Posted on

Acronyms for Non-profits? YMMV.

2017-12-20 acronyms

By Rachel Owen, communications manager

Our world is increasingly full of shortcuts to get where we’re going faster and how we communicate is no exception to that trend. Slang, abbreviations and memes are very much a part of modern communication. Your organization’s culture will often determine if slang and memes are appropriate to use in communication with your members, but what about acronyms and other abbreviations?

Note: For the sake of brevity (see what I did there?), in this post “acronym” can refer to any type of abbreviation your organization might be considering. You can learn about abbreviations, acronyms and initialism here.

One trend I see with non-profits is a steady use of abbreviations. When naming a new product, service or feature, the tendency is to reach for an abbreviation first. Perhaps you even started with the acronym first and worked backwards to create the full name (a backronym).

While acronyms are handy for typing, our challenge in non-profits becomes knowing when they will be useful and valuable to our members.

Here are some things to consider before naming your next program.

Know your audience. Consider where you want to use the acronym. We all have shorthand that we may use with fellow staff and volunteers who are deep in the trenches, but for more general member-facing communications such as emails, newsletters or social media it’s best to use full titles. No one likes needing to ask, “What does XYZ mean?”

Consider “why” the term needs an abbreviation. Is the name of your program simply too long? You may be trying to do too much with the name. Are you working with a “legacy” title? It might be time to consider rebranding if it no longer fits with the current nature of the program or the culture of the organization.

Keep focus on the important things. We can acronym away things that matter. An organization that wants to increase awareness about a specific aspect of their efforts (international, multilingual, legislative, advocacy, integrity, technology, etc.) would benefit from letting those words stand out when naming their initiatives. For example, an organization that wants to increase awareness about its global efforts should promote their International Work Groups rather than “IWG.”

Beware “alphabet soup.” We’ve all experienced the confusion when multiple abbreviations in a document start to jumble together into “alphabet soup.” Acronyms can exclude some readers from your community, making it hard for them to feel a part of the organization. Practically, this means that the Super Cool Organization’s (SCO) Young Professionals Networking League (YPNL) may have difficulty drawing newcomers to their event (“Join us for SCO’s 2018 YPNL!”). Not only is alphabet soup hard on the eyes, but the purpose of the event is lost to anyone who isn’t familiar with the lingo or the context.

Watch out for a loss of clarity. If a photography non-profit organizes grant writing classes called Snapshot Funding (SNAFU) Workshops, they might find that attendees expect the class is about common photography mistakes.

Make your terms searchable. If you reference SNAFU in your promotions, be sure that a search of your website for “SNAFU” will bring up the Snapshot Funding Workshops. There’s nothing worse than wondering what an organization’s abbreviation means and getting zero results on their website.

Check your name with multiple sources. Always check that your desired name does not conflict with another company’s intellectual property. Also, make sure any abbreviations do not spell something inappropriate or ill-fitting for your organization.

Spell it out. If you decide an acronym is the right fit for your initiative, the first time the abbreviation is used in each document, article, or post always list the full name for clarity.

Want to know more about association management? Contact us at info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

 

Posted on

Improve Your Association Through Performance Reviews

2016-1-19 Performance reviews USE ME
Image Credit: Samuel Zeller

By Jennifer Rothman, account manager

Working with associations, we are always asking the question, “What can be improved?” We look for ways to expand member benefits, streamline processes for the Board of Directors, and otherwise improve the associations we serve. One part of that mission for greatness is conducting annual performance reviews of all our staff.

Lindsey VanMeter and Julia Volino of Capital V Consulting gave a helpful presentation on the importance of and best practices for employee performance evaluations during their January 6, 2016, webinar “Effective Performance Management & Discipline Webinar” offered by AENC. Below are the key points that I walked away with and hope to apply in the coming year.

When done properly, annual performance evaluations can do the following three things:

  1. Provide feedback and counseling
    It’s important that the feedback is honest and constructive. Many managers don’t want to have uncomfortable conversations, but if these conversations don’t happen, we are doing a disservice to our employees.
  2. Help to allocate rewards and opportunities
    Conducted properly, annual evaluations encourage employees in areas where they are strong, and provide support in areas where they need to improve.
  3. Help to determine employees’ aspirations and planning development needs
    Making the employee part of the overall process is the key to helping them feel they have a say in their growth within the association. Providing time for the employee to share their feedback and personal goals creates a team approach that shows management’s interest in the employee’s role in the association.

