A new survey from the HR tech firm Topia finds that workers want less busywork and fewer random perks—and instead want an employee experience that lets them show off their true personality.

When younger employees sign on with an employer, they don’t want to feel like they’re leaving themselves behind all for the sake of a job.

But when culture gives way to busywork and doesn’t let workers show their true selves, it can cause disillusionment—and that could soon lead those employees to start looking elsewhere.

This is the central idea of “Adapt or Lose the War for Talent: Why Your Employee Experience Needs an Upgrade”, a new report from HR technology company Topia, which finds that fewer than 20 percent of workers give their employer an exceptional rating for employee experience. Notably, general workers tend to give their employers lower experience ratings than HR employees do—implying a disconnect on the employee experience front for the rank and file. A reason for that, the report argues, is that the employee perks of old just don’t resonate anymore.

“The world of work is evolving, and employee expectations are evolving with it,” the report states. “Shifts in culture shape our values and priorities, and these changes are reflected in what people want from their employers. A decade ago, foosball tables and a kitchen full of snacks got candidates interested. Now, it’s less about perks and more about purpose.”

The trouble might be rooted in the complexity of basic upkeep, the report notes, with complicated tasks proving to be a major deterrent for many workers. More than a third of respondents (37 percent) say filing PTO requests is particularly annoying, while slightly less than a third are frustrated with the processes of understanding HR benefits (31 percent) and filing expense reports (29 percent). These menial tasks get in the way for many workers; just 41 percent of respondents call their HR tools “simple or easy” to use.

WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS FOR EMPLOYEES

Of course, tools aren’t the only factor when it comes to employee experience. The study finds that many respondents think that the team will become more geographically distributed over time, with a wider range of backgrounds and experience—a trend likely to increase thanks to COVID-19. Accordingly, more than three quarters of respondents (76 percent) agree that it won’t matter so much if everyone is in the same location.

But one thing that will matter is a stronger focus on diversity and inclusion, something 79 percent of respondents say leads to more creativity and innovation. Despite this interest in stronger diversity, roughly a quarter of employees say they feel like they’re having to hide their political beliefs from their coworkers, while another quarter also say they have to hold back elements of their identity.

“Making diversity a priority is definitely important, but what is equally important is open tolerance of diversity—in all its forms,” the report adds.

In comments on the report, Meghan M. Biro, CEO and founder of TalentCulture, noted that the trend lines highlight the need for fewer perks and busywork, and more organizational support.

“HR teams must recognize and adapt to the reality that free lunches and foosball tables aren’t enough anymore, especially in a challenging year like 2020,” she said in a news release. “Employees want genuine opportunities, authenticity, and empathy from their employers.”

This article was sourced directly from Associations Now here, and is written by Ernie Smith. 

One association’s unwavering commitment to achieve a membership goal sustained it through a crisis, allowed it to reach its goal, and gave it a blueprint for future success.

The Association of Proposal Management Professionals was firing on all pistons headed toward a lofty goal of reaching a 10,000-member milestone when the pandemic struck. Instead of suspending membership dues, Rick Harris, APMP’s CEO, decided on a counterintuitive approach. He doubled down on the membership goal and kept moving forward, conducting business as usual.

APMP amped up promotional and outreach efforts, and members responded. “When things are so disturbing and upsetting, there’s a comfort in normality,” Harris said. “We took the approach: We’re all in this together and we’re all moving forward as a team, an association, and an industry.”

Harris recalled using a similar strategy after 9/11 when he was at the helm of a much larger association. During that crisis, some associations relaxed on membership, but Harris had a hunch that wasn’t the right approach. It was important to “work through the pain,” show continued engagement, and deliver value, he said. APMP encouraged members who were experiencing hardship to call if they needed help. Fewer than 10 people called.

Since COVID-19 arrived, APMP has increased its standard one webinar a month to as many as four per month. Harris’ team knew that members needed the influx of information on navigating the pandemic and combined that stepped-up content delivery with an ongoing membership push to 10K.

Their steadfast dedication paid off: They reached the milestone at the end of May. It was an impressive achievement—even more so because they did it in the midst of a pandemic. “Reaching the milestone was one of the most gratifying things that has happened to me in 32-plus years as an association executive,” Harris said.

A 10-YEAR EFFORT

APMP set the goal 10 years ago, and in nine of the 10 years it has experienced a 10 percent or higher growth in membership. Harris attributes this to leadership and staff buy-in—from top to bottom—and an absolute commitment to reaching the goal.

APMP branded everything with the 10K initiative. Every new staff member was asked to commit to the drive to reach 10,000 members, and the goal was formalized in the strategic plan. In making decisions about programs and other expenditures, the staff committed to looking at three things before investing even one dollar: Will the investment grow membership? Does it escalate the professional development of current members? How soon will we see a return on investment on the first two points?

