In this early part of the year we see many articles and reports making predictions for the 12 months ahead. Various experts have gazed into their crystal balls to reveal the changes, challenges and enormous potential that 2017 might hold for the association industry. It’s an exciting time for any membership organisation with big goals. So we’ve searched around the world on your behalf and discovered some of the most interesting trends and ideas likely to emerge in the near future. Here’s a snapshot of our findings relevant to the Australian market.

It’s time to use your data

Associations and Association Management Software (AMS) providers have spent much of the past decade looking to upgrade their AMS platforms with more customisations and process capabilities.

Aside from business process optimisation, AMS also allows associations to gather valuable data and insights that can be used for segmenting membership, generating new membership leads from people using your services, or creating a strategic inbound marketing approach. In other words, now is the time to take advantage of all those terabytes of information stored in your database.

In fact, according to Loretta M. DeLuca in Aptify Top Association Management Expert Predictions for 2017, “Aside from a building and its reserve funds, data is arguably the most valuable asset an organization owns. For decades, the ability of AMSs to store more and more data has increased exponentially, yet the ability to extract and manipulate this data to support business planning and decisions has not... I look forward to a 2017 and beyond when organizations will finally be using their data to make strategic, forward-facing decisions” DeLuca states.

This view is widely shared among industry experts:

“We foretell that the core functionality of association management systems (AMSs) will shift from merely being the database of record to providing new levels of actionable insight into membership.”

– Abila Association Predictions For 2017

“Because they have so much content to share and very defined audiences, inbound marketing is an ideal channel for associations. In 2017, in order to build worldwide awareness and demonstrate relevance, associations will rapidly adopt this channel as part of their existing marketing mix.”

– Tony Rossell in Aptify Top Association Management Expert Predictions for 2017

Evolution of learning

Learning and development remains number one among the top reasons members join your association. However, traditional full-day workshops are no longer as effective as they once were. Associations need to be innovative to engage this new audience, or risk falling behind as the ‘evolution of learning’ continues at a rapid pace.

As Abila Association Predictions For 2017 asserts, “The importance of on-demand, online, and mobile learning options, and the value of professional certifications will be on the rise. Educational offerings for not just members, but also the public at-large, will be a big revenue driver for associations.”

Again this opinion is supported elsewhere:

“Associations should focus on helping members work less stressfully, more profitably and more productively in the online learning arena.”

– Mary Byers in Aptify Top Association Management Expert Predictions for 2017

“The continuing growth in interest in social learning and digital badges among associations can be linked to the ever-present challenge of increasing member engagement. Associations are increasingly looking to social learning initiatives to help them connect with and develop an engaged community of members and learners.”

– WBT Systems Blog

Finding new models of operation

So where to next for association leaders? Times are changing, and the consenus is that associations, like other organisations, must accept and embrace the benefits of alternative business models in order to make meaningful progress.

“In 2017 the pressure on association executives to adopt new business models will increase. As a response, they’ll need to be willing to experiment with new ideas rapidly,” argues Amith Nagarajan, Chairman and CEO of Aptify.

This change of direction may include new membership models, partnerships and mergers, along with the acquisition of new revenue sources, among other endeavours.

Here’s what the industry has to say about the potential of updated operations:

“In 2017, associations will finally discover that ‘sales’ is not a dirty word.” – Wes Trochlil in Aptify Top Association Management Expert Predictions for 2017

“This is not to say associations should be run like companies, certainly not. But associations can learn from some of their corporate counterparts to be more businesslike in structure, operations and strategy, while maintaining the purpose, values and ethos of achieving critical (and bone fide) mission goals.” – Omer Soker, www.ethicsofsuccess.com.au

This article was originally sourced from Member Boat. 

Sure, you want your attendees to learn onsite, but you also want them to put their learning to work when they’re back on the job. Here are some ideas for making that happen.

Last month, I came across a blog posted by the National Conference Center (NCC) about six trends they had observed around experiential learning. Among them: barrier-free learning, which is hands-on training in a lab-like setting as opposed to the traditional meeting room, and learning by silence, where facilitators allow more time for reflection and meditation.

While all were interesting and definitely food for thought for association meeting planners, the one that jumped out at me was the sixth: learning through application.

