as 9-to-5 back-to-back meeting days have made a surprisingly quick comeback. The “new normal” is not so new after all — and that feels like a lost opportunity.

Further, even though it is an overstretch to compare the emotions of the recovery phase to post-traumatic stress disorder, there are similarities. One of the most common reactions from soldiers returning from battle is that everyday life seems absurdly inconsequential and insignificant compared to the combat situations they have left behind. Standing in line in the supermarket or listening to people complain about the weather can be provocatively ordinary when you have been dealing with emergencies for weeks.

The unresolved tangle of emotions. The leaders I talk to report that they have learned so much new about themselves and their closest colleagues: Who rises to the occasion, who loses faith, who supports, who snaps, who dares, who falls silent — and how do these behaviors evolve as the crisis unfold?

A leader in the media industry stressed how proud he was of his coworkers. “I don’t think I ever appreciated my colleagues this way before. When corona, hit we all stepped up and covered for each other. We were all fired up by the greater cause and churning out new reporting faster than ever. We had to be brutally honest about our own capacity and energy. Frankly, it was really exciting.”

Indeed, it’s like the “emotional operating system” of many teams has been reset. Such a reset is psychologically intense: it exposes both strong ties and weak links in the team, and all this requires recalibration of both your own self-image and team dynamics when things return to normal.

The burden of the work ahead. It’s dawning on leaders and teams that the lockdown phase was in fact just the acute part of the crisis. Now they need to engage with more profound and adaptive challenges in their businesses and the way they lead.

The paradox is that during the emergency, the sense of purpose seemed crystal clear: Act now. Safeguard the business. As the recovery unfolds, more fundamental and nagging questions arise: What comes after? What parts of our business and organization will even be relevant in the future? What must we do to prepare for a second or third wave? What is the new big picture?

How Can Leaders Tackle the Recovery Phase?

The absence of relief is a telltale sign that you have vast psychological work to do as part of the recovery phase, too.  As a leader, you need to be aware of what is going on in your team and on the front line in the recovery phase and adapt your leadership accordingly.

First, the recovery marks the onset of a broader challenge, not the end of the crisis. One of the hard things about the Covid-19 crisis is that there is no liberation day when it’s gone and done with. It’s not gone and done with in most places, and the aftermath can be longer and harder than turmoil of the first response. Leading with this aftermath in mind is key and you need to confront yourself and your team with this somewhat harsh reality.

How? Don’t think of recovery as just going back to work and adopting your old habits. Create new meaning. Ask questions: “What was the point of this crisis? What will we do if this happens again? What did we learn from this case? How can we move faster next time?” Find a realistic sense of optimism — “What should we change?” Priorities need to be reset, plans must be adjusted, and resources must be redirected. “Renewal, not return” has become the rallying cry for leaders like Siemens Chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe. That’s the essence of recovery leadership.  

Second, recalibrate your team. A crisis often reorders the informal hierarchy of a team, both because what’s urgent and who’s important changes, and because new heroes emerge and new relationships are forged. While the formal structure may be unchanged, the informal structure has been disrupted under the surface and needs to be realigned or rethought. Think of the recovery phase as an inflection point for the way your team cooperates, not as a U-turn that leads back to familiar routines.

Here’s an example of how one team moved forward. The CEO of a company that had been hit very hard by the lockdown summoned his leadership team to reflect on what they had learned during the months of emergency, lockdown, and early recovery. The CEO capped off the session by asking: “Would you rather have been without this experience?” Surprisingly, the overwhelming response from the team was “no.” The crisis had been costly from both a business and personal perspective, but on balance the benefits outweighed the cost.

One team member summed up the paradox of the crisis. “Looking at the numbers, our business has been set back years. But culturally, we have been catapulted ahead to a future we could not have imagined, and strategically, our transformation has gained a momentum we could never have created on our own.”

A central lesson of why this happened was that the crisis revealed hidden talents and unseen qualities. And the final outcome of the leader’s session was a formal reset of the roles and responsibilities of the executive team based on the new business needs that the crisis surfaced, but also based on the particular qualities that individual team members had demonstrated.

True, not every team or leader will reach the same conclusion. But all teams can benefit from conducting a targeted search for the positive outcomes of the crisis and reflecting on how their relationships with each other and their work has changed. Carving out time for this kind of debriefing can both be therapeutic for the team and propel the forward motion you need.

Third, reopen with attention to the small stuff. Many leaders are realizing right now that reopening is harder than shutting down. Coming back to the office is trickier and requires more finely grained choices and decisions than asking people to work from home. Why? The issues related to reopening don’t really concern abstract problems, acute crisis intervention, or big strategic moves. Instead, it’s about practical and everyday stuff, a radical change of scenery for many leaders. It feels like having to tidy your room after having fought a major battle.