Over time, the increase in membership began to fuel APMP’s financial growth. With more money, they could create more programming for members, which improved member retention: It was a circular process that board members understood, and it helped solidify their support.

THE SECRET SAUCE

Harris credits the book The Art of Membership by Sheri Jacobs as the guiding principle for reaching APMP’s membership goal. His main takeaway? “Keep membership front and center, and make it the center of your universe. Everything is ancillary after that.” For any association, particularly a small one, to grow, he said, “membership is your secret sauce.”

The upshot? Harris and his team will adjust their tactics based on what they have learned in the past several months and use that information to inform how they move forward. Harris said they learned their members want them close in a crisis, and they appreciated the additional content and support, so APMP will continue to be a beacon in the storm—and beyond.

Someone recently asked Harris what’s next. “Easy,” he said, “20K.”

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

Beaumont People have a specialist team dedicated to servicing the Association and Membership sector. We are here to support you with all your recruitment, selection and strategic needs at speciality rates. The team of Louise, Jo and Kristina collectively have over 28 years’ experience in recruitment and HR and are passionate in supporting the growth of our sector.

The services we provide include 360 recruitment solutions for both temporary and permanent staff across all business functions including, Reception, Administration, Finance, HR, Membership, Marketing, Policy, Advocacy and Executive.  We work in a consultative approach, partnering with you to develop, build and refine staffing decisions and structure, through strategic advice and guidance. 

Let us know if you are interested in being part of one of our working groups, an opportunity to collaborate, share ideas and learn from your peers in the sector to help us collectively innovate and grow. We also provide a range of complimentary resources and tools including weekly webinars, articles, and videos for individuals and organisations alike. 

We also offer personalised career coaching and transition sessions, as well as a complimentary half day Recruitment and Selection workshop customised for Association’s to focus on building your knowledge of recruitment best practice. We give you tips and practical advice to ensure your future hiring success.

We are on hand everyday so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to know more, or even if it’s just to have a friendly chat!

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Jo@beaumontpeople.com.au 

kristina@beaumontpeople.com.au 

One of the biggest gripes we hear from association members is “old mate down the road is using the badge on his website, and he’s not even a member, so why am I paying for it?”

There was no easy way to police the use of your association logo.

With over a million new websites set up every single day, it is virtually impossible to control who is using your association badge.

Until Now.

You can now make your association badge exclusive to your members, giving your members the prestige and value, they deserve, and it is very simple to do.

Introducing Badge Secure™ a brand-new technology that gives you full control of who is using your logo and makes it almost impossible to steal, it is also a great tool for increasing membership and retention.

Imagine you want to “borrow” an association badge for your website, (as you know it has value), when you try to copy it from an association member’s website you get a message: “Logo protected by Badge Secure™ click here to join the association”.

I am sure you will be “impressed” that the association values its badge and the badge has even more value than you first thought, as a result you join the association.

Badge Secure™ can do this, and a lot more, such as automatically remove the badge from a members website if they don’t renew their membership, and if you want to change your logo, you can change the badge on all your members websites, with just 3 clicks. It is that simple.

To find out more about Badge Secure™ go to https://www.badgesecure.global/

The world-class chefs at the Brisbane Showgrounds have been putting their lunch-making skills to the test. On Monday 8 June they gathered in the Royal International Convention Centre kitchen to make more than 1,000 sandwiches for Eat Up. The not-for-profit organisation provides school lunches to students who would otherwise go hungry. The Brisbane Showgrounds chefs will now be making sandwiches each Monday.

Dr Matthew Miles was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the RACGP in July 2020 after an extensive national search.

A veterinarian by training, Matthew joined the RACGP after achieving great success working across the university, membership and not-for-profit sectors. He brings extensive leadership, executive management, media, finance, marketing, operations, sponsorship and fundraising experience to the RACGP CEO role.

With a deep understanding of and respect for the role GPs play in supporting community health, Matthew brings his wide-ranging business leadership, government relations, change management and business development skills to lead and strengthen the RACGP.

Matthew has a Bachelor of Veterinary Science undergraduate degree from the University of Queensland and spent over 10 years as a veterinary clinician in Australia, the UK and Singapore.
He is a former member of the Royal College Veterinary Surgeons in London and a Chartered Member of the Australian Veterinary Association.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management, for which he received a coveted distinction average.

Matthew is married with two children and is based in Sydney.

Article sourced from: https://www.racgp.org.au/the-racgp/governance/executive

We hear it every day: 2020 has thrown curve balls that no one has ever experienced before. We need to work from home, we need to meet in limited numbers, we need to change how our events will function, we need to social distance, the list goes on. Teams have adapted quickly to the change of work environment and meeting online. But should process improvements or projects be changed or cancelled that were being undertaken to allow the business to work smarter?