“While debriefing is a structured process facilitated by a skilled professional throughout the process of a program, it has been in place for some time,” the post said. “Today a post-program application assists participants over time with how learning translates back at the office.”

NCC suggests a number of ways to facilitate this continued learning process, including self-directed debrief meetings, professional coaching sessions by phone or in person, and follow-up mini-sessions at the one-, two-, or three-month intervals.

“These sessions can be highly productive and fun, assisting the participants in real-time learning application issues,” NCC wrote. “They can be on the participant’s work site or scheduled as an offsite.”

While you may have thought your job was done when attendees walked out of that closing session, that’s no longer the case. Having a dedicated postconference learning application plan could set your meeting apart from others and show attendees that you are dedicated helping them put what they learned to work back at the office.

As NCC suggests, there could be several ways to make this happen. I came up with a few ideas myself.

The easiest of the batch is probably to send a postconference newsletter or email to attendees that offers tips and tools for how to best apply what they learned in the workplace. It might include a checklist of steps to take or even links back to session handouts or videos of the general sessions.

There’s nondues revenue potential in this strategy, too. For an additional fee, your association could offer attendees a “personalized learning application counselor” who would check in with them on a regular basis and discuss how they’re implementing what they learned onsite.

“Conference buddies” could also play a role. Some associations use a buddy system to help attendees connect while onsite. But what if you offered up buddies after your conference? In the following weeks or months, they could connect a few times over the phone or online—and hold each other accountable for what they learned and discuss how they are applying it at work.

Associations could even move beyond the buddy system and connect attendees in small groups (think 10 or 15 people) in locations across the country. That way, they could meet in person on a schedule of their choosing. Doing this will also give your members the chance to build deeper connections throughout the year.

How has your association helped attendees ensure they are applying what they learned at your conference back at the office? Tell us all about it in the comments.

This article was originally sourced from Associations Now and written by Samantha Whitehorne. 

AuSAE have now released dates and speakers for the first round of Networking Luncheons for 2017. The topic for this round of Networking Luncheons is "Navigating Leadership Through a Changing Environment "

AuSAE's networking luncheons are a great way to connect with others in the industry to discuss high level topics of real importance, develop new relationships and gain critical information. This is a rare opportunity to network with other CEOs and senior management professionals from charities, associations and other non-profit organisations. Ample opportunity will be given for you to discuss issues and network with others.

See dates below for the first round of Networking Luncheons for 2017:

• Canberra Tuesday 21 February - Richard Stokes, Executive Director, Australian Boarding Schools Association 

• Adelaide Tuesday 7 March - Elaine Bensted, Chief Executive, Zoos SA
  

• Sydney Wednesday 8 March - Matthew Fisher, CEO, Chiropractors Association of Australia
  

• Brisbane Tuesday 14 March - Jane Schmitt, CEO, AMA Queensland

• Perth Thursday 16 March - Stephen Brown, Chief Executive Officer, The Western Australian Farmers Federation

• Melbourne Tuesday 28 March - Damian Paull, CEO, Franchise Council of Australia

The Accommodation Association of Australia (AAA) says it would oppose any move to impose a bed tax in popular tourist destinations. Byron Shire Mayor Simon Richardson flagged the idea of the tax, which he said was popular with many ratepayers. Cr Richardson said this was hardly surprising in an area attracting more than 1.5 million visitors per year.

He has called for other councils affected by big tourist numbers to back a renewed push for the levy to fund infrastructure. "I think a bed tax is a no-brainer," Cr Richardson said. "It's happened all around the world [and] it never made the tourism industry fall. "It's something that most visitors fully expect to pay and have the capacity to pay."

But AAA's chief executive Richard Munro described the idea as a risky move."You can't just raise taxes every time and expect people to pay them," he said.

"We're in competitive destinations [and] Byron Bay is a great location but it's not unique and people have a choice. "If you start putting levies on the consumers, you're going to find that people are going to start looking around; people are price-sensitive.

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker ... everyone's benefiting from tourism; it's not just the hotels and motels and serviced apartments — everyone benefits.