Even though the “how to reopen the office” discussion can feel like a chore rather than a challenge, you should take the small stuff seriously and be clear about the details: Respect ground rules for social distancing in the office – people have very different ideas of how “close is too close.” Make clear commitments, and keep up your online presence when working from home, so it doesn’t become odious when some people do and other don’t.  Make sure that you continue easing into the new digital routines that your partners, coworkers, or customers have found useful. Try to find joy in routines again and invest in the informal settings

Avoid the actions of a highly charged leader in the financial sector who, fed up with discussing when their coffee and juice bar would reopen, burst out: “Who cares about coffee and juice now?” In fact, the free haven that the bar represents had never been so important: People need places and spaces and opportunities to reconnect, share experiences, and have all those little conversations that rekindles social life at work. This is where you ask your colleagues what they are going to do in their vacation and how their spouses or children are coping? Who has children graduating from school? Who has sick relatives?

The “back to the office” move should not feel like musical chairs or a logistics maneuver. Instead, think of the process as if you were onboarding new members to the team with similar attention to (re)introducing the company culture and stimulating professional social life. In some sense it’s a unique chance to get to do the first 90 days all over again.

Getting Through the Recovery Phase

Crisis leadership is a double-edged sword: The same skills and reaction patterns that allow you to perform well in an emergency may become destructive when you try to return to (something resembling) normal. The unequivocal determination that made you effective at first can develop into uncompromising micro-management. Constant watchfulness can generate tension and even hyper-vigilance. A prolonged productivity boost can slide into to uncurbed impulsivity. It’s crucial to know when enough is enough.

At the same time, leaders cannot follow the natural impulse to withdraw, lean back, and just assume that the team will reset itself smoothly when the sea starts calming down. There is a need for continued visibility, purposeful reorientation, and sustained attention to detail

As a crisis evolves, your leadership approach needs to change. In the emergency phase, leaders must move to the frontline and fight the fires. In the regression phase, leaders need to step back and contain the emotional turmoil of their teams. In the recovery phase, leaders must strike a new balance between guiding a smooth return to normal while keeping up the pressure to renew and rethink the future.

That’s why you are not feeling relieved: Your work as a crisis leader is not done yet.

This article was sourced directly from Harvard Business Review here, and is written by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg.

Association pros take inspiration from literary sources—both expected and unexpected—to do their jobs. Here are just a few books that inspire Associations Now readers.

Association staff members may be busy managing and leading their organizations, but when they’re not hard at work, they just might be reading.

In honor of National Read a Book Day on September 6, we asked our readers which titles have given them unexpected career inspiration—with an eye toward books beyond management tomes.

Our audience took inspiration from all kinds of sources. Multiple readers cited the Bible. Nods to modern book series (Harry Potter) were just as likely to show up as classics (The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G.K. Chesterton). Fiction (such as The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho) was heavily cited; so, too, was nonfiction (‌The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown’s 2013 book about a rowing team that won a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin). And given the audience, business books (like David Allen’s ‌Getting Things Done) naturally also got mentioned.

Read on for a few standouts among those who responded to our recent survey.

WENDY-JO TOYAMA, CEO, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

The story of No-No Boy by John Okada takes place during a period in American history that is not widely covered. It centers on a Japanese American man living in an internment camp during WWII. He chooses not to denounce his Japanese heritage nor join the U.S. Army. Those who answered “no” to two questions were deemed “No-No Boys.” As American citizens, they felt that by answering “yes,” it implied they were not loyal to begin with, and they were unwilling to fight for a country that did not treat them as citizens.

The story captures events that inform my motivation and deep desire to be involved in work on diversity, equity, and inclusion—reinforcing my values of justice, courage, and family. Also, as a sansei (third-generation) Japanese American, it is powerful to read a work written by another Japanese American—sparking a lifelong dedication to include Asian authors and topics on my reading list.

MARIA MATTHEWS, Grassroots Advocacy, ‌American Society of Civil Engineers, Inc.

For me, it’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. I remember reading it as a child and loving it because it was Dr. Seuss. I now love how it conveys that your future is yours to design, with the caveat that you have to accept it all to be really successful—the good and the bad. My dad gave me a copy when I graduated from high school, which is now part of my kids’ library. I hope that they’ll appreciate it as much as I do one day!

MICHELE DRIVER, ‌Training Coordinator, Society of Petroleum Engineers

It’s actually a series: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I began by reading The Hobbit in my fourth-grade class and have read the trilogy every year since then. I also read most of the associated books often. It reminds me that we have more courage than we think we have, that commitment to an honorable task must be kept, that what looks most beautiful can be most dangerous, that friendships are invaluable, and that the darkness in life is ultimately overcome by light.