Remote working, streamed events, offsite data access: the importance of moving processes online has never been so great. Although there is fear and insecurity as to what lies ahead, there is a degree of certainty that IT needs will only increase. For associations, a central, cloud-based server (such as SharePoint) with all staff able to access it is paramount, along with ensuring all membership data is current and not reliant on multiple spreadsheets.

Have you considered: How well your database is functioning? Are there errors that require countless work arounds that only some team members are aware of? For many, this may be the first time they have worked without any supervision or support at the next desk. Do you know what is the level of knowledge a staff member has? Does this complement their skill level based on their job description?

Over the last three to four months many associations have elected to place their database updates on hold as there is an unfounded belief that staff will not be able to cope with the change or workload. It is in fact, the perfect time to complete upgrades and involve a staff development project, killing two birds with one stone.

With remote working and the implementation of an IT project, it is recommended team members should be documenting their day to day job, the difficulties they face with either a lack of knowledge or the system not functioning properly and detailing any other processes identified that could be more efficient and effective. Addressing knowledge gaps with peer-to-peer or team training sessions also contributes to connection and camaraderie during these strange times. The next step to consider together as a team, is the long-term result of leaving processes as they are.

Many have found that they are more efficient working from home and have capacity to take on additional projects. Again, this is the perfect time to be documenting processes, upskilling colleagues, testing systems for weaknesses and consider trialling or making the changes previously discussed. These actions will not only build a robust suite of systems and processes, but an upskilled, educated and engaged team who have supported the changes in the organisation.

When considering delaying, ‘quarantining’ or shelving needs-based projects, remember that the database and system issues will still plague the staff despite them working from home and the member experience won’t improve. Focus on the outcome of the projects and ask yourself if they can really be delayed indefinitely. Enhancing your IT resources are one of the few investments that will help you work effectively now and into the future, and help you come out ahead at the end of all of this. Whenever that may be.

Gillian Morgan, Director of MorGo Online, specialises in IT development and support for associations and their Association Management Systems. After a decade of experience working in associations herself, Gillian’s next career step was with IVT, an Australian company specialising in building and maintaining Association databases. This has provided Gillian with a high level of experience and understanding of Associations and business needs. From determining a clients' needs, documenting and advising Boards, ongoing client support and looking for growth in an Association via their database, Gillian can support your team, determine solutions, troubleshoot issues and is able to translate “IT speak.” Gillian has a Masters in IT Management through Southern Cross University and MorGo Online has been a committed Industry Partner with AuSAE for four years. Check out Gillian's tips for association databases. To get in contact with Gillian, phone 0407 004 369 or email gillian@morgoonline.com.au

Enterprise Care and REMSMART today announced a new strategic alliance, launching Australia’s most comprehensive online remuneration portal for the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. The first of its kind in Australia, this interactive digital platform will support NFPs in shaping defensible pay strategies and attracting high performing talent.

The alliance will see the digital transformation of Enterprise Care’s esteemed annual NFP remuneration report to a dynamic online salary portal powered by REMSMART. Enterprise Care’s new cloud-based dashboard report will continue to collate research from the hundreds of organisation’s across the aged care, charity, professional, industry, humanitarian, healthcare, sporting and community sectors and reinvent the customer experience, enabling instant accessible remuneration data, searchable across specific criteria, including role, sector and location.

“Not-for-profits at their essence are stewards of external funding, whether that be from government, members or private donors,” said Damien Smith AM, Managing Director of Enterprise Care, a consulting firm with vast experience in the not-for-profit sector. “And justifying their renumeration strategy is a big part of effective stewardship.”

“We are thrilled to be working with REMSMART to enable Australian NFPs to more effectively dissect, report and benchmark pay decisions across their organisation and, in doing so, ensure their teams have the best chance of success.”

Founded in 1999, the Enterprise Care Not-For-Profit Remuneration Report is Australia’s longest running and highly valued NFP salary survey. It takes in data from a broad spectrum of the country’s $140 plus billion dollar sector, including salary averages from CEOs, CFOs, program managers, human resources, marketing and administration, plus many others.

Allan Feinberg, Managing Director of REMSMART said of the project, “There are a lot of opportunities for Boards to be more attuned with their governance practices around pay rates. Our new strategic alliance represents a perfect marriage of expertise—merging both Enterprise Care’s in depth knowledge of the NFP sector and our proficiency in remuneration design and reporting, packaged and hosted within our proven platform to easily interrogate and analyse data.”

An Australia-wide consultancy, REMSMART provides salary benchmarking data and insights to professional services firm BDO to inform their consulting services. Their comprehensive data is also utilised by HR professionals, remuneration committees and Boards from mining and metals, and ASX listed companies for competitive retention and reward decisions. Adding to REMSMART’s suite of remuneration portals, including Board & Executive and Mining & Metals pay surveys, this new innovation is scheduled for delivery in October.

