Preventing the Great Resignation in Your Association Chapter
Updated: Jan. 7, 2022 | Categories: Decreasing Membership
When you review your association chapter membership retention goals against your actual activity – which you should have on your schedule to regularly review – what do you see? If you’re providing the programming and services your association chapter members want and need, you should be close to your goals or maybe even surpassing them. But what happens when you review your actual association chapter membership retention against your goals and it’s not where you expected?
Are you giving your association chapter members what they need and want to get them to stay?
Don’t wait for members to leave your association chapter before you understand and react to their reasons for staying and leaving. Instead, be proactive and before they even consider leaving, make the changes that will increase the likelihood they will stay. Here are some ways to help your association chapter avoid the “great resignation.”
Ask what’s missing. We’ve discussed how exit interviews can improve your association chapter member offerings, but it’s always better to find out what might make someone leave before they go. Ask – through interviews, focus groups and surveys – what could make your association members consider leaving. You might be surprised to learn that some of what originally attracted them to your chapter, like your association chapter’s advocacy work or your mission or the friends they joined with, are no longer enough to keep them. Ask things like:
- Have we continued to meet your needs during the COVID-19 pandemic? If not, what else should we have done?
- Why did you join our chapter originally? Is that still the reason you’re staying?
- What do you need to be more satisfied as a chapter member?
- What’s your favorite chapter activity?
- Is there anything you’d like to see us add to our chapter programming?
Be transparent. Share what you learn, the good and the bad. Maybe you didn’t know your association chapter members often feel ignored by the board, or that your programming isn’t as engaging as you thought it was. Tell your members what you learn, even if that includes things aren’t as engaging as you thought they were. Communicating what you learn will help you better engage your members by building a sense of transparency and trust.
Make the right changes. Once you learn what is keeping members from being 100 percent engaged, it’s time to commit to changing and improving. Think about those changes you could make easily, like accepting association chapter event payments online and adding a members-only section to your website. Make those changes and then let members know how and when you’ll make those longer-term improvements. Members notice when you take their feedback into consideration and make changes for their behalf.
Act like you want a long-term relationship. Attracting and retaining members is all about relationships. Keep your members in a long-term relationship with you by keeping them engaged and making them feel you truly value them. Don’t turn your attention to bringing in new members and ignoring your existing members. Continue to treat members in ways that make them feel special, by doing things they’ll appreciate, like holding member-only events, offering member-only discounts and spotlighting members for the work they do to advance your mission.
Continue to communicate. If there are things your members are asking for that you can’t provide, share that too. Maybe they’ll provide another option for a change you can make. Stay connected with your members, through your association chapter’s social media and email and during chapter events. Keep them updated on what’s going on and be sure to share important chapter changes with them before you share them on social media.
Look beyond your members. Consider asking your association chapter guests what’s keeping them from joining your chapter. You may be able to use what you learn to make changes that will get existing members to stay, in addition to bringing in new ones. Follow up by phone or email after association chapter guests attend an event, download a recording, etc., and ask them questions to gather that information, like:
- What did you appreciate about the event/recording?
- Are you considering joining?
- If you’re not considering become a member, what’s holding you back?
Of course, you’re not going to be able to satisfy all of your association chapter members. But by staying on top of what your members want, you’ll be able to keep more of them.
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