LAURA NORTHERN VENHAUS, Certification Coordinator, American Association of Professional Landmen

Always Room for One More, a somewhat obscure but Caldecott Medal-winning children’s book by Sorche Nic Leodhas, is a book that I think of almost every day. With singsong text and gentle illustrations, the author tells the story of Lachie MacLachlan, who lives in “a wee house in the heather” (with his very large family!) who is determined to share whatever he’s got with travelers on a stormy night. It’s a lovely message of generosity and inclusivity, and “there’s always room for one more” has become our family motto.

TARA BARKER, Staff Liaison to Volunteer Committees, Institute of Management Accountants

My mother gave me a book early in my life titled How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. It was one of her go-to books, and it has become one of mine. It was copyrighted in 1944, and it still stands the test of time, as it is filled with practical advice that can be used in personal and professional life. A powerful line for me was, “Our life is what our thoughts make it.” So, keep thinking positive, especially now. I have given copies of this book as gifts to family and friends.

SARAH COOK, ‌Development Manager, CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois

Not only did I read [The Hunger Games series] in two days, I feel like it taught the long-running story of rising up during terrible times, but in its own way. When all odds are against you, what else can you do but try your best to succeed? In terms of work, I channel the mindset that no matter how bad/hard/rough things can get, my effort to do my best or do better will make a difference. And it has. As a side note, during the pandemic I have been running more because I once had a terrible dream that we were in The Hunger Games. So I guess you could say it applies to all aspects of life!

TIP TUCKER KENDALL, ‌Director, Member Services, International Society of Arboriculture

Henry David Thoreau’s Walden is the one book that I go back to again and again for inspiration and philosophical direction. I know that I can open it up to any page and find something in the text that moves me and reminds me how to be more present and how to live a more meaningful life.

COVID-19 has made face-to-face communication with members nearly impossible. The American Forest and Paper Association is thinking outside the box and upping its YouTube game to reach members and other stakeholders.

While YouTube has been around for many years, it hasn’t always been high on the list of tools that associations use to communicate. But one group is turning that notion on its head. As the pandemic has stopped most face-to-face interactions, the American Forest and Paper Association is leaning into its YouTube channel to make video a stronger part of its communication strategy.

“AF&PA has maintained a YouTube presence for several years, highlighting the industry, our members, and our advocacy efforts, but we’ve been pushed to use video in new ways more recently,” said Heidi Brock, AF&PA President and CEO. “Since we cannot be with our members or stakeholders in person, I wanted to find a way for people to see and connect with me and the great work of our association virtually. Video helps fill this void.”

To do that, Brock has been recording videos from her home office since the pandemic began. “It doesn’t replace face-to-face engagement, but these videos, I believe, deliver a personal touch, emphasize a key message for a particular point in time, and offer support and reassurance through what, I think, has been a very challenging time for many people,” she said.

The videos have been used showcase both short-term messages and long-term projects, like AF&PA’s Better Practices, Better Planets 2020 sustainability initiative.

“My recent video address reported on the progress we’ve made on our comprehensive set of sustainability goals,” Brock said. “It was a moment to reflect on accomplishments and goals we’ve either met or exceeded, including reducing workplace injuries, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving energy efficiency in manufacturing facilities.”

And while the videos are on YouTube, AF&PA also shares them on other platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. “That’s helping to amplify the reach of each video message, and it’s easier for our members to view and share with followers,” Brock said. “These videos also get shared in our member e-newsletter, Topline. Using video in this format is an excellent way to add variation and creativity to member communications you’re sending by email.”

For example, Brock said a video was shared widely that thanked workers at paper plants this spring, as it “came at a time of unprecedented demand for paper products, including toilet paper, paper towels, and tissue products.”

YOU CAN DO IT, TOO

For those looking to ramp up their video use, Brock had a few suggestions. “I’ll admit there is a learning curve to video,” Brock said. “You want to plan out what you have to say and make sure you—or whoever is in front of the camera—feel comfortable. That might be something you have to ease into and practice before hitting record.”

Associations should also be mindful of how long their videos are. “Many people are short on time and overwhelmed with content,” Brock said. “We try and keep our videos brief to quickly engage members from whatever device they’re on, wherever they are.”

As the videos can help amplify that personal connection during this time of separation, Brock suggested making sure you convey your organization’s heart and authenticity.