Annual performance reviews of staff provide an opportunity to benefit the association through evaluating how the team’s strengths are being utilized. Take time to discuss with staff what skills they have that are not currently being used to the best advantage. You may find that someone is interested in helping with social media, HTML, or taking on more responsibilities in conference planning. Also, ask staff where they feel they are not working within their strengths. This opens up opportunities for professional development and training to improve skills where staff is lacking confidence. Or, in these conversations, you may find that some tasks can be shifted within the team so that each person is working within their strengths.

Now that we’ve discussed the “why” of performance evaluations, let’s talk about the “how.”

How to best prepare for providing an annual performance evaluation:

  1. Keep a folder for each employee so you can file away examples during the year of where improvement is needed to use as input for performance review. It is always appreciated when you can share an example when giving constructive criticism.
  2. Don’t forget to also keep track of the examples where the employee excelled and showed growth! You always want to give credit where credit is due.
  3. Do your homework. Look over last year’s review to compare performance. In what ways did the employee improve? Where does the employee still need improvement? Are there goals that were not met? Are there goals that were exceeded?
  4. If you are nervous about the meeting, practice. Take the time to practice, out loud, what you are going to say so that you are more comfortable when you sit down with your employee.

Do’s and Don’ts of an annual performance evaluation:

  1. DO stick to your performance evaluation schedule. One of the most serious complaints among employees is NOT how the review is done, but those that are not done or are late.
  2. DO keep a file on every employee. If you only keep files on problem employees, it can be seen as targeting.
  3. DO give reinforcing and corrective feedback when needed. If the employee receives a low rating in a specific area during their annual review and it is the first time they have heard that the area needs improvement, it can feel like they have been blindsided. If the annual review is the first time they hear of an issue, you are not giving the employee an opportunity to improve which can be discouraging and frustrating.
  4. DON’T rate an employee’s performance based on how they compare to another employee’s performance. Ratings should be based on objective, measurable standards.
  5. DON’T use a template review tool. A template is a great starting point, but each evaluation should be customized to the job the employee is doing. It takes time to customize the evaluation but the end result will be more effective and meaningful.
  6. DON’T draw your own conclusions. When you are documenting an area where improvement is needed, provide the facts and focus on the deficiencies, not the perceived underlying cause. Facts and solutions are the areas in which you should stay firmly planted.

Do you have any other advice for providing effective performance reviews? Share with us in the comments below!

Want to know more about association management? Contact us info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

Posted on

Project Overview: Change from Anniversary to Annual Membership Renewals

2016-1-5 Anniversary to Annual Membership Dues1
Image Credit: Canva

By Anna Morris, account associate

Members are the lynchpin of most associations. Therefore, deciding to change your association’s membership system can be a big undertaking. After working with an existing membership system for a while, you may realize that doing it a different way could benefit the association more in the long run.

This happened with two of our associations that started their memberships on the “anniversary” system – members purchased a membership on August 21 one year and from that point on their membership renews on August 21 each year moving forward. This means the organization has 365 different renewal dates for members. Our associations decided they wanted to explore switching to an annual membership renewal system, where all memberships last for a certain time frame (say, January 1 – December 31). What exactly did this project entail?

We divided the project into four chunks.

  1. Present the pros and cons of moving to an annual renewal period

Since this is a big decision to make, your association’s board will want a detailed rationale behind why you are proposing the switch. This means presenting a sound case including both pros and cons of moving to annual renewal period. One of the main pros is being able to run a target renewal campaign, since members are all expiring at the same time. Other benefits include a more streamlined process, a decrease in the amount of staff and volunteer time needed to contact members about renewals, and a likely decrease in the LOSS of members since the association will be able to better communicate with renewing members in multiple formats during the renewal campaign period. The switch can be tricky to navigate, especially if members or organizations have been with your association for a while and are very used to the original membership system.

