Membership Development: What's in it for All of Us?

By Andy Drozd, Chair
EMC Society Membership Development Committee

Andy Drozd

Earlier this year I attended the fifth annual IEEE Membership Development (MD) Retreat held in Newark, NJ. To call it a "retreat" is definitely a misnomer. It is actually an intensive, three-day workshop sponsored by the IEEE Regional Activities Board (RAB) MD Committee that concentrates on developing strategies for increasing our membership and launching new membership incentive programs. Emphasis was definitely on the work part. This entailed lively discussions, presentations, group meetings, and soaking in a great deal of very useful information in the process. Despite feeling a little saturated by the amount of good information provided, the retreat was a highly rewarding experience and well worth my time and effort. Allow me to stick with the word "retreat" though instead of "workshop" because its sounds less frenetic or more relaxed depending on how you view it.

During the three days of the retreat I met with members from our sister societies, sections and chapters around the world to discuss various facets of membership development focusing on the "4R's": recruitment, retention, recovery and renewal. Approximately 18 societies were represented. We were briefed by IEEE staff on current membership statistics, membership renewal and retention strategies, and other 'best practices' for increasing our membership rolls. The retreat was moderated by 2000 MD Chair Michael Garretson who did an excellent job keeping the presentations and group discussions on track.

For those who are unfamiliar with the retreat, day one begins with an orientation session and tour of the IEEE Operations Center in Piscataway. This is followed by a networking social and a walk through of a number of IEEE exhibits displaying the latest information on member benefits, technical and educational programs, publications, and other outstanding programs and resources available to members. If you were confused about the benefits of being an IEEE member, then this retreat is for you. The first day puts the benefits of IEEE and society membership into proper perspective.

Day two is spent on a series of tutorials by IEEE staff members that address: worldwide membership demographics; use of the SAMIEEE database tool to effectively track membership information; web-based resources for members; the benefits of elevating to senior member grade; and more on the "4R" best practices. Day three is largely devoted to a series of breakout sessions focusing on identifying successful technical activities at the chapter level, reassessing requirements for student and higher grade member and non-member retention, industry support programs, Fellow mentoring programs, and a variety of other MD initiatives. The retreat ends with a wrap-up presentation in which the top ten or so recommendations and best practices (e.g., "member get a member") borne out by the breakout sessions are prioritized. These became the marching orders for the remainder of this year's membership drive for the societies, sections, chapters, and regions.

I wanted to share this information with you because I feel we are all stakeholders in the Institute and the Society. As someone once put it, "Membership development is every member's responsibility." It is important that we understand the advantages of being a member and be aware of things that could be improved to enhance membership. Constructive suggestions can be turned into new ideas and novel programs for the benefit of members at large. Hopefully, cognizance of these MD points can make our endeavors to recruit and retain members highly effective.

Highlighting a Few Membership Facts

The following are some interesting facts and statistics that were brought out during the retreat:

The 1999 IEEE worldwide membership totaled 352,259. This represents a 5.2 percent increase in members over 1998, exceeding the minimum goal of 350,000 members set during the 1999 retreat.
The 2000 membership goal is 365,000 members, representing a 4.5 percent increase over 1999.
A slight decline in US membership (Regions 1-6) has been offset by a net increase in non-US membership (Regions 7-10). Non-US membership will continue to steadily increase over the next several years.
The IEEE is presently the most "global" (nearly 40 percent are non-US members), has the highest number of members, and the largest number of women members than ever in its history.
Demographically, the focus is on retaining higher grade, student, and GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) members. The best renewal and retention rates can be expected for these groups.
Higher-grade members account for the largest number of renewals.
The World Wide Web is becoming increasingly important to members and potential members, particularly to those overseas.