“The key to any video you create is to make sure it conveys a human dimension,” Brock said. “I look at each video as an opportunity to engage, but also to connect with peoples’ feelings and emotions. Use words that resonate with your audience and seek to build connection and understanding. Be as transparent and candid as possible, seek to inspire, and layer in a compelling call-to-action to keep your members and stakeholders engaged and energized by the message. The bottom line is to be authentic.

This article was sourced directly from Associations Now here, and is written by Rasheeda Childress.

Board chairs help set an association’s strategic vision, but they also manage the board itself. When chairs think like managers, not just stewards, they can have a profound impact on the board’s health.

There’s a problem with some of the words we use to describe board chairs. The post is often described as an “honor,” which it is, but the term gives the impression that being a chair is an award—and that the tenure is a victory lap. It’s also called a “role,” which emphasizes how a chair relates to the staff executive. But the word diminishes what being a board chair actually is, or ought to be: a job.

Of course, it’s not a job in a traditional sense. Even if you do it well, you’ll likely have to leave it after a year or two, and it’s not (usually) compensated. But thinking of the board chair position as a job might help stress the point that chairs have management tasks to take care of just like any other kind of leader. It’s typically said that staff leaders deal with operational, day-to-day matters while boards handle strategy, but board chairs have day-to-day responsibilities too when it comes to ensuring the board’s long-term health.

In “How to Be a Super Board Chair,” published last month in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, nonprofit leaders Jon Huggett and Mark Zitter get into what that job entails, particularly when it comes to managing other board members. The chair is the head of a “decision-making team,” they explain, and much of their advice is of the good-governance variety: set clear directions, run meetings well, be a good listener, be a good partner to the staff leader, get plenty of feedback. But they also spotlight two underappreciated job tasks for board chairs.

A buttoned-down process increases the chances of finding and attracting good board candidates.

One is a short-term task, bluntly stated: “Pare deadwood.” Just about every board has its share of less-engaged or disengaged members, and many simply let such situations go; short of serial absences that trigger removal clauses in the bylaws, many chairs avoid confrontation on the matter. Huggett and Zitter demand more from a chair and suggest that they lead assessments just like any boss would: Have written expectations of board members and follow up to see if they’re meeting them. Those who don’t, Huggett and Zitter write, should be required to either step up or resign. Either way, the governance team becomes more focused.

The second underappreciated task is to think strategically about the future of the board, not just the future of the organization. That includes succession planning for the board and its committees, and Huggett and Zitter encourage board chairs to think about good fits that go beyond how long candidates have served as committee members or in other volunteer positions. “The ability to lead a board is paramount,” they write. “Experience on that board is secondary.” (See the point about deadwood above.)

But beyond simply sorting out the question of who’s going to serve as treasurer next year, board chairs need to lead on the question of what the board will look like in the years to come. Succession planning for new and emerging board members who think strategically requires some proactive searching; that’s especially true if the board is working to diversify itself. Whether you hire somebody to assist with that or take it on yourself, Huggett and Zitter stress that it should be treated professionally.

That’s just good governance, but it also has a multiplier effect: When you show that you think succession planning is important, the high-quality board candidates you want will be more likely to emerge. “A buttoned-down process increases the chances of finding and attracting good candidates because it creates a first-class impression of the organization,” they write.

Luckily, board chairs have a CEO’s support to lean on. After all, the staff leader is just as invested as the chair in having good board members, and though CEOs have to be mindful of overstepping their bounds, they’re valuable sources of support and information. “Both the chair and the executive director should work to design the relationship in a way that works well for the organization and sets up the executive director for maximum success,” Huggett and Zitter write.

That kind of symbiosis doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of board chairs recognizing the responsibility they’ve been given—and getting to work.

This article was sourced directly from Associations Now here, and is written by Mark Athitakis.

Welcome back to our AuSAE Member Chat Series – Half an Hour of Power. This week we are delighted to have sat down with AuSAE member, Eva Scheerlinck, CEO, Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees.

In a short 30 minute interview we discussed four key questions with Eva to reflect on the last five months and look forward to the future post this crisis.

What do the next 6 months look like for your association and your members

This time will be a period of consolidation for the association. We are taking the opportunity to implement a new operational model, refining efficiencies and enhancing organisational performance. We have learnt a lot along the way, including technology use, operating models and the importance of training and reskilling for staff during this time.

There will be things that will never go back to what they once were and we are using this time as an organisation to realign, reset and refocus on what the future holds. Ensuring our teams understand the changes ahead and feel supported through training in the next few months.

Like all associations during this time we are focused on delivering outcomes for members, strengthening member value and ensuring we represent member interests in key advocacy priorities.

