[vntd_hero_section images=”60130″ heading_dynamic=”PIN Points April Edition ” subtitle=”” button1_label=”” 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”]
Letter from the Chair
By: Julie Vieburg
Senior Manager of Political Advocacy and Strategic Operations
Land O’ Lakes Inc.
Happy New Year! (can I still say that?) Regardless, 2022 is the year of the Tiger. More specifically, “The Water Tiger,” who is apparently “less aggressive and more open-minded than the typical tiger.” Scholar Jonathan H.X. Lee wrote “The tiger embodies courage and bravery, so the new year could symbolize resilience and strength — even in times of struggle.” With that in mind, I hope we can all use this year to be a bit more courageous, and to step outside of our comfort zones and into a year of action. At a minimum, I’m hoping to make it a year of flossing more regularly.
Going along with the original idea of comfort zones, I recently traveled solo to Puerto Vallarta for a friend’s wedding. To be honest, I was a little nervous about going to Mexico, alone, during a pandemic. But it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The wedding was amazing, I made a lot of new and great friends, the weather was perfect, and I pushed myself to do something that initially felt uncomfortable. I know it sounds silly to compare a trip to paradise to a growth journey – or stepping outside my comfort zone – but this is the year of being more open-minded. And flossing more.
And with that, I’ll leave you with a personal fun fact: It looks like I was born in the year of the Rabbit. More specifically, ‘The Fire Rabbit.’ Google tells me these rabbit people are “genuine, gorgeous and frustratingly feisty.” So… there’s that. Hope to see you in Austin![/vc_toggle]
Spring 2022 PIN Survey Results
Maintaining and Increasing Internal Employee PAC Participation
By: Joe Joiner, PAC Director
Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA)
Starting a new job two weeks before the world shutdown was anything but ordinary. However, this allowed time to fully sit back and evaluate all aspects of our PAC, including the different pools of contributors that make up the PAC’s receipts. Given the unknown nature of the pandemic and the increase in social unrest, it did not seem appropriate for solicitations to occur outside of the association. Therefore, this led to a renewed focus on our internal eligible employees. Luckily, I inherited a participation rate of 70% of eligible employees. The challenge was figuring out how to increase their giving levels (in a pandemic), and among a large group of employees who were never asked to do so after initially signing-up for payroll deduction.
While there was already a payroll deduction program in place, the processes in place were just not working or convenient (especially in a remote and now hybrid environment). I needed to make it as easy as possible to sign-up or increase their contribution amount. The inherited process included signing or printing out a paper form and returning it to the PAC Director. That was just not going to work in any environment.
In coordination with IT, HR, and accounting, I helped initiate an online process that ended up being included in our benefits/payroll system. The link can be sent to anyone or be pushed as a “task” for the employee to complete. Each department then gets notified when this form is completed. There was no need to print and fill out manually or wait around to see if someone submits the form in person to you.
Becoming a Part of the HR Process
This online process then morphed further into becoming a part of the HR onboarding process. The eligibility terms for a potential PAC contribution from an employee were laid out to HR, and now when an employee starts at the association there is a 15-minute “education” session about the PAC with the new employee. There is no solicitation per se, but it is more of a discussion about what the PAC is and does and I can answer any initial questions they may have. The “task” to sign-up for the PAC is then sent out by HR later. This has led to an increase in new employees signing-up for payroll deduction soon after they start at the association without having to wait for an overall internal campaign.
Suggested Giving Amounts
Now the question that is usually on everyone’s mind when signing-up for payroll deduction is: “How much should I give?” The original payroll deduction form that I inherited had very low suggested biweekly deductions on the form: $5, $15, $25, $50, other. So from the start employees are encouraged to give small amounts annually. Also, a lot of people picked $5 since that was the lowest and first option. I increased these suggested giving amounts to: $192, $96, $57, $28, $19, and reversed the order so that the $192 was the first option.
I did a quick audit of titles within the association and then made suggested giving amounts to titles within the Association:
- CEO, EVP, SVP – $192/pay period
- VP – $96/pay period
- AVP – $57/pay period
- Director – $28/pay period
- Manager – $19/pay period
- Other – __/pay period
When we sent the form to new employees, there was about an 80% success rate in each employee choosing the suggested giving amount.