In the case of our two associations, the pros and cons were evaluated, and both boards decided to move forward with switching to an annual membership renewal system.

  1. Provide an outline of the timeline for adoption

Once the decision to transition is made, it is imperative to have a very clear timeline for adoption. The timeline should include how and when you are going to communicate with members, how the pro-rating of membership during the switch will happen, and when you will follow up with members about the change. One of our associations decided to pro-rate membership monthly, so that the membership cost decreased each month leading up to the date when the “annual membership” time period would start. Another option would be to pro-rate quarterly. But either way, make sure you sketch out the whole timeline beforehand, including specific price points and when that information needs to be changed in the database system.

Also, make sure you are sharing the timeline internally as well as externally with your board. Depending on the size of your AMC, you may have different staff working on membership, conference logistics, and accounting. In the case of a big change like a membership renewal shift, you want to make sure everyone is on the same page and knows how to answer any member questions that come up.

  1. Provide a timeline for future years (post adoption)

Because considering switching from an anniversary membership system to an annual membership period makes things a whole lot easier, the timeline for the years post-adoption should be much more straightforward than the timeline you developed in step (2). For this step, be sure to clearly lay out the NEW system, including when rates would potentially pro-rate during the annual membership system, and when communications should be distributed to members.

Planning out all of these items ahead of time ensures nothing falls through the cracks, and that the annual membership system can be implemented without a hitch.

  1. Provide a letter to members for further explanation of how the change will be implemented and communicated during the change

A constant theme throughout this project is communication, communication, communication. The whole goal of the project is to ultimately make things easier for both the association and members (eliminating confusion regarding when their membership expries), but this goal cannot be accomplished if people are confused along the way. As part of our initial membership project, we found it important to prepare the communication that would ultimately be distributed to members once the switch occurs. This is another opportunity for everyone to see the facts in writing and raise any potential questions or concerns that might arise. In addition to the draft letter, have your staff, and any new staff that come on, practice explaining the switch in system (including the new benefits), in order to prepare for tricky questions that members may call in with.

Have you considered switching your association’s membership system? If you took the plunge and made the switch, what are some tips that you found helpful? Share in the comments below!

Want to know more about association management? Contact us at info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

Posted on

Your Association’s Strategic Plan – Getting from Development to Accomplishment

2015-12-1 Strategic Plan
Image Credit: Canva

By Stevie Kernick, owner emeritus, account manager

We’ve all been through it…the highly anticipated Strategic Planning Meeting of your association’s board of directors.

The facilitator has been retained and has conducted the necessary due-diligence. The board and, perhaps, other members of your association’s leadership, have committed the compulsory two-days (or more) for a face-to-face meeting requiring them to travel to and from the meeting site. The staff has printed lists, exported membership and conference attendance metrics from the association database, updated financial histories, done five-year budget projections, prepared the opening PowerPoint presentation and is well-prepared to answer those inevitable, random questions that will surface during the planning process.

Everyone has done their homework. They have reviewed the association’s governance documents and attempted to commit to memory the mission statement and goals which will provide a reference point throughout the planning process.

Everyone arrives at the planning meeting eager and anxious to begin planning. Depending on the facilitator, the process will take different forms for different associations but the objective is the same – a roadmap for the association’s future spanning two-, three- or five-years; hopefully not more than that.

A skilled facilitator will keep the discussion within bounds while still allowing the creative ideas to propagate. Day one tends to involve visioning for the future of the association, while day two defines the nitty-gritty of the strategic priorities, goals and action steps.

Everyone leaves the planning meeting inspired by the cohesiveness of the group throughout the process and enthusiastic about what the future of the association.

And then reality hits.

Members return to their offices and the bulging in-box. The staff returns to headquarters and is submerged in the day-to-day activities of managing the association. Enthusiasm dissipates…not from lack of desire but for lack of time.

When the board looks at the new (or updated) strategic plan two weeks later, they begin to consider critically the results of their effort and question how all of this can possibly be accomplished within the established timeframes!

Without budgetary support and operational resources, strategic priorities will languish incomplete or not even launched.