Areas of concern

My main concern lies within the uncertainty of COVID-19. As most associations will understand, our model was built on the delivery of face to face events, educational courses and conferences. As it currently stands, we don’t know if we can rely on face to face delivery in 2021. It’s also important to recognise that delivering conferences online is a lot more involved and creates more work than our normal face to face platform. While we are all pivoting and moving to online, the creation of work and the pressure on teams is high.

We are scenario planning all possibilities, including the current situation in Victoria and if other states end up in similar circumstances.

As a CEO the uncertainty is difficult, particularly when staff, stakeholders and members are asking questions that we don’t have the answers to. The best we can do is to try and plan for different scenarios and keep our communication lines open and transparent.

Areas of opportunity

We have seen an increased level of community engagement, greater member participation rates, broader and deeper conversations, and access for all members wherever they are located.

There has been an increased interest in peer to peer learning, and participation in this has skyrocketed over this time. Our members have never been more interested to hear from each other and understand what likeminded colleagues are doing during this time and what they can learn from each other.

Internally, the increased flexibility for staff is an exciting opportunity for us. While we always offered working from home opportunities, it was never to this level. During this time, two team members have moved to the country full time and with our fully flexible working environment they will be able to continue working from home past this crisis. We are still seeing the same level of productivity from all staff, and as an organisation we look forward to continuing to offer flexible working arrangements for all team members to encourage them to pursue the lifestyle and balance they desire.

Celebrated moments in the last five months

Our major conference for the year was scheduled five days after the pandemic was called, we cancelled and reinvented the conference in a short period of time. The conference pivoted to a virtual event, we didn’t try to replicate the conference in its current format but reimagined and reworked the event and overall we were very proud of the delivery and reception from members.

During this time we have also moved our education courses to virtual classrooms including our Diploma. The team have worked hard to shape this content to transition to an online format, instead of full days of delivery, courses have been broken down into three hours per day.

In the age of online gatherings, a physical gift or box of swag can help your association’s virtual event stand out above the rest.

While virtual events might not be able to dazzle attendees in quite the same way as in-person meetings, there is a tried-and-true tradition that can live on in the era of virtual conferences: conference swag.

A tangible gift or box of swag can help create connection and engagement to the virtual event. Plus,they can also benefit your association by boosting its brand presence if attendees show off their new swag on social media.

Want to offer your own swag to virtual attendees? First, make sure you have their current addresses—your records may have office addresses, but chances are attendees are working from home at the moment. Then, consider these six ideas.

Welcome box. A few days before your event, mail attendees a box of items that will either build anticipation—a note hinting at surprise guests or events—or help them get the most out of the event, such as pens, a notepad, and a schedule. For example, Sprout Social sent a physical event kit to the first 500 people who registered for Sprout Sessions Digital 2020. While there are companies that offer kit-making services, this could be a project that’s handled by your own staff as well.

Daily gifts. If your conference is spread out over several days, provide attendees with daily gifts to keep excitement levels high. Send a package containing separate envelopes to open each day—the envelope’s contents can hint at surprises to come or prompt attendees to check your website and social media pages at a certain time to get exclusive offerings.

Shared experiences. Bring attendees together by tying your tangible goodies to a group activity. For example, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers held a virtual wine tasting in June to build excitement around its annual conference in November. Attendees had the opportunity to order a virtual tasting kit, and on the day of the event, a sommelier guided them through a tasting.

Virtual snack break. In-person attendees are often treated to meals and snack breaks to help them regroup. Replicate these experiences with a swag bag full of snacks and refreshments to enjoy during scheduled downtime. For example, the Association of Consulting Foresters has sent attendees “virtual refreshment breaks,” which included small snacks, candies, coffee, tea, and a postcard with a message from a sponsor. “We wanted a special way to recognize a sponsor who went above and beyond, and a fun surprise for our virtual education series attendees featuring break items they’re used to having at in-person events,” said Lucy Firebaugh, ACF’s communications and membership specialist.

Local flair. Virtual events don’t have a location, but you can tap into the unique culture or flavor of your association’s headquarters location. In preparation for its 2020 National Conference—held virtually in June—ACF worked with a local coffee shop in Williamsburg, Virginia, to send small packaged coffee grounds to registrants along with other goodies.

Customizable items. Give attendees goodies that will let their creativity shine. For its two-day Hearsay Summit, Hearsay Systems sent a Summit Supply Drop Box, which featured a lightboard that attendees used to craft their own messages and share on social media. “Guests could not have been more appreciative and excited to receive these boxes,” wrote Senior Event Manager Becky Brewer.

This article was sourced direct from Associations Now here, and is written by Michael Hickey.

Associations are rallying and coming up with solutions they might not have thought of before the pandemic. Here’s a look at what one small-staff association with a tight budget is doing to keep its community close in difficult times.