Armed with these facts and figures, the MD Committee proposed a number of initiatives to be pursued for calendar year 2000. These included:

Instituting a one-time permanent membership plan targeted for younger members.
Providing "electronic membership" programs and tools such as IEEE Xplore to electronically deliver products and services to members in a manner consistent with individual needs.
Adding renewal options that facilitate retention i.e., developing and instituting other member benefits programs and incentives including special or extended benefits programs to non-US members.
Investigating new membership pricing structures for overseas members.
Leveraging "corporate recognition programs" and awards to enable more industry involvement, cooperation and support of the IEEE's goals (an example of a best practice!).
Possibly broaden the membership base to include non-traditional fields, disciplines, and subscribers.
Instituting discounted multi-year membership renewal plans.
Continuing to improve "rapid response" teams and procedures to efficiently process new member applications, renewals, subscription orders, etc.
Expanding benefits for senior members.

In the coming months I hope to keep you posted on the progress of these and other initiatives that are being pursued within the Institute and to address the anticipated impacts on the EMC Society. As a 'median' Society in comparison to our sister entities, we can expect these initiatives to have an overall positive effect on us. Growth and continued vibrancy of the EMC Society can be reasonably expected.

Membership Advantages

Membership in the IEEE and in the EMC Society offers both tangible and intangible benefits. So what are some of the benefits of being an IEEE and Society member? Current members provide the answer. Members have cited the following benefits that influence their decision to join: affiliating or identifying oneself with a prestigious professional organization; having access to multi-disciplinary technical information; creating opportunities for peer networking; participating in IEEE Financial Advantage discount programs; having the opportunity to publish and participate in conferences at member reduced rates; and advancing professionally on-the-job.

Best Practices and Marching Orders

What is a "best practice"? An example of this is offering a one-year free society membership when one joins the Institute and registers for an IEEE conference. Other examples include sponsoring Fellow mentoring programs, industry partnership programs, publishing press releases on IEEE events in local newspapers, and providing web-based memberships. We will continue to utilize these and employ other methods within our own Society to achieve the MD goals, but we are also seeking your feedback on what you consider to be a best practice and how it could be introduced at the society, section, chapter, or region level.

Based on these and other recommended best practices, specific MD initiatives were adopted for pursuit this year and into 2001. While there were many worthy suggestions that resulted from the breakout sessions and discussions at the retreat, only the top ten initiatives for meeting the 2000 MD goals were formally selected. These were:

Work with societies to establish their goals for membership.
Nurture relationships between students and sections (include in planning and electronic communications).
Devise a system for follow-up with members who joined the IEEE at conferences.
Encourage active involvement (workshop, section/chapters program, and technical committees).
Publicize and emphasize technical and additional benefits of joining the IEEE.
Organize benefits along individual needs.
Develop multi-faceted mentoring programs.
Encourage increased volunteerism by promoting professional development value, and reward/acknowledge individuals with letters of recognition.
Provide multi-lingual membership forms and abstracts.
Create a process for automatic (multi-year) membership renewal.

You are now armed with information that will help in enlisting new members and keeping current members actively involved in our activities. I hope to update you in the future on how the IEEE fared in meeting the overall 2000 MD goals.

I point out that the EMC Society Board of Directors is very interested in what makes your EMC Society membership work for you. To that end, Dick Ford conducts a survey each year at the annual EMC symposia to determine members' needs and level of satisfaction with the products and services offered by the EMC Society. This feedback is taken seriously and useful suggestions are often put to the test, so if Dick asks you to complete a survey the next time, please do so because your comments certainly affect the way we conduct our business. The IEEE also takes the pulse of the societies by conducting a survey approximately every five years to ascertain whether members' needs are being met or not and what improvements could be made. Your voice is heard!

In the meantime if you have any thoughts or comments on membership development, please feel free to contact me at (315) 334-1163 or via email at a.l.drozd@ieee.org . You can also contact our Member Services Vice President, Dr. Todd Hubing at t.hubing@ieee.org .

I hope to attend the next annual MD Retreat, which is scheduled at the end of February 2001 in Newark. I look forward to it, but couldn't we hold it in Hawaii, Bermuda, or some other tropical setting? Just kidding (I think?)!

More to come– EMC