"It drives the economy, it drives jobs [and] you risk cooking the golden goose, almost. "If you start putting these levies on you'll find that people just won't go." The criticism came as no surprise Cr Richardson who said the tourism lobby was "pretty strong". "There's always a fear that you put in a tax, you're going to scare off visitors," he said. "I brought it up at a local government tourism conference only about six months ago, and the main powers-that-be were very quick to try to suggest that it was a flawed, ill-conceived idea. "Of course it's not; most of the world does it."

This article was originally sourced from ABC News and written by Bruce MacKenzie.

AuSAE has welcomed new members from the following organisations this month. Is your organisation on this list? If your organisation is on this list as an AuSAE organisational member but you are unsure if you are part of the membership bundle, please contact the friendly AuSAE team at info@ausae.org.au.

Not on this list? To join AuSAE today please visit our membership information page here.

GISBORNE District Council team leader for land Kerry Hudson has been digging the dirt on soil around Tairawhiti Gisborne for 34 years. He has now been appointed as the new president for the New Zealand Association of Resource Management (NZARM).

Mr Hudson was the former secretary of NZARM for two years but was elected to the president role in October. His presidential nomination is basically an overseeing role, he said.“There is an executive council from around New Zealand and those people come from regional councils, unitaries and from industry.”

Mr Hudson said the big issue for the Tairawhiti region was soil erosion. NZARM first came into existence in 1953 as the New Zealand Soil Conservators Association. The objectives of NZARM are to represent and promote the views and interests of people involved or interested in resource management, to promote good practice, competence and ethics in resource management, to promote communication and transfer of information between members.

Mr Hudson said he was looking forward to the challenge over the next two years. 

This article was originally sourced from Gisborne Herald. 

Nothing promotes a career center like putting relevant, niche jobs in front of professionals. When it comes time to look for a new job, professionals turn first to associations, which are among the best places to start. That’s because they know employers savvy enough to recruit via their relevant association channels are looking for exactly the type of skills possessed by your pool of members.

With the holidays upon us—a time when folks focus on next year’s goals and dreams, you should already be proactively promoting your career center to help support your members’ professional advancement. Ultimately for you, marketing your career center to members is vital to your association’s economic success. Without candidate engagement, employers who pay you to expose jobs to highly-qualified talent, won’t get the ROI they’re expecting.

And, nothing markets a career center like putting relevant, niche jobs in front of professionals. They see the jobs in your messaging and click to find out what other jobs are available. Your members are then constantly reminded to use your site when they are hiring within their department or having a bad day at the office and consider moving on. Non-members also see that employers want to hire your members, giving them another reason to think about joining as a member.

5 questions to answer.

To successfully market your career center, answer and act upon these five questions:

1. Do you share jobs from your career center through your newsletters?
   
2. Do you print out flyers and share them at your onsite events?
   
3. Do you communicate to your members how many employers and job seekers you have looking for the right candidates and job opportunities?
   
4. Do you tweet on Twitter and share on Facebook the various jobs that will help your members know you have a job board available to them?
   
5. Do you have dedicated emails of open job opportunities regularly sent to your members?
   

If you aren’t doing these things, easy ways to increase engagement with your career center and get folks using it are passing you by. The good news is that these tactics, for the most part, can be automated. You can distribute jobs via widgets, RSS feeds or other automated methods.

Living in an age of information overload, I don’t want to just add more information to your day. So, I leave you with this thought: Apply the information you have learned; go, look at your career center and then think about where else you can promote jobs. You have a valuable, relevant resource to offer your members. Make sure you are successfully sharing it today!

This article was originally sourced from Your Membership and written by Tristan Jordan.

We talk a lot about member engagement: How to boost it, how to appeal to different people/generations, how to take advantage of seasonal ups and downs, etc. But let’s take a step back for a second: How do you define an engaged member?   Is it someone who…

• Attends every meeting and event
  
• Volunteers for nearly everything
  
• Reads every article/blog post you publish
  
• Shares your content on social media
  
• All of the above
  
• None of the above
  

Think of it like this: If you were to envision your most engaged member - the one you KNOW is going to renew next year - what would that look like/who would that be? Chances are, it’s someone you see often. Someone who attends every meeting and event, volunteers for nearly everything, etc.