Each time the board reviews progress on the strategic plan those same deliverables will not show progress. The concept might have merit but without a concise directive, financial support and staff resources, it will never have the traction needed for action.

How do you avoid this all-too-common syndrome?

Frequently, this question is lacking during the excitement of the planning process, “Is this idea/goal/strategy fiscally viable and operationally doable?” This is not a rhetorical question, but one that needs to be asked and answered each time a strategic initiative is proposed.

Yes, it can be a bubble-buster in the midst of the euphoria of planning, but reality-checks are an important element of the development process and can prevent unrealistic goals and strategies from being included in the final strategic plan.

Staff should not hesitate to ask the all-important question, “Is this fiscally viable and operationally doable?”

To get from development to accomplishment we absolutely must have doable goals that are supported by the association’s resources.

Want to know more about association management? Contact us at info@imiae.com to learn more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

Posted on

IMI Team Member Receives AENC Scholarship

2015-11-24 Sabrina Award
Sabrina Hunt and Nancy Lowe (left to right)

By Lee Campbell, account manager

At IMI Association Executives we hold it as a key value to continue to advance our skill through professional development opportunities so we are able to better serve our clients. We also encourage our team to be involved in professional associations in order to learn from other like-minded individuals.

On Friday, November 20, 2015, IMI was pleased to send two team members to the Association Executives of North Carolina (AENC) Marketing & Communications Conference and Luncheon at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley. At the AENC meeting, one of our very own, Sabrina Hunt, was honored with the Operation Annual Meeting Scholarship for the 2015-16 year. Hunt proudly accepted her award from Nancy Lowe, Scholarship & Awards Chairman. Sabrina will have the fortune to attend the 2016 AENC Annual Meeting in Williamsburg, Va., with all key expenses paid.

AENC’s mission is to advance the field of Association Management by providing networking and professional development, while increasing the recognition of the Association community. AENC offers five scholarship opportunities to association members for a variety of professional development advancements.

Sabrina Hunt joined IMI in 2015 and has more than 13 years of experience in Executive Support, Office Management, HR, Process Improvement and Project Management in the different industries of medicine, manufacturing and executive suites. Her favorite part of the AMC industry is working with a team of expert professionals and seeing how the shared resources strengthen the team as a whole and draw out the best in the individual. Learn more about Sabrina here.

Congratulations, Sabrina!

Want to know more about association management? Contact us info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

 

Posted on

Automatic Renewals for Associations

Image Credit: Canva

By Linda Owens, CAE, owner, President

“Sign-up and Receive Automatic Renewal Member Perks!”

We’ve all received promotions like this to reward automatic renewal. No longer do companies exclusively focus on the incentive of saving time on future purchases; they instead focus on tangible benefits to encourage anyone who might be on the fence about auto renewal.

For example, by signing up for the Entertainment Book’s automatic renewal program, I receive exclusive Renewal Members’ perks like:

  • $5 off your Renewal books every year
  • Free shipping on your Renewal books every year
  • Early delivery—15 full months to use each book
  • 10% off additional books you buy as gifts or for yourself
  • Renewal Members-only exclusive offers and discounts
  • 50% off additional Member Fine Dine Cards
  • New! FREE Companion mobile app — view your book on your phone

What if one of the associations I belong to was to send me a similar email, would I sign up for their automatic renewal program? What about you, would you sign up? What type of perks would entice the typical association member to choose to automatically renew their membership from year to year? How about:

  • $5 off the next year’s dues
  • Free shipping on your next order from the association’s bookstore
  • 5% off the next Annual Conference registration fee
  • Admittance to a free webinar held exclusively for Renewal Members only

Do you have other ideas to add to this list? Does your association offer an automatic renewal program?

Want to know more about association management? Contact us info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

Posted on

Roundup! Our Top 10 Lists

Image Credit: Canva
Image Credit: Canva

By Rachel Owen, Communications Manager

I love a good “list post.” You’ve probably seen them everywhere: Top 10 Ways to Simplify Your Life Before Breakfast, 5 Ways to Be a Superhero Every Day, or 7 Movies You Didn’t Know Are Based on a True Story. List posts get you to the information you need without a lot of fuss and then get you on to the rest of your day.