For more information about the Enterprise Care Not-For-Profit Remuneration Portal, powered by Remsmart, visit www.enterprisecare.com.au

—    ENDS —

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:

Damien Smith AM

Enterprise Care Pty Ltd

T: +61 (0) 418 325 781

smithdj@enterprisecare.com.au

ABOUT ENTERPRISE CARE
Founded in 1988, Enterprise Care’s purpose is “the intelligence of positive social impact”. Working with not-for-profit, government and commercial organisations, Enterprise Care is focussed on delivering practical solutions enabling positive transformational change.  Whatever the issue - governance, remuneration, legal, people or organisational performance management, Enterprise Care works with Boards, directors, CEOs and senior staff to ensure the sustainable transformation of all types of organisations. Recently Enterprise Care launched Governance Intelligence® audits, which allows the diagnosing of an organisation’s governance issues and designing a pragmatic and workable strategy to improve the organisation’s performance and achieve a positive outcome.

ABOUT REMSMART
REMSMART is a subscription-based ‘in the cloud’ remuneration survey platform for the mining and metals sector and ASX listed companies, bringing together survey insights and people expertise to provide an accessible total reward solution. Its up-to-date and function specific remuneration portals provide validation and peer group benchmarking for competitive retention and reward decisions. Trusted by HR professionals, Boards and Remuneration Committees, REMSMART’s user-friendly dashboard is backed by personal and accessible support, at an affordable subscription rate to keep businesses in step with the market.

The Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) Board of Directors invite you to attend the Annual General Meeting. The AuSAE Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 30 July 2020 from 12.00pm (AEST) and will take place via Zoom Meeting. 

To register to attend the meeting please email info@ausae.org.au and meeting instructions will be sent directly. 

If you are unable to attend but would like to appoint a proxy, please download your proxy appointment form.

The Annual General Meeting is a time to celebrate and reflect on AuSAE’s achievements during the last calendar year and to discuss future plans.

We look forward to welcoming you to the 2020 AuSAE AGM. 

A recent conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion put a spotlight on the hard work associations are doing. The next step should address how leadership mirrors those ambitions.

Last week, leaders from 11 associations convened over Zoom to talk about the work that they’re doing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It’s a conversation that’s been stoked, of course, by the protests following the murder of George Floyd. And though most of the participants’ organizations have been doing this work for years, one theme that emerged from the 90-minute conversation, facilitated by Vista Cova’s Lowell Aplebaum, FASAE, CAE, is that there’s still more work to be done.

More to the point, it’s not the kind of work that an association leader can do alone. Richard Yep, FASAE, CAE, CEO of the American Counseling Association, noted that checking his ego at the door is essential to the DEI work his staff has undertaken.

“I think most of us realize that our job isn’t to have everybody take on our vision, but for us to cultivate what their vision is and how we mold that into something that makes sense for our members and for our staffs,” he said. “I have lots of ideas, but it really isn’t about me, it’s about those that I work with.”

Those staff-wide commitments to diversity, and a willingness to consider new ideas, has borne fruit among the meeting’s participants. Organizations like the Illinois CPA Society, Society for Neuroscience, and International Association of Fire Chiefs have scholarship and mentoring programs for emerging professionals in their fields. (As does ASAE, which also participated in the event.) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Association Forum have created online resources for both staff and members alike to strengthen their sense of cultural awareness.

But one statement made during the event seemed to both tie together the efforts that were shared while also delivering a challenge to every association pursuing DEI in earnest. Rob Henry, vice president of education at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, shared CASE’s experience with a leadership pipeline program focused on supporting future senior-level professionals, which he prefaced by saying this: “Until we change leadership, this will not matter. I believe people are committed to diversity, but they are more committed to their cultures. And what we have to do is bring in more diverse leaders who will change the culture.”

If there is indeed still work to be done, especially in nonprofitdom, it’s there. One study suggests that representation of people of color on nonprofit boards and the CEO office is in the single digits; another shows that 27 percent of nonprofit boards are entirely white. According to a 2019 report from Nonprofit HR, nearly half of all nonprofits (42 percent) say their staffs are not reflective of the communities they serve.

As I wrote last week, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for organizations to rethink those dismal numbers as part of the larger strategic conversations that they’re under pressure to have now. The fact that nearly a dozen associations convened in an atmosphere of urgency to address DEI issues marks a meaningful shift in the industry: It moves the subject away from the periphery of the association world and closer to the center.

But keeping it there—especially when it comes to critical improvements like creating more diverse boards—requires a lot of patience and intentionality. That the current moment may spark more direct and open conversations among staffs and members about where their efforts have fallen short is a good thing. The next and more meaningful step is to take what’s learned and build leadership pipelines that reflect the diversity that every organization is striving toward.

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