In a recent article, I covered member engagement strategies some larger associations with deeper pockets were using. I also wanted to see what smaller associations were doing to engage and retain members with fewer resources. I spoke with Lindsay Currie, CAE, executive officer of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), who shared four ideas.

Talk it out. People are lonelier and more isolated than ever, she said. They don’t have typical pathways to interact with colleagues in their own organizations, and they aren’t meeting new people at in-person conferences. Recognizing that members were missing the connectivity of community, CUR established CUR Conversations, a low-cost way for members to connect on a video-calling platform.

Any member can propose a topic for the call, which is limited to a specific number of people. Members can join the casual forums to discuss hot topics, issues they are struggling with, success stories, and more. The calls connect members who don’t know each other, which eliminated a stumbling block for members who didn’t know who to contact, Currie said. CUR sends out an email inviting members of the community to get together and share ideas for an hour on the video calls.

“We don’t have to develop any content, and it’s not a heavy lift for us, but members are getting a lot of value out of being able to connect with their colleagues,” she said.

Take five. Knowing that people are short on time and overloaded with emails and articles, CUR developed Five in Five, videos that provide five tips, solutions, or answers to questions in five minutes. The association recently created a Five in Five video on how to better leverage their online community platform, and a member provided five tips on how to host a virtual symposium.

Since CUR’s small staff doesn’t have any video technical skills, Currie said they use an inexpensive platform called Animoto to produce polished videos very quickly. The videos are uploaded to CUR’s YouTube channel and then shared on various communication platforms, which allows CUR to find members where they are.

“We wanted to focus on things that would support our members when they had time and bring them together. They’re the experts. We’re the facilitator of the conversation,” she said.

Welcome aboard—again. Many of CUR’s members have been with the association for a long time, so they realized they needed to launch a re-onboarding campaign to update members on new benefits they might have missed.

They highlight one area of CUR benefits each month and explain how members can access the benefits and use them. They recently launched the first in a six-part series, and Currie said the click-through rate was very high. “We’re really trying to reengage our members and remind them of the benefits we have right now,” she said.

A month of thanks. In November, CUR will launch a month of thanks with a Twitter takeover. The association will ask members to share positive stories to provide an opportunity to celebrate within their community and exchange ideas.

The silver lining in all of this tumult, Currie said, is that associations are coming together and finding new ways to share. Another positive is that people are much more willing to test and try new things. “None of us are experts in this environment,” she said. “Being willing to test is critical.”

This article was sourced directly from Associations Now here, and is written by Lisa Boylan. 

The “Hub” — a stand-alone entity of the Australian Council of Trade Unions — brings unions together to share best practices and ways to leverage the iMIS for Unions software.

Advanced Solutions International (ASI), a leading global provider of software and services for associations and non-profits, and the company behind the iMIS Cloud Engagement Management System (EMS)™, announced today that the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ (ACTU) newly launched Union Innovation Hub is ASI’s latest Authorised iMIS Solution Provider (AiSP).  Learn more at: www.advsol.com/prUnions.    

The Union Innovation Hub is a standalone entity supported by the ACTU — the peak body for unions in Australia.  It will allow all ACTU-affiliated unions and their 1.6 million members to take advantage of the most modern member platform in the world: iMIS for Unions.

To date, many unions have been forced to develop their own customised system or modify existing CRM systems to work for the union environment.  Customisations were expensive, time-consuming, and inefficient.  Complex integrations with events, marketing, campaigning, finance systems and other third-party solutions resulted in data siloes that made decision making difficult.

iMIS for Unions Software — cloud based and powered by Microsoft Azure — is specifically designed for unions and fuses database management and web publishing into one single engagement management system (EMS)™.  It provides a single record of truth for all union members and constituents. 

The “Hub” will help unions achieve growth, efficiency and impact by fast tracking progress and reducing the cost of digital and other innovation. It will also serve as a “user group” for unions already using or moving to iMIS and ensure that its learnings and best practices related to member engagement, onboarding, scoring, member journeys and more are shared across the movement.  

The iMIS for Unions template has been built by union people for Unions. The staff, organisers portals and modern, engaging and dynamic website, will change the way unions can engage with their members.

“We are excited to work with ASI and iMIS to bring the benefits of the Hub to union members across Australia,” said Chris Walton, Chief Executive Officer, of the Union Innovation Hub.  “Through the Hub, unions and their members will benefit from a system that’s specifically designed for unions, supported by central expertise and fast-tracked implementations based on proven, effective union templates.”

