written by Kenneth Thacker and Jack Shand, CAE and published by the

Canadian Society of Association Executives. 

1. Member Needs The first, and without question most important, step is the identification of members’ common and individual needs. Association executives must not only identify them; they must document them and be seen to be acting upon them.

2. Mission Focused Leadership is all about establishing and communicating a dream. Some call it the organization's "willed future." This is the work of leaders. Defining values, setting direction and articulating goals are all keys to engaging people so that you can set about developing and confirming the organization's vision and mission.

3. Match Needs to Opportunities Match the individual member's aspirations to volunteer opportunities. Understand that association goals must be consistent with the volunteer's personal and professional interests. Present an opportunity for the member to achieve his or her goals. A number of years ago the Weyerhauser Corporation cut its support of associations by half - from $1 million to $500,000 in annual dues - by simply reviewing the associations’ and the company’s mission. Where there was complementary activity, support was maintained.

4. Job Descriptions Job descriptions, terms of reference, and committee work plans are all essential. Harriet Naylor, who wrote for the National Volunteer Centre in the U.S., said: "I need to know in some clear detail what is expected of me....I need to see progress is being made toward the goals we have set."

5. Communicate A major conference on voluntarism published the following conclusion: "What delegates agreed was that the current paralysis of will [to transform society and affect positive change] reflects a lack of communication, an absence of coordination, muddled information, and too few participants." Tell volunteers how their work fits into the 'big picture.' Publish news (e-mail or print) exclusively for your volunteers that highlights plans and achievements, explains new policies, and tells volunteers how their contribution has meaning across the organization.

6. Overcome Barriers Through Innovation Determine the barriers (e.g., time) which inhibit participation and be innovative in creating solutions. No time to volunteer? Hold fewer meetings; meet on-line or post issues in news groups for comment; adopt a 'consent agenda' to dispense with process-oriented items. Use a sales principle by learning how to overcome objections.

7. Orientation Orientation must take place at a specific time and be a formal process with tangible materials. The goal is to be clear about the time commitment, scope of the task, expectations, outcomes, and available resources. Orientation helps the volunteer to become enrolled by providing a complete overview of the organization and how their contribution is making a difference.

8. Efficiency Results-oriented people will be frustrated with inane discussion or meetings which focus more on process than results. Volunteers should focus on policy recommendations (the work of committees and task forces) and decisions (the role of the Board of Directors). Find methods to enhance the efficient use of time (e.g., distribute the pre-meeting information recorded on audio tape for the volunteer to listen to while sitting in traffic or on the drive to the meeting, or have it in a password-protected special area of your website for review by volunteers at a time convenient for them).

9. Recognize and Reward There is nothing more fulfilling than public recognition and praise from one's community and peers. Create a program to recognize and reward your volunteers. It's okay to make a big fuss!

10. Care People don't respond if they know you do not care. Quinn Mills, an award winning professor at the Harvard Business School, said "people really don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Care for individuals, their dreams, and their needs. If a prospective volunteer feels that you will genuinely listen to and act upon his or her ideas and needs, you will have created a significant incentive for that person to become involved.

All around us, technological advancements are touted as offering the ultimate tools for communication and productivity. E-mail, voice mail, cellular telephones, Internet access…. and yet it seems there are still "communication break downs."

It's a "lack of communication" and "being out of touch" that often surface as negative feelings when associations attempt to find how their members are feeling. While this seems at a glance to be an oxymoron - after all, there are many tools at everyone's fingertips! - The truth is that the lack of communication between members, the Board, the staff and the various stakeholders has taken its toll on the vibrancy and health of many associations.

Why?  The members of any association are the ones who should be in the driver's seat.  They are the ones who should be setting the agenda, determining future direction and feeling they are a part of it. If you don't communicate with them, they'll feel disillusioned and uninterested.

Giving members a voice is all-important. How that is accomplished requires a concentrated effort by the full membership, with buy-in at all levels.  Associations that don't give their members a direct say in forming their agendas often find themselves adrift without focus and, more importantly, with a membership base that feels totally disconnected from their association.

Turning the Triangle Upside-Down

If you look at the structures of typical Canadian associations, most of them are like triangles. The board of directors is typically at the top (i.e. the triangle's smallest point) and communicates 'downward' to committees, task forces and staff (i.e. the broader base). Often, the decision-makers have little or no contact with the membership-at-large and don't really know what's going on.

Whether it's a national association with numerous provincial counterparts, or a provincial association comprised of districts or chapters, it is easy to see that relatively small groups of governing bodies are setting policies and creating programs based on limited knowledge and exposure - and the members have largely been left out. 

In these cases, there is something definitely missing between what members want and what their association is delivering. That's why it's so important to transfer the ownership of the association's agenda to the membership.

Get Buy-In By Having Members Roll Up Their Sleeves

Whether there has been a long history of member apathy or a recent downturn in volunteer commitment, the best way to turn an association around is to make it very visible on the members' radar screens. The crux of this is the ability to win the board over to believe in the process and to actually see it implemented.

The Association Resource Centre has worked with many associations in helping them to examine their mandates, refocus their vision and embark on a revitalized path that has full member support and have numerous case study examples proving that full member involvement and buy-in can be accomplished.

During a five-year period, one Ontario-based association client watched its member participation increase from two percent to about 30-35% (overall - in smaller communities, it was up to 60-70%!). We assisted this group in developing a regional workshop concept, where members regularly provided direction to the Board and helped the association establish its priorities.

A prominent feature of these regional workshops was an association report card in which Board members reported on how the members' input was being used. Periodically, the association went so far as to ask the members to assess the association's performance relative to what they wanted their association to accomplish. It was a very powerful concept - one that enabled the association to build strong member support, enthusiasm and commitment to the association and its strategies.

The process of renewal always starts with self-examination. We ask the members we work with where they would like the association to put its priorities and resources.  If we ask them to consider starting afresh, they can think in terms of reinventing the association and that's when the creative juices start to flow.  

Using the feedback gained from various focus groups, telephone interviews with key players and member surveys, the Association Resource Centre was able to help the association zero in on the issues and concerns that members were most interested in.

How does an association know if it's not operating at its full potential? 

There are many indicators that an association is functioning at a level well below its full potential:

• Lack of volunteer involvement
• The same faces on the same committees and the board
• A lack of focus
• Moving from one crisis to another
• Unproductive political infighting
• Board micro-management.

After the diagnosis, what's next?

Pulling together a planning team with very heavy member involvement is a good way to start.  It's the key to transferring the ownership of the association's agenda to the members. This is an important part of the whole puzzle. You must have processes and systems in place that allow you to feel the pulse of your membership at all times.  This ensures good member participation and enthusiasm; but, listening to them is only part of the solution. If you really want their buy-in, you have to create opportunities for them to roll up their sleeves and actually participate in the organization's decision-making process. They need to be actively involved.

There's no question that an enthusiastic and active membership is the real key to a successful and healthy association. Every association has the ability to operate at full potential. They just have to solve the member participation problem first.