This is a presentation I gave to a National Board of a volunteer association to talk about how they needed to change how they operate in order to survive.

1. Association Membership Workshop
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Lynden Riley, FAIOP

2. ‘Your association’s value is directly based on its
ability to respond to your members’ needs. When
you are unable to respond to member needs, your
association’s value goes down and you will
inevitably observe a decline in membership and
revenue.’
Sarah L. Saldek,
The End Of Membership As We Know It
ASAE, 2011

3. The End of Membership As We Know It?The End of Membership As We Know It?
• Baby Boomers are starting to retire and leave the workforce. Over the
next three years, there will be a massive shift in the workforce and
Generation Y will take over as the predominant members.
• Generation X & Y have different requirements than Baby Boomers. The
generations after these will be far more technology based than ever.
• Workers are wanting more value for their money if they are going to hand
over their hard earned cash. They are wanting more and less willing to
give their time away.
• Organisations need to shift their focus to engage all members and to
benefit the younger generations. To do this, they must understand just
want each generation is about.
• Associations have to adapt and make difficult choices to regain the
support of lost membership and reinvigorate their groups. They must stay
relevant to their intended audience.
• Need to understand and react to generational shifts. What draws in
certain age groups and what doesn’t.

4. Baby Boomers Generation X Generation Y
Born
1946-1964 1965-1981 1982-1995
Characteristics Hard working, loyal, confident,
competitive.
Antiauthority, self-reliant, family
focused.
Digital thinkers, feel entitled,
needy.
Why they are the way
they are
Grew up in time of affluence. Reared to
pursue the Australian Dream.
Children out of workaholics and
divorce, cable television. Reared to be
self-sufficient.
Micro-managed by parents,
technology, always rewarded for
participation. Reared to be high
achievers.
Communication Styles Prefer detailed dialogue in-person or
via phone. Appreciate meetings. Believe
no news is good news.
Prefer clear, concise communication –
not over explaining, clichés, or corporate
jargon. Prefer e-mail.
Prefer frequent feedback &
problem solving via technology
instead of phone calls or meetings.
Problems faced now Dwindling retirement funds, lack of job
opportunities, less technology, skills
rising health issues.
Debt, caring for young children and
aging parents, balancing life & work,
stuck in roles.
Debt, unemployment, difficulty
transitioning from Uni to career,
negative stereotypes, being taken
seriously.
Why they join Opportunities to lead and leave a
legacy.
Opportunities to further their careers. Opportunities to learn from others.
Volunteer Styles Want to lead. Like to manage others.
Like to hold meetings and discuss
strategies.
Want autonomy. Hate being micro-
managed or anything that wastes their
time.
Want structure. Expect immediate
feedback & increasing
responsibility.
Flaws Have a “been there done that” attitude,
not always open to new ideas.
Have difficulty committing, tend to have
a “wait-and-see” approach.
Have short attention spans & high
demands and ask “what’s in it for
me?”.
Turn-offs People suggesting they try something
new.
Chaos, distrust, loyalty that goes
unrewarded.
Dismissing their ideas because of
lack of experience.
The Generation GameThe Generation Game
Gen X more comfortable networking in small groups – can delve in and learn key skills & gather critical information as opposed to walking into a room full
of people and listening to a speaker. Gen Y are wired for information – they can access anything without interaction with a single person. They like
teamwork and collaborating.

5. The Next FrontierThe Next Frontier
• Joining an Association isn’t necessarily top of the next generation’s
list of things to do!
• Young professionals want to be given leadership opportunities but
not at the cost of personal happiness. Short term leadership
opportunities such as organising service projects, recognition for
emerging leaders with profiles in newsletter & distribution of awards.
Maybe look at our Board structure and have some short term
positions that will appeal to the younger generations.
• We must address the wants and needs of the newer generations
(those under 45). They don’t care about the associations history or
annual conferences. They want to learn about leadership,
engagement within a community and take responsibility. They don’t
want to do this in three year terms!
• Without the younger generations we will NOT survive.

6. Value for MoneyValue for Money
Do we really provide value for money to our Members?
o What benefits? Any partnership benefits?
o How do these add value to our members lives & business?
o Networking is NOT a benefit
o Do we shift our focus from delivery to everyone to delivering exceptional year
round value to our members?
What do our future members and generations want and are we going to
address them?
o More technology based. They don’t want to just come to a forum, watch a
presenter then leave.
Providing and highlighting the intangible benefits of memberships
o By being a Committee member I am able to attend today and learn strategic
planning where I would not be able to do this in my normal working arena thus
increasing important skills.

7. Value for MoneyValue for Money
Professional development doesn’t need to be in person events as many
professionals don’t have the availability to attend Forums but still want to
learn and gain value for money. Exclusive Members Only with access to:
o Webinars, recorded for download at any time provide many topics that are current and
of interest;
o Video or audio such as You tube How to guides, to podcasts with useful information,
interviews with relevant people in the industry;
o Mentoring programs – partnering young members with established members or online
coaching
o Self-guided certification program combining web, in-person and other if we choose to
go down this track.
o We need to transform our website into an online community – where information is
actively shared, people interact, visit frequently to access valuable information and
resources.
o Create blogs, host live chats with authors/speakers/experts, research podcasts.
o Engage our your generations – invite them to produce

8. TechnologyTechnology
When used to its fullest capacity, technology is
a robust brand-building and community
building tool. Utilise technology, stay on top of
trends and be ahead of them!

9. Real AssociationsReal Associations
• Associations require members to prove ongoing training and
education in order to maintain their status. We have not been doing
this. Members are holding onto post-nominal's without having to
attend any training or further education. Is this not going against
what our values and reason for being is?
o Engineers Australia require it’s members to prove ongoing education each
renewal in order to maintain their post-nominal’s. Why aren’t we? We need to
either stop being afraid of loosing members if we enforce this or we need to be
across the board and just dish out a single membership post-nominal and never
require maintenance of it. Let’s choose.
• Accreditation/Certification - Will we plan for this for our future?
o Our younger generation are looking for this as proof of reward and recognition.

10. Building MembershipBuilding Membership
Building memberships in 6 steps:
1. Understand what members (current & future) want & need
2. Develop member benefits that solve the problems of your target
audience
3. Assess the costs to provide those benefits & get rid of anything
that doesn’t provide a benefit
4. Create a membership building plan
5. Test plan by putting into action and adjust accordingly
6. Repeat!
Membership building plan – what is focus, marketing strategy (member
values/guarantee to member/core member benefits/target market),
Challenges & Solutions, One year goal, 5 year vision
(retention/recruiting/revenue/profit), 90 day targets.

11. EmbraceEmbrace
Change can be challenging but can also be an opportunity to
• LEAD
• GROW
• SUCCEED
Let’s embrace change for OUR future. We have the chance to alter the
organisations destiny. It’s not ‘our’ personal future but that of the
organisation. We may, as individuals, need to let go of our own personal
ideals, take some risks and plan for a responsive, proactive future of the
organisation. What was valuable yesterday, isn’t valuable today. We need to
adapt to today’s society and bring relevant values to the organisation. People
don’t really need associations to build relationships anymore….
Let’s be the leaders of tomorrow.