In honor of this perennial favorite, we present to you a roundup of the top list posts from the IMI blog!

Top 10 List Posts for Associations

  1. Top Speakers & Sessions at ASAE

Our team shares the sessions we just can’t stop talking about.

  1. 5 Ways to Save a Bad Day

If your Tuesday feels like Monday 2.0, this post is for you.

  1. 5 Steps to an Awesome Onboarding Experience

Help the new employee or volunteer acclimate quickly with these tips.

  1. Top 10 Excel Tips and Shortcuts for Associations

Whether you love Excel or love to hate it, these tips will make your day easier.

  1. Top Tech Tools for Associations

Here’s what our team is raving about right now.

  1. 21 Tips for Better Board Meetings

What happens when 10 executive directors brainstorm a better board meeting? You get this post.

  1. 9 Tips to Recruit and Retain Volunteers

How to bring in those volunteers and then keep them engaged.

  1. 20 Key Takeaways from the Book: “The Will to Govern Well”

We love a good book!

  1. 3 Things I Learned About Membership

Lessons from one year in membership services.

  1. 7 Evergreen Ideas to Engage Volunteers

This is our very first post on the IMI blog and it’s worth repeating!

Do you like list posts or do you prefer a traditional blog post? Share with us your favorites in the comments below!

Want to know more about association management? Contact us info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

Posted on

TED Talks for Associations

Image Credit: Mary Pi
Image Credit: Mari Pi

By Rachel Owen, Communications Manager

Looking for new and different inspiration for your associations? Check out a TED Talk.

If you haven’t heard of them yet, TED Talks are Technology, Entertainment, and Design presentations under the concept of “Ideas Worth Spreading.” (More on TED Talks here.)

Most of the Talks are about 20min long, which is the perfect length to view over lunch and refresh your mind for the rest of the day.

While TED Talks aren’t specifically about associations we think the concepts can provide inspiration for any organization.

8 Ted Talks to Inspire Associations

  1. Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action
  2. Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?
  3. Melinda Gates: What nonprofits can learn from Coca-Cola
  4. Michael Porter: Why business can be good at solving social problems
  5. Roselinde Torres: What it takes to be a great leader
  6. Beth Kanter: Doing Good Online
  7. Steven Johnson: Where Good Ideas Come From
  8. Clay Shirky: Institutions vs. collaboration

What are your favorite TED Talks? Let us know in the comment section below.

Want to know more about association management? Contact us info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

 

Posted on

Top Sessions and Speakers at ASAE

Image Credit: Canva
Image Credit: Canva

By Linda Owens, CAE, Owner and President

We at IMI were proud to send four staff members to this year’s ASAE Annual Meeting in Detroit, Mich. With such a large team in attendance, we were able to take advantage of a variety of sessions to get a good taste of what ASAE had to offer at this year’s conference.

These are the top speakers and sessions that our staff found to be dynamic, informative and memorable. Whether you are scoping out potential speakers for an upcoming conference or looking for educational resources, this post is for you.

Our Top Speakers and Sessions at ASAE

Post-Conference Workshop: Executive Leadership Program

Speaker: Jared D. Harris, faculty member at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a Senior Fellow at Darden’s Olsson Center for Applied Ethics

Comments: This was by far my favorite session out of all the sessions I have attended over the past eight ASAE Annual Meetings. If ASAE partners again with the Darden School of Business for future sessions I will be there! Workshop participants were presented with two real-life business situations which presented an opportunity for us to test our mastery of techniques and to refine our business judgment. This workshop definitely helped me improve my way of thinking about business situations.

Executive Committees: Do’s, Don’ts and Damage Controls

Speakers: Glenn Tecker, ADHD, DsLx , Chairman and Co-CEO, Tecker International LLC; Andy Clarke , CAE, former President, League of American Bicyclists; Cynthia Mills, FASAE, CAE, CMC, CPC, CCRC , Founder, President & CEO, The Leaders Haven

Comments: I attended this session after finding one of Glenn Tecker’s books to be extremely helpful , so this session was a “must attend” on my list. I found the session to be interactive and had to chuckle at the two scenarios which were presented for consideration on how to navigate and how to prevent a similar scenario from happening.

