[vntd_hero_section images=”62857″ heading_dynamic=”Association Network Newsletter: Tips on Training your Team and Engaging Members” subtitle=”” button1_label=”Register” button1_url=”#register” bg_overlay=”dark_blue” height=”custom” height_custom=”400″ heading_font_size=”55px” tooltips=”%5B%7B%22tooltip_title%22%3A%22Hello%20there!%22%2C%22tooltip_url%22%3A%22%23%22%2C%22tooltip_placement%22%3A%22top%22%2C%22tooltip_depth%22%3A%220.42%22%7D%5D”]
The Importance of Training Your Team
With the digital revolution in full swing and a historically low unemployment rate in the U.S., employers of all sizes must invest in training. Amazon plans to spend $700 million between now and 2025 on “upskilling” their employees for future jobs.
But it’s not just big companies that need to focus on employee training. Associations are also facing similar demands and pressures. Whether you are running the PAC, managing policy communications, handling a lobbying portfolio or building a grassroots campaign, being at the top of your game means understanding the current digital landscape. Employees should be asking themselves: Am I able to harness the power of data visualization? Do I know how to influence a member of congress via social media? These digital tactics might have been previously outsourced to external firms, but more and more they are being brought in-house.
Organizations should consider these key questions when developing an employee training program:
- What skills do we need to effectively advocate for our members or supporters? Where are the biggest gaps?
- What tactics and strategies can our association execute in-house and where do we want to bring in outside help?
- Will a training program help retain key employees?
- Are we having trouble hiring for certain positions and can we train current employees for those roles?
- When will employees have time for training and how will we properly compensate them for their new responsibilities?
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To be innovative, you must have well-trained employees who have the skills to navigate this complex digital and political environment. Associations should be wary of ignoring their most valuable asset – their people.
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Sincerely,
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Nick DeSarno
Senior Manager, Digital & Communications Practice | Association Staff Lead
202.787.5971 | [email protected]
Resource: 3 Ways to Re-invent Your Association E-Newsletter
- Make it interactive. Newsletters often seem like an update, but they can also be used to solicit feedback via polls, collect powerful advocacy stories, increase attendance at an event, or even serve as a vehicle for a call to action. Turn your newsletter into an avenue for two-way communications. Require each newsletter to have at least one link that asks your members to do something
- Incorporate video and appealing visuals. When the Council re-designed its flagship monthly newsletter, Impact, we wanted to move away from large blocks of text and engage our members with visuals. Each newsletter headline is made up of a large image with overlaid text. We also decided to incorporate more video content. These videos are often produced in-house and without a large budget. You can check out an example here.
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Transition to a timelier blog. Morning newsletters are vert popular, especially ones from large media outlets. But smaller organizations can take advantage of the morning smart phone audience by splitting up your newsletter into smaller pieces. Instead of sending out a newsletter with 6-8 stories a month, break it into 2-3 stories per issue. Most newsletters from media companies like Axios’ AM, are aggregating stories from their website. Think about how you can use this approach to make your content shorter, timelier and more engaging.
Free Association Roundtable Event: Understanding Data Security and Privacy Concerns for Your Political Programs
September 16, 2019
12:00 – 1:30 pm ET, Council DC Office
2121 K St., Suite 900
Washington, DC
Are you protecting your member’s data properly? with GDPR, CCPA and a host of other regulations set to be enacted regarding data privacy and security, associations must be extremely careful when handling sensitive data. Join us to hear from a data security professional who will address:
- The privacy and data security regulations you should understand
- How your organization can protect your member’s sensitive political data
- Questions to ask your technology vendors
- Best practices you can start implementing today to ensure a more secure data environment
Click here to join us in person or via dial-in.
Resource: Association Member Engagement Tip Sheet
One of the most common challenges we get asked about by our association members is: “How do I get my members to engage more?” Here are some often overlooked strategies to keep in mind when asking for member involvement and support:
- Keep your messaging simple and to the point. Adjut your perspective and communications strategy to meet your members where they are. Remember that issues that directly affect your members’ bottom lines result in more active engagement. By putting yourself in their shoes, you’ll be able to present information that they can more easily digest and use. Stay away from “D.C.-speak” and focus on what they need to know.
- Be judicious and deliberate in your communications. You don’t want your members to ignore your messages because they are constantly bombarded with information. Make sure your communications are thoughtful and targeted to the right people. Develop a plan for coordinating public affairs messages with other association communications. Key strategies for successful implementation of a strong plan include:
- Talking with your communications/marketing department to determine ways that public affairs messages might be worked into the communications calendar. Having this conversation will also help the communications team know what you’re planning. If you need that team’s assistance, this will create buy-in and enable a swifter response.
- Inviting a communications team member to sit in on any public affairs staff meetings to get a better idea of emerging and urgent issues. By including communications staff in public affairs discussions, they can help identify strategies for getting your messages out through existing channels or assist in developing new strategies
- Determining whether there are membership communications that can be used to cross-promote public affairs initiatives or successes. Find ways to use existing association communications rather than creating duplicate outreach.
- Make personal engagement with your members a priority. Keep the connection personal with influential or active members simply by checking in via phone or email or scheduling a regular conference call with them. In a digital world, it’s now even more important to build personal relationships with your members. Cultivate members who serve in leadership positions to also serve as key contacts for your grassroots/grasstops efforts. By developing these relationships, your members will be more likely to answer yoru call, read your email and take action.
- Engage your members year round. It’s better to prepare and train advocates before you have urgent legislative needs. Keep your members excited and engaged during legislative downtimes. Ask for their feedback on industry-wide topics, provide opportunities for input on your association’s policy priorities and generate conversations about future trends. Be sure to close the loop on any issues where advocates took action so they know how things ended up – or, if the issue is ongoing, so they won’t be surprised when they’re asked to take action in the future.
- Recognize active member involvement. If members have gone above and beyond to support your public affairs efforts, recognize them. Not only is this a good way of thanking them, but it’s also a strong motivator for other members to get involved. Think about how your members want to be recognized. Do you have a newsletter in which you can profile them? Is there a way to highlight them on your association’s homepage? Or perhaps you can have a special award presentation or wall of fame at your annual meeting. Determining how active members want to be recognized – whether it’s with a gift or public acknowledgement – and finding ways to do so are important components of your member engagement plan.
What are some creative ways to engage your members?
- Hold a public affairs leadership training and create friendly competition among members by setting goals for recognition
- show the face behind your advocacy program by featuring key advocates on your social media platforms
- Host a Facebook or Twitter Q&A session with your head lobbyist or outside consultant to make your members feel heard
- Host a site visit competition and profile members who welcome legislators to their offices or facilities
- Ask your members to testify at a hearing, town hall or other event open to the public; make them the “face” of your industry
- Organize a bus tour to strengthen member relationship building
- Design a themed campaign to recognize your most engaged activists each quarter
- Put on informational webinars with experts, members of Congress, legislative staff or association staff to talk about key legislative priorities or ways to get involved
- Develop peer-to-peer engagement programs
- Gamify your grassroots program by providing awards based on a point system, with points awarded for completion of certain advocacy activities. This rewards already active members in a fun and competitive way, giving them a tangible reward for helping build up the community
Keeping your members involved is a challenging yet vital task. Be sure to keep your engagement fresh and creative, but also let your members know they are a top priority through personal outreach, regular updates and recognition for their efforts.
Do you have a creative engagement strategy? Click here to let us know what has worked at your association.[/vc_toggle]