One of the group’s tasks was to identify member benefits that would attract new members and retain more existing members.. As a Gen Y member of the working group, I was asked to lead the
Trang 1• Present opportunities through webinars and roundtable discussions
In this ongoing effort, ASCE’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) created an inter-divisional working group This inter-divisional group’s purpose was to consider enhancements to member benefits in the summer
of 2012 One of the group’s tasks was to identify member benefits that would attract new members and retain more existing members The group conducted research, discussed ASCE’s current practices, and prepared recommendations for the SLT to consider As
a Gen Y member of the working group, I was asked to lead the younger member (YM) and students’ section
of the working group report
Like many associations, the American Society
of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is working diligently to
attract and retain the next generation of members
In 2008, ASCE formed a committee to ensure the
association was providing the right resources to
younger members and communicating with them
through the appropriate channels Recommendations
included:
• Encourage increased employer support of younger
members
• Involve younger members in government relations
and local infrastructure assessment
Four Things You
Should be Doing
to Attract and
Retain the Next
Generation of
Members
By Susan Davis, CPP
Association Education Newsletter
Learning Resources Network (LERN) © LERN Exclusive to Members
Trang 2A summary of our findings:
1 Find out what younger members want.
Associations must first understand what younger
members want out of a professional membership Then,
make it easy for them to find out how your professional
organization can satisfy that want Data from focus
groups, surveys and meetings can provide insight into
the daily lives and needs of younger members This data
can help associations serve them better According to,
The End of Membership as We Know It1, “younger people
seek a return for membership including:
• Tangible member services
• High levels of accountability
• Identifiable career advantages
• A sense of professional community
• Opportunities to serve within associations”
2 Identify what your association has to offer them.
Any association or group that wants to attract and retain
a younger audience must start with the basics:
• Make sure the benefits and resources you already offer to younger members are clear and easy to access
• Benefits should be listed as outcomes1 For example,
if members report that association membership led
to more job offers, such reports should be noted as a beneficial outcome
• Websites should not look as if they were the first webpage ever created Remember that Gen Y grew up
on the internet and expects organizations to keep up with technology
Susan Davis, CPP, is
a Senior Coordinator
in the Continuing Education Department
at the American Society
of Civil Engineers
She graduated from Longwood University
in 2007 with a B.S in Psychology.
Trang 33 Reach out to potential members.
Clarify your message and benefits, then find out where
your potential members search for information:
• Gen Y spends a lot of time online – find out where
your target audience convenes and connect with
them there For example, study how colleges are
using Pinterest as an educational tool2
• Enlist the help of Gen Y’s to attract their peers
Younger member blogs or testimonials provide peer-to-peer insight A good example of such a practice
is seen on the blog “Bridging the Gap,” in which a
younger ASCE member shares his experiences as a
young engineer and his involvement with ASCE3
4 Keep younger members engaged
Make sure your association has the resources and opportunities to keep Gen Y members engaged in order
to retain them as members or customers
• Increase student and younger member participation/ exposure One recommendation was to reserve spots on the ASCE board/committees for younger members Participation early on in one’s membership will likely lead to a more active member later on in their career
• Create more sessions/events geared towards younger members to make those events more attractive to these younger members
• Conduct speed networking for students and younger members at conferences This twist on standard networking events will promote the meeting of individuals who may be hesitant to meet without a structured environment
• Add multimedia to younger member and student member web pages Multimedia elements will enrich content and attract visitors
• Create a YM Spotlight For providing guidance
to students preparing to transition into their professional careers, a YM Spotlight provides a path they can follow
Associations must evolve to attract the next generation
of members We must begin now to develop our resources and communications to attract those who represent our future
Resources
1 Sladek, Sarah L 2011 The End of Membership As We Know
It: Building the Fortune-Flipping, Must-Have Association
of the Next Century, ASAE: The Center for Association
Leadership, Washington, D.C.
2 http://www.avatargeneration.com/2012/12/15-colleges-using-pinterest-as-educational-media/
3 Maschke, Ken, “Bridging the Gap” Retreived February 4,
2013 http://blogs.asce.org/bridgingthegap/
Future Research
1 SEO.com Retreived February 10, 2013 http://www.seo.
com/resources/10-step-guide-for-using-pinterest-for-marketing-ebook/thanks/
2 http://themillennialimpact.com/wp-content/
uploads/2012/06/TheMillennialImpactReport2012.pdf
Trang 4Association Education Newsletter
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CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Four Things You
Should be Doing
to Attract and
Retain the Next
Generation of
Members
By Susan Davis, CPP