10 Must-Dos to Protect Your Intellectual Property

Speaker: Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Esq., partner, Venable LLP

Comments: This session was like drinking from an intellectual property firehose. It was a very fast moving session with lots of takeaways!

Ignite

Speakers: Tammy Barnes, Director, Operations State Advocacy, American Psychological Association; John Ganoe, CAE, Executive Director, Community Association Managers International Certification Board; Tracy King, MA, CAE, Principal & Founder, InspirEd, LLC; Jakub Konysz, MA, CAE, Manager, Strategic Global Initiatives, American Chemical Society; Conor McNulty, CAE, Executive Director, Oregon Dental Association; Mark Milroy, CAE, Vice President, Learning, ASAE; Stefanie Reeves, MA, CAE, Executive Director, Maryland Psychological Association; Erik Schonher, Vice President, Marketing General Incorporated; Catherine Wemette, CAE, Chief Goodness Officer, Good for the Soul; Beth Z. Ziesenis, Your Nerdy Best Friend

Comments: The IGNITE session was my favorite! It’s the learning format that’s fast, fun, and focused where each speaker gets 20 slides, auto-advancing every 15 seconds, for five minutes total. The concept is really cool, and it kept it interesting, fresh, and sometimes funny when the slides advanced before the speaker was ready. I wrote down lots of good quotes and quips from the session, but I think that the overarching theme of the session, “enlighten us, but make it quick”, was probably my favorite. I’m looking for ways to bring this into my meetings.

Reggie Henry

Reggie Henry, ASAE’s Chief information Officer spoke at a CEO Power Breakfast hosted by Fort Worth CVB. Reggie was a dynamic and engaging speaker. The focus of his session was how advances in technology are changing the way we work and live. Then he shared insights on how particular technology can be used to change the way associations provide content and services to member in order to remain relevant. This session was not one of the regularly scheduled ASAE events. However, if your membership profile has you listed as a CEO of your organization you should receive an invitation to the session directly from the Fort Worth CVB.

Jeff Hurt

Jeff Hurt, EVP with Velvet Chainsaw Consulting led the session Strengthen Your Strategic Thinking Muscles To Become A Better Leader. Jeff tangled with a difficult subject – strategic thinking – to really focus on how thinking more strategically can help us become better leaders. In the process he distilled and defined strategic thinking and provided a plethora of engaging activities for the audience all in a 30 minute session.

Deedre Daniel

Deedre Daniel, Director of Partnership Marketing with GEICO spoke again this year at ASAE. Last year I loved her dynamic and engaging session on LinkedIn. This year she not only provided her insights at a session on her own (Learn to Share or Your Bottom Line will get Spanked), she teamed up with some heavy hitters to present Selling to Association. Deedra is definitely a presenter to watch.

Want to know more about association management? Contact us info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.

Posted on

How to Improve Your Association’s Finances

Image Credit: Canva

By Anna Morris, account associate

The Association Management Companies Institute just rolled out a report that spell$ big new$ for the a$$ociation management industry. Err… sorry, appears the “s” key on our keyboard is broken, but we’ll just replace it with a $ sign, which is exactly what the July 2015 report is about: more $$$ for associations managed by an AMC. (Learn more about what an AMC is here.)

Commissioned by AMCI, an independent researcher from Brigham Young University found that associations using AMCs have stronger financial performance than those that do not. In fact, the report found that “AMC-managed associations experience more than three times the growth in net assets and 31 percent more growth in net revenue, regardless of size and tax status” (here). The study surveyed more than 160 associations with budgets ranging from $500,000 to $7.5 million, which is a good indicator that the study’s results are applicable across associations of different types and sizes. This is huge news for an industry where many associations still shy away from AMCs because they fear the cost or lack of added value.

The research is in: Using an AMC can more than triple your assets. Check out more info on the research study here or see what IMI could bring to your association here.

Want to know more about association management? Contact us info@imiae.com to find out more about what IMI Association Executives can do for your organization.