July 2007 NEWSLETTER: Member Connections
"Member Connections"
This newsletter is a free service to the North American not-for-profit community from William Harper Associates. Its focus is on helping organizations that do good, do better ... by identifying ways that member-driven organizations can improve the quality and depth of their interactions with their members.
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July 2007 Member Connections: Member Recognition
This month's "member connections" discusses ways of honouring and recognizing your members' accomplishments.
We all like to be recognized for our accomplishments, big or small, whether we admit it or not! And, who better to recognize an individual's activity in their chosen profession, business or area of interest than the association that organizes that area?
What to recognize
The sky's the limit in terms of what events are worthy of recognition. But - and this will be a recurring theme throughout this article - moderation is the key. If every member is getting recognized for something, then the value of that recognition drops to nothing. (Worse yet, if almost every member is getting recognized, it can be a slap in the face to those who aren't!) But, there are lots of legitimate milestones, accomplishments and activities that might warrant recognition in your circumstances. Here are some of them:
- long service or membership - with member retention being an issue for many associations, recognizing long or sustained membership is a no-brainer! Whether its 5 or 50 years, continued support is worth making a bit of a fuss over.
- life milestones - we all have them: birthdays, weddings, retirements, and so on. Depending on the size of your membership and their sense of community, a greater or lesser degree of recognition is warranted: if everyone knows one another, then these personal milestones are well worth sharing. A large national body with many thousands of members who will never meet one another would likely consider this less appropriate, however.
- service/leadership to the community, association, etc. - recognizing service of this nature is one of the most common and appropriate ways of honouring members (it can also be very difficult to do objectively). Service to the association itself is a particularly good thing to recognize.
- high standards - recognizing excellence in one's field is a positive step, since it sends supportive messages to other members about the importance and value of striving for excellence. There are many opportunities, as well, depending on the type of body. Those training and examining members can reward good examination marks, successful peer reviews, or adherence with continuing professional development requirements. Athletic clubs hold meets or competitions with awards being a big part of the event.
- contests - excellence need not be based on the association's own assessment: contests or votes among the membership can recognize a member's efforts even where there are no objective criteria to measure them. For example, a photography club could post members' works on their Website and solicit member votes for their favourites.
- other awards - members who receive other recognition in the community or beyond can also be recognized. Simply reporting 'news' of members' other honours provides some 'spill-over' benefit to the membership and association.
How to recognize
Let your imagination run wild in recognizing your members! But, moderation (or proportionality) is the key. In particular, different types of honours must have reasonably appropriate, and proportionate, awards. Some possibilities:
- certificates - recognition through certificates, plaques, lapel pins, desktop accessories or other display items is an enduring way to recognize accomplishments. As an added benefit, items on proud display continue to deliver your brand messaging to everyone in the vicinity (if you design them with this in mind).
- events - honouring members at or with a special event, whether a black-tie dinner or a family picnic, can make the honour very special and memorable. Very often, honours can be tied into events being held for other reasons (AGMs come to mind), to add interest and variety to them as well. This can also reduce the cost of honouring members in a stand-alone event.
- publicity - everyone likes a little public recognition (for the right things, at least!). So, go ahead and issue that press release and, by all means, post the honour on your Website! This recognition can bring added exposure to the association and all members.
- fee reductions - providing preferred pricing on association services may be a tangible way of recognizing certain members, and may have the added benefit to the association of increasing participation rates in those services (so, it may not be a net cost to the association after all!).
Benefits
Other than being nice people, why do we honour members? There are many benefits that can be achieved, if the honours are thoughtfully designed. For example,
- increased affinity - members just honoured by their association are likely to have a pretty positive impression of that association, and become allies or "boosters" if given half a chance. This can bring many downstream benefits, including greater member retention, increases in services used, more members volunteering, etc.
- publicity - as mentioned above, publicity can have a positive effect on the association and all members. Excellence-related awards send powerful messages about your organization's and members' high standards (to the public and to the members themselves). Life milestone awards serve to put a friendlier, human face on your group. This may benefit self-regulators that run the risk of developing an adversarial relationship with their members.
- recruitment - honours can add to the attractiveness of an organization, both by increasing its visibility and publicity, and by demonstrating how well the organization treats its members.
Risks and costs
Like most things, there are downsides to watch out for, though. A poorly designed program can lead to a number of potentially significant issues:
- implied endorsement or favouritism - recognition of some members but not others can be misunderstood if communications are not well handled. The public can take this as an endorsement of the honoured members, and other members can see these gestures in a far less charitable light. It is also important to have clear criteria for the honours, an open and transparent process, and sufficient communication so that all members have a chance to learn about the honours in place.
- potential embarrassment - imagine making a great public noise about the high standards of a member only to have that member subsequently have a high-profile competence or (even worse) criminal problem. While this risk can never be totally eliminated, it is important to do one's homework in this area. Also, having clear criteria that gave rise to the award are important.
- cynicism - in this day and age, many audiences are cynical. Awards, unless legitimate, can be seen as self-congratulatory and self-serving, which can end up causing more damage than good. Again, moderation is the key to having the honour accepted for what it is.
- cost - last, but not least, of course, is the out-of-pocket costs involved in awards. Much can be done inexpensively these days, in terms of certificates and plaques. Tieing in recognition to other events, newsletters, and so on, can help to keep these costs under control. It is also important to know how many members will likely be awarded, so that costs can be properly planned and budgeted for.
William Harper has broad experience in member services and self-regulatory professional matters. Please be in touch to discuss this or any other service offering you may be considering.