But what about the members you don’t see? Are they automatically unengaged or less engaged? Not necessarily. In fact, some of your most engaged members may actually be those behind the scenes. They may be the members who are reading every single thing you publish - on social media, on your website, in your online social community, etc. They may not be sharing it, but they’re reading it, and that counts for something.

Here’s an example: I read Associations Now every day. Sometimes I share the articles, but sometimes I just take the information in. Either way though, it’s a part of my daily routine. Wouldn’t it be nice to become a part of your members’ daily routines? You might already be. Your members might not be showing up to all of your meetings and events, but if they’re thinking of and turning to your association daily, that’s a pretty lofty achievement.

The point here is this: Rather than thinking about membership engagement in terms of those we can or cannot see, why not think about it in terms of value? A really engaged member is someone who finds something in your organization (whether it be an event or content) invaluable. Still need help engaging your organization’s membership? Check out our free guide, Membership Engagement for Small-Staff Associations, below!

Membership Engagement - Download this guide here. 

This article was originally sourced from Member Clicks and written by Callie Walker. 

Some people say great leaders are born. Others say great leaders are made. Either way you spin it, though, there’s always room for improvement. Not sure how to become a better leader? Take notes from the best! Here are five habits of highly effective association leaders:

1. They know how to delegate. - A big part of leadership involves delegation - knowing how to divide tasks, who to assign tasks to, etc. But while all leaders delegate, the best ones delegate as they go. They make adjustments as needed. If someone is drowning in work, a good leader will step in and see how he or she (as well as others) can help. Workloads should be somewhat balanced, and a good leader understands that.

2. They see the big picture. - We all know how easy it is to get lost in the day-to-day shuffle of things - checking emails, running reports, completing projects/tasks, etc. And because new projects/tasks are always popping up, it’s sometimes easy to forget why we’re even doing them. But a good leader can see the big picture. They understand how all the little tasks add up, and consequently, they can help keep others focused.Plus, if something doesn’t go exactly as planned (for example, a goal isn’t met or event attendance is low), a good leader can put that into perspective. They can remind people of the big picture and re-instill hope among the team.

3. They understand communication (how and when to do it). - The best leaders are those that understand communication. They know how to communicate with people (face-to-face vs. email, light-hearted tones vs. serious ones, etc.), as well as when. They know when to provide feedback and when to “sit back” and let others take the reigns. (This is actually one of the best skills professionals of any industry/job level can possess.)

4. They inspire action. - Good leaders inspire others. They work hard to the point where others want to work hard. They’re also extremely passionate - and that passion spreads. Good leaders don’t sit back and expect others to do the work. Instead, they’re the model for how the work should be done.

5. They practice the golden rule. - When it comes to effective leaders, the best of the best do this: They treat others the way they want to be treated, and 10 times out of 10, that’s with respect. They don’t put others down or tune people out. Instead, they build people up and take feedback/opinions in. And truth be told, if you want to have an impact on your staff and organization, this is the number one way to do it.

Being an association leader is tough. Not only do you have your staff members to manage/please, but you have your members to manage/please as well. Need a little help? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Membership Management below. It’s filled with best practices for membership recruitment, engagement, retention and more!

This article was originally sourced from Member Clicks and written by Callie Walker. 

77% of people say that when they’re attending live events they often (or always) use their smartphones for business. Another 13% say they sometimes use their smartphones, while only 10% say they rarely or never use their phones. That means that 90% of your event attendees are on their smartphones. So where are you?

If your organization isn’t putting event information where its attendees are, on mobile, then you’re not engaging conference-goers effectively. You’re losing them to work email and random YouTube videos that they’re just using to kill time between sessions. You may even be frustrating attendees who are actively searching for your event information on their phones.

Mobile Event Experience Research - The numbers above are taken from a study titled Great Expectations: The Evolving Landscape of Technology in Meetings, completed by American Express (AMEX) Meetings & Events division. AMEX surveyed hundreds of meeting planners and event attendees to find out how technology is impacting meetings today.