Targeting Groups within the Association
Having all these tools in place, there was now the question of what kind of campaign can I do during a pandemic. I did a deep dive into the current giving levels of all employees and their titles. I explained the potential gains if each employee increased their giving amount to the suggested level. I noticed a huge disparity for many employees with the title of AVP and above — some were only giving $5/pay period. Given the pandemic, it was decided to only target AVPs and above, especially since they’re leaders within the association.
A message was drafted about not being able to solicit externally during the pandemic and the importance of demonstrating leadership within the association by giving to the PAC. I stated how much each individual was currently giving along with the suggested amount based on their title. (This can also be done with a message communicating that as a leader of the organization you’re encouraged to give more.) Our team SVP then emailed the 12 individuals that we targeted that actually had room to increase. Out of those 12, eight individuals ended up increasing their contributions to the suggested amount or higher. This led to a $10,000 annual increase in employee contributions.
We now plan to reach out to Manager and Director positions with a goal of increasing by $5,000 for the group and centered on a “5Gs for 5G” campaign.
Retaining Contributors Internally
About three times a year, we distribute thank you gifts that also serve as a reminder to continue to contribute to the PAC. These gifts are generally no more than $50 and tend to be centered on food/alcohol, or something that can be useful in a remote or hybrid work environment. We also are reigniting happy hours exclusively for PAC contributors.
The constant reminder of thanking the contributor, even though it may seem small, goes a long way. We have only seen three contributors drop-off of payroll deduction, and two of those were after the January 6th insurrection.
Final Takeaways
Having previously worked at an association that had little employee PAC engagement, I know it can be hard to ask your co-workers for money. I adopted a corporate PAC mindset in an association PAC environment. High employee PAC engagement can be hard within the association world because that is what the members are supposed to be doing. However, if you have a successful program within your association, you can utilize this in PAC member communications. We use it to increase Board member participation as a message point stating that our association leadership gives XX amount, so you should too as a Board member.
We are a small PAC, but our association employee giving is the biggest bucket of contributions to our PAC.[/vc_toggle]
Spring Cleaning for Your Career
By: Suzanne Swink
Communications & Advocacy – Head of Creative Content
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Someone recently asked me if I have any job-related rituals. An overarching one is that I do quarterly check-ins on my career progress – good, bad, areas for improvement … everything. Here’s my list for “spring cleaning” your career.
- Polish that resume and LinkedIn profile. I know… predictable, right? But seriously – do it, whether you’re looking for a new role or not. Get it up to date. Add recent accomplishments. If you need help, I highly recommend hiring someone like Kyle LeBlanc at Resumoxie – consider it an investment in your brand.
- Refresh and renew your skills. I’ve told my team to see this year as an opportunity to try new things. What skill do you want to learn or hone? These will not only help your company or organization – they will also help you (so you can be a bit selfish in your asks). Personally, I’m focused on sustainability credentials and financial acumen in 2022.
- Purge your “Rolodex.” Despite D.C. being a relationship-based town, you do not have to be friends with everyone you meet. In fact, as a wise woman once told me (here’s looking at you, Carol Blymire), living your authentic professional life will not make everyone love you. That’s a good thing – it helps you figure out who wants what you have to offer. Also great dating advice, but I digress.
- Dust off those connections. After the purge, get back in touch with your people. COVID has ruined whole areas of friendships and connections — reconnect! Broaden your network through the Public Affairs Council or other organizations like Women in Government Relations.
- Organize your career vision. How do you envision your career trajectory? What’s your BIG career goal? What are all the paths you can take to get there? What are the steppingstones? Is it a lattice instead of a ladder? You’ll be surprised what you can clarify with a poster board and a giant pile of stickies.
Happy cleaning![/vc_toggle]
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The Advocacy Conference is back in-person, and we are so excited to be in Austin at the JW Marriott! Join us and your peers April 24-27 for the fun and experience networking, expertise and solution finding for your advocacy programs. This is the largest and most important gathering of the advocacy community, whether you work in grassroots, communications or lobbying, so don’t miss out! Check out the full agenda and register today.
Already registered and want to kick-start the learning? Get prepared for The Advocacy Conference with our reading list. Here are a few articles that offer a glimpse of what you’ll hear in Austin.