orming alliances with other organisations is also a priority for many associations as a way of raising awareness of key issues, generating revenue, building brands and growing membership.
F
he Transplantation Society (TTS) believes in the
importance of collaboration and of being inclusive
rather than exclusive.
“Our Society prospers as we include other transplantation organisations in the mission of furthering the science and clinical practice of organ transplantation,” says Alexandra Murphy, TTS Membership Services Coordinator. TTS has grown significantly over the years by making affiliations with other national transplant associations who share our ethical standards and practices. By establishing partnerships with smaller scale organisations that focus on organ transplantation locally, we grow globally."
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How to go the extra mile for your members:
Always be open, honest and approachable and reflect the professional status of members.
Use email, telephone, e-newsletters and face-to-face meetings to connect, communicate with and listen to members.
Organise workshops, seminars and conferences to meet member educational and networking needs and sharing of best practice.
Be proactive by engaging with members regularly, understanding their behaviour and which ones are at risk of not renewing.
Offer legal, financial and HR expertise so that your members see you as an extension of their in-house team.
Be flexible on payment terms.
Help ease your members’ financial pressures by allowing those who are struggling to pay quarterly instead of annually, for example.
Always aim for service excellence. Exceed expectations whenever you can. Respond to member messages straightaway, for example.
t the BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT, it is the new CPD
offering that is helping to grow the organisation.
“We identified a significant gap in our membership offering,” says Michelle Rozier, Group Product Manager, Membership. “IT Professionals look to their professional membership body for professional and career development, and expect high quality and flexible tools and resources to support them at all stages in their career. In the last 18 months we have launched a portfolio of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) tools and resources for members (and some elements also available to non-members) including:
“Using the ‘supporting career development’ theme in our recruitment campaigns has demonstrated our relevance to IT Professionals irrespective of specialism and attracted and recruited new members,” adds Michelle. “It has also improved our value and relevance to existing members, maintaining high renewal rates.”
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“Because we are an international association, we look to recruit and engage transplant specialists from around the world and welcome people from different backgrounds and professional orders. Forging affiliations is just one way we expand and establish mutually beneficial relationships.”
The CPD Portal www.bcs.org/cpd,
The BCS Personal Development Plan (https://pdp.bcs.org) - a tool for individuals to record and report on their goals and activities for CPD
The BCS App - for Smartphone users on Android or iOS - get key CPD information directly to your device.
The BCS Career Mentoring Network – an online tool for members to become mentors or mentees and link with others (currently in development, due for release summer 2014).