What they found is that nearly every attendee is on their mobile device while at live events, making it critical that you provide mobile event tools to keep attendees informed and engaged. That’s fairly intuitive, though. We know we love our gadgets. What’s more surprising and helpful to associations and businesses are the other findings from AMEX’s study. Instead of needing multiple, complex mobile event tools, AMEX’s study found that event attendees only wanted to be able to do three main things on mobile. Here are the three features that your mobile event experience must have to be successful.

Top 3 Features Event Attendees Want on Their Mobile Device:

Feature #1) Agenda and Personal Scheduling - Give your event attendees access to event agendas and personalization tools.Agenda and scheduling tools were by far the most important mobile event features to attendees. In AMEX’s study, 79% of attendees stated that access to a meeting or event schedule was extremely important.

75% responded similarly for access to session descriptions and 64% wanted the ability to create a personalized agenda.

Make sure your mobile event tools include comprehensive agenda options including:

• A full event schedule
  
• Session descriptions
  
• The ability for attendees to add and remove sessions from their personal agenda
  

To provide an even better experience, you can also include speaker bios, which 51% of attendees noted as an important mobile feature.

Expert Tip: Agenda tools are unique in that attendees will likely access them from a variety of devices, including work computers as they prepare for your event.

To give these attendees a truly unified digital experience, make sure your agenda tools are the same across all devices and work on all operating systems. That will allow attendees to review their schedules from computers, tablets, and smartphones without having to learn a second set of tools.

Feature #2) Updates - 69% of event attendees said one of their top priorities was easy access to updates from meeting organizers. That makes event updates the most popular mobile tool after agenda options.Make sure your attendees can access event updates quickly on mobile devices. A likely reason why attendees are so interested in updates is their busy schedules. If anything changes with your event or its agenda, attendees need to know so that they can update their own schedules to arrive at the right session at the right time.

Give your attendees fast, easy access to updates so that they can quickly scroll through the changes that are relevant to them. Then, make sure that your agenda and scheduling tools are in the same mobile toolset so it’s painless for event attendees to adjust their schedules based on updates.

Feature #3) Networking - According to AMEX’s research, 63% of event attendees want the ability to network and share contact information with new connections they meet at the event. 60% also want a directory of attendees. To further put those numbers into perspective, remember that AMEX isn’t the only organization whose research has highlighted the importance of networking tools.

The 2016 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report also found that networking was essential for members. In fact, it was the number one reason why people join membership organizations in the first place. All of that makes providing networking tools essential for both membership organizations and businesses, whose customers are often interested in making connections that will improve their careers. To meet attendees’ expectations, create a mobile event experience that makes it easy for people to connect with peers and experts. You could provide options for attendees to automatically send their contact information to peers, or make that contact information easily accessible after the event ends, for example.Use your event's mobile tools to provide lasting networking benefits.

Many event apps and microsites do this by sharing attendees’ profiles, complete with contact information, professional titles, and photos to help attendees remember one another.

Expert Tip: How often have you met a colleague at an event and never contacted them afterward? To make networking an even greater benefit for your attendees, help them overcome this problem by providing lasting connection options. One way to do this is to integrate your mobile event experience with your private customer or member community.

When your online community is connected with your event’s mobile tools, attendees won’t just have one another’s contact information, they’ll be connected in the community they use every day, week, or month. They’ll be able to see their event connections online, review what activities they’ve performed, and interact with them through discussion forums, blog posts, and private emails. That makes it less likely for new connections to forget one another, providing lasting networking benefits for your event.

Takeaway: Mobile Event Features that Attendees Want - Your event attendees won’t automatically love any mobile tools you give them. They have their own priorities and concerns, so you need to dig into what your customers or members are really interested in. Event agendas, updates, and networking tools are some of the top options.

Event attendees expect you to provide these types of mobile tools. They expect you to look into their needs and preferences, providing what they care about most. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t go above and beyond. Attendees want information and tools that help them get value from your event, but if you can find ways to transform that value into long-term benefits then you’ll really blow your attendees away. Build out your mobile tools with that in mind. Ensure that your mobile event experience meets your attendees’ expectations and gives them a little something extra. It’s one of the best ways to not only make your event’s mobile experience useful, but to ensure that your event as a whole is successful.

This article was originally sourced from Association Universe and written by Julie Dietz.