“The Union Innovation Hub is a game-changer that will be a huge advantage to ACTU’s members,” added Paul Ramsbottom, Managing Director of ASI Asia-Pacific.  “Unions will no longer have to do everything on their own — they can collaborate with their peers, leverage the strength of their collective knowledge, and learn from the best practices of those who have gone before them.  ASI is proud to be an integral part of this initiative which brings best of breed software iMIS to the union community in Australia.”

About ACTU and the Union Innovation Hub The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the peak body for Australian unions, made up of 38 affiliated unions that together represent about 1.6 million workers and their families.  Created in 1927, the ACTU coordinates union campaigns, represents workers at a range of government and non-government forums in Australia and overseas, and provides industrial, policy and other support to affiliates. Its head office is in Melbourne, with smaller offices in other state capitals.  Learn more at www.actu.org.au.

The Union Innovation Hub is a stand-alone entity supported by the ACTU.  It helps unions retain members, achieve efficiency, improve organising, campaigning, and growth through the use of new technology and other innovation. The Hub wants to see growing, innovative unions positively impacting workers and society.  Learn more at www.uhub.org.au.

About ASI Advanced Solutions International (ASI) is a leading global provider of cloud-based software to associations and non-profits. We're the company behind iMIS Cloud, the Engagement Management System (EMS)™ that empowers you to engage your members anytime, anywhere, from any device. Since 1991 we've helped thousands of clients grow revenue, reduce expenses, and improve performance by providing best practices, pragmatic client advice, and proven solutions. Learn more at www.advsol.com .

Switched-on Membership Managers are looking to proven techniques to cut through the digital clutter now increasingly getting in the way of growing relationships with Members.

Things may just have gone full circle as Members become increasingly difficult to connect with.  Rather than throwing up your hands, it’s worth examining what you are doing to recognise your valued Members – and then what you can do to nurture these relationships for mutual gain!

Loyalty programs need to reward Members according to the value they bring to their organisation. So if you’re not segmenting, then you’re at risk of rewarding Members who are bargain hunters anyway and who aren’t going to be loyal. Why not consider analysing your best Members according to their frequency and offer them the best rewards, rather than giving everyone the same rewards?

The problem with an emphasis on short-term gain is that it ignores the fundamental tenets of lasting relationships and the conditions that breed Member loyalty. It also forgets that in a world of multiple channels and near-infinite product choice, Members remain fixated on valuable experiences with organisations they can trust.

Until an organisation understands who their most valued Members are and what their drivers are for their patronage, they really are at sea. As all the marketing theorists and practitioners will tell you, it costs in the order of ten times as much to acquire a new Member as it does to retain an existing one. For that reason alone, it’s useful for any organisation to have an integrated loyalty program that will identify who your most valuable Members are, what their drivers are and what your best Members look like. That should then shape your marketing program. Sounds simple – well it actually is!

Segmentation then becomes the first step towards determining who your best Members are, analysing their needs and tailoring communication in line with what you’ve learnt. This then serves as a guide for acquiring potential Members who share the same profile as those you wish to retain.

Before we go into some universal ‘must do’s’, lets briefly examine some of the reasons for having loyalty programs in the first place. This is clearly where it starts – and finishes if you don’t have the ‘ammunition’ required to convince the ‘bean counters’ that this can – and should be included in the ‘things’ you do to achieve and exceed your activity goals!

The following are some of the key reasons BRewarded advocate that you consider implementing a loyalty program at the core of their marketing activities: 

• Lets you differentiate yourself Having your own company branded loyalty program is a distinct way to differentiate your Cause and stay front of mind amongst your Members. Here’s your chance to step out from the crowd and truly engage at a personal level.
• Opens up the conversation with your Members Having your own branded loyalty and rewards program enables you to keep your Members consistently engaged with your organisation, brand and message. They can now receive promotions, checkpoints, balances and make redemptions on products or services.
• Show that you care Offering an exclusive loyalty and rewards program to your Members correlates to how you value them, which then builds Member loyalty and true lasting relationships.
• Shows that you’re progressive Demonstrate to your Members and prospects that your organisation is advanced in marketing and online initiatives and demonstrate your innovation towards your Member needs and wants.
• Enables your Members to become your advocates Members will become advocates of your company as a result of the rewards you give them.

And now to some of the ’must do’s’… 

1. Segment your Members In order to determine who your most valuable Members are you typically need to go through the process of ‘slicing and dicing’ them into clear groups that represent different values to your organisation. This then enables you to determine how best to engage with each group.
2. Get the matrix right! Developing an effective loyalty program takes time and careful consideration. Many call it a science! The ‘give and the get’ can be measured to the dollar and, as part of our ‘getting the matrix right, we encourage you to explore where you could potentially take your valued Member relationships – and then map out over time how to get there - profitably.
3. Develop your Communications Program Loyalty communication is not a promotion – it is a program! We usually allow 6 to 12 months to ‘witness’ the results that we seek. Patience is a virtue in this regards.
4. Reward each and every Member Key to the success of growing your membership programs is to ensure that your Members remain on your ‘radar screen’ – best achieved by simply rewarding them! While the level of reward may differ, offering a base level of reward to all Members is key to driving the results we seek.
5. Get your systems in place Busy Members have a basic expectation that they will not need to change the way they interact with you – so having systems in place to seamlessly collect transactions – whether at point of sale or via your backend systems is key.     
6. Measure your results Like all good marketing, your loyalty program needs to be measured for its effectiveness. For only through effective measurement can you effectively determine what needs to be tweaked to deliver the best outcome. With your program in place you are at least in the game – and best able to keep your marketing program in line with the needs of your valued Members.
7. Exceed their Expectations The easiest, and possibly the most affordable way to build Member loyalty is to satisfy the Member. At least it used to be! Today, Members not only want their expectations met or satisfied, they want them exceeded. Commonly known as the Golden Rule, this practice is fading quickly.

“Listening offers data. Hearing offers empathy and intelligence. Activity, action, and engagement steer perspective and encourage a sense of community and advocacy.” – Brian Solis 

So there you have it…identifying who your valued Members are – and developing plans to grow your membership by simply engaging with what is important to them is not new. And with the tools we now have at our finger tips, there really is no excuse to ‘getting real’ with your most valuable asset, your Member base.

Ivan Schwartz is the Director of BRewarded, a specialist loyalty solution provider based in Sydney, Australia. For more information you can connect with Ivan via Linkedin or go to the website www.brewarded.com.au    

COVID-19 upended most 2020 member engagement plans. But it also created an opportunity for associations to elevate how they interact with their members, according to a session at ASAE’s Virtual Annual Meeting. Here are three ideas to consider.

Membership engagement, like many things, is having a “that was then, this is now” moment.
Associations learned that they needed to respond to member needs immediately to help them do their jobs effectively in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Suddenly it was less about a linear, one-way flow of information—and more about listening to what members needed in the short term.
“Engagement used to be transactional,” said Susan Cato, senior director of digital communications at the Association of American Medical Colleges, during the “Member Engagement 2020 and Beyond: Everyone Wants It, but What Does It Mean?” session at ASAE’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition. Engagement used to be all about reading content, clicking on a link, and conversions. The current crisis has presented an opportunity, she said, to “elevate the way we interact with each other around a shared purpose.”

Give members power. 
AAMC created a collaborative resource with clinical guidelines on COVID-19 so its members—composed of teaching hospitals and medical schools—could quickly share potentially life-saving information with each other. Cato said AAMC was focused on putting the power in members’ hands.
For example, as AAMC assessed how to transition to a virtual meeting, they knew they had to get member buy-in. After listening to members and hearing that they wanted more content related to combatting racial injustices within healthcare and current challenges in public health, AAMC quickly created an entire series of content based on those two high-priority issues in partnership with members and people in the community.

Flip the script. 
Letting members tell the story became a focus for the Food Marketing Institute, said Margaret Core, CAE, vice president of marketing and industry relations. FMI opened its virtual meeting with footage of members talking about the importance of grocery stores and communities during the pandemic, the role they played, and how they gave back to their communities. “Opening the event with the stories was so powerful,” she said. “That’s engagement: We let the actions of our members tell our story.”

Put members first. 
The rules of engagement became more about building loyalty, the power of the brand, and giving members access to resources and connectivity in a time of need, according to Erin Lee, vice president of marketing operations and customer experience at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

BIO’s members were on the forefront of helping to develop solutions to the pandemic, so as the organization transitioned its in-person meeting to a virtual one, BIO surveyed members to find out what would be most helpful for them. “We focused on being a service to the industry,” Lee said.

BIO Digital was held in June with over 7,000 participants from 64 countries across 28 time zones—no small feat. To foster a spirit of connectedness, BIO changed the meeting’s tagline from “Beyond” to “Nothing stops innovation.” Then, in advance of the conference, the group mailed all speakers a custom mug with the new tagline. Lee said while it was a premium price point, it was worth it because it gave speakers brand recognition onscreen that reflected togetherness.

“We will continue to be disrupted,” Cato said, “and we need to be prepared to ride this roller coaster together.” The thinking has shifted to a more participatory process where associations are partners with their members to create value. “We are co-creating the future together,” she said.

This article was sourced directly from Associations Now here, and is written by Lisa Boylan.