|
In this issue:
|
|
|
February 15-17, 2007 - Texas ALP Winter Board Meeting, Kerrville, Texas March 3, 2007 - NALS PP, PLS, ALS exams March 8-10, 2007 - NALS 2007 Professional Development Conference |
|
|
ASSOCIATION MAKEUP: NOT YOUR USUAL COSMETICS Submitted by We all know what to do when our chapter is doing well, but have you recently been experiencing “issues” within your chapter? Had trouble finding volunteers to work on committees or possibly to run for office? Have you taken a hard look at your board? Your membership? It’s easier to find solutions when problems are recognized. While recognizing generational issues might not lead to a complete solution, they certainly explain a lot. You say the problem is just a difference in personality. That can certainly be the case, but a deeper reason might be that it is caused by a difference in generational perspective. Before we go there, let’s take a look at generations generally and specifically at the generations currently in play. A generation is characterized by a common age location in history and a collective peer personality. The span of a generation is approximately the length of a phase of life. Each generation rebels to reverse what it sees as the worst excesses of its parent generation and, in turn, fills the role vacated by that dying generation. There have been 24 generations in American history, beginning with the Puritans (1588-1617). The generations follow four archetypes consistently in the same order (Prophet, Nomad, Hero, and Artist), with each archetype comprised of four stages (High, Awakening, Unraveling, and Crisis). As you can see, there is more to this than meets the eye. But our concern lies in the five generations at play in our association: G.I. (1901-1924; ages 82-105), Silent (1925-1942; ages 64-81), Baby Boom (1943-1960; ages 46-63), Generation-X (1961-1981; ages 25-45), and Millennial (1982-present; ages ??-24). The values and work ethics of these generations were primarily shaped by: G.I./Silent: The Roaring 20s, the stock market crash (1929), the Great Depression (1929 through most of the 30s), World War II, the GI Bill, and the Korean War (Hero/Artist archetypes). Baby Boom: The McCarthy hearings, the discovery of the Salk vaccine, the Civil Rights Act, the Peace Corps, Vietnam, Woodstock, Kent State, the moon landing, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy (Prophet archetype). Generation-X: Women’s Liberation, 24-hour media, Watergate, the beginning of the energy crisis, the Challenger disaster, the fall of the Berlin Wall, AIDS, Desert Storm, and the latchkey-kid era (Nomad archetype). Millennial: Busy, over-planned lives, the Oklahoma City bombing, Internet and cell phones, virtual reality, the Columbine massacre, and September 11 and the terrorist threats (Hero archetype). The members of the G.I./Silent generations are detail-oriented, loyal, and hardworking, but inept with ambiguity, uncomfortable with conflict, and reluctant to buck the system. They like structure, a more formal work space, and a distinction between management and staff. The Boomers are service-oriented, driven, and team players, but are self-centered and not budget minded. They like to do it their way, to work in teams, and management that participates. The GenXers are independent, creative, and adaptable, but impatient, cynical, and have poor people skills. They question the whys and wherefores, believe that information is power, dislike organizational politics, and prefer to fulfill the basic requirements of their jobs. The Millennials are an optimistic group, multitaskers, and tenacious, but inexperienced and need supervision and structure. They like leaders who are role models and challenge them, like working with friends and having fun at work, and enjoy networking and working in cooperation with others. As a group, the Millennials are exhibiting a new confidence about the future and a new trust in authority. While GenXers are computer savvy and believe information is power, the Millennials, also computer savvy, apply technology not to empower themselves or individuals, but to empower the community. You may find characteristics from one generation in another, because each generation is naturally influenced in its formation by the prior generation, and the generations do not begin or end on a specific date. Have you done a generational audit of your chapter? Reviewed the makeup of your board of directors? Ideally, your chapter would be made up of a mix of the generations, which would give the best opportunity for creativity, productivity, and effectiveness. You may shy from the term “diversity,” but diversity encompasses many things other than just ethnicity. Taking the whole—ethnicity, generations, and genders—each both retains its uniqueness of perspective, style, and opinion and shares it to make your association more effective, more interesting, more challenging, and more enjoyable. Each of our generations has leadership preferences. G.I./Silent respects authority and expects it in return. Boomers prefer team leadership and a clear articulation of vision, mission, and values. GenXers respond to competent, results-oriented, and flexible leaders and appreciate direct and straightforward communication. GenXers need goals, expectations, milestones, and deadlines and the freedom to accomplish tasks on their own. Millennials, the newest generation, want leaders who are collaborative, tolerant, and skillful in resolving conflicts. They have strong opinions and expect behavior to be congruent with position. Leslie Jaffe and Karl Krumm, authors of the article “Leadership Post 9/11” (www.generationsatwork.com), have these suggestions for leadership action based on generations (adapted for a chapter): G.I./Silent: § Use a personal touch. Make face-to-face contact. Do not use e-mail; they find it alienating. § Be mindful of age and experience. Show them that their experience is viewed as an asset. § Capitalize on experience. Consider setting up mentoring relationships that match them with younger members. A lot of Millennials feel a strong bond with this generation. Baby Boomers: § Play to their strength of pulling teams together to get over current hurdles. § Give them an arena to voice their pain—a one-on-one talk over a cup of coffee, focus groups, personal counseling. This is the “get help” generation. § Leverage their willingness to work hard and give them extra public recognition for their efforts. GenXers: § Allow them to get “the job” done on their own schedule. § Make time for those who are struggling. Take a walk or go out for a beer. Give them your undivided attention. § Tap into their adaptability. GenXers are typically flexible, and many are independent operators. Give them an important task that needs to get done, and they’ll likely get it done. Millennials: § This group is community-oriented. These are graduates of required community service hours. Get them involved in meaningful volunteer efforts and support the projects they are already involved with. § Use their capability to access information quickly and to share it in a way that works for a diverse group of people. This is the most technologically and globally savvy generation. They grew up with computers and diversity. § Pair them up with older mentors. On surveys, Millennials say they resonate most with the Baby Boom and G.I./Silent generations. Never has the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives by being a leader of all generations been so great. Problem: Do you have members from different generations who just don’t mesh with each other? Action: It is important to remember that the generations are more alike than not, and identifying the area of conflict may lead to the solution. If the parties genuinely want to solve the conflict, separately ask them to examine the situation from both sides. Have each write a short paragraph about how he/she sees the situation, and put it aside for a few minutes. Next, have them reread their paragraph, and then re-examine the situation and see if they can see it from the other person’s standpoint. Now ask them to write another paragraph, but from the other person’s perspective. Hopefully, they learned something about the other person and that person’s generation and are willing to apply that knowledge to solve the conflict. SOURCES § Generations At Work: The Online Home of Claire Raines Associates (www.generationsatwork.com). § LifeCourse Associates (www.lifecourse.com). § Millennials Rising . . . The Next Great Generation by Neil Howe and William Strauss (www.millennialsrising.com). § “NALS Members Today” (Part I—Generations, Part II—Retention, Part III—Recruitment) by Jan Manberg, PLS, Human Resource Consultant. Human Resources Division , Attorney General's Office, State of Washington. |
|
|
CREATING A FOLLOW-UP SYSTEM FOR NEW MEMBER AND CONTACTS Submitted by: Sylvia R. Vela, PLS, TSC Retaining existing members is vital to the success of any association. Generally, members are retained because they are satisfied with some aspect of being involved, whether that is by direct participation or the validation they feel after a job well done. The most common reasons given for member’s leaving an organization or who remain a member but who do not participate are: poor meeting quality, lack of involvement, the formation of organization politics or otherwise harmful organization dynamics, and the perception of not working together. So, how do we go about attracting and retaining our members? A great place to start is with the members themselves. But it is not easy to get members to tell you why they are leaving or what it is they need to make their membership valuable to them. Generally, they will not be very forthcoming to you with information. Typically, they will state they no longer have the time to attend meetings or money became an issue. But is that the real reason? Some questions to ask about member retention and satisfaction may include:
What is an association to do? Organizations can increase their retention by concentrating on their core functions. Do what you do best. Remember, what attracted a person to your organization was all that your organization had to offer. Members are constantly re-evaluating the value of paying their membership dues to be a member of your organization. Even the slightest change made by the organization has an impact on this process. Define Your Members Understanding the member’s motivation affects retention. Take time to get to know your new members. Find out what motivated them to join your organization. As part of the joining process, ask every new member to be specific in defining his or her goals and objectives. Implicit in the motivation that inspires a person to join an organization is an expectation that your organization will sustain and support that motivation. And you can’t meet that expectation unless you know what it is. Orient Your Members The orientation into the organization culture is extremely important. Take nothing for granted. Make sure each member feels comfortable with every aspect of your organization. If members choose to join an organization based on some perceived benefits, then the better the organization is at guiding that member to those benefits, the more likely those benefits will retain their value to the new member. The best orientation is the one that is personalized to the member’s interests. Communicate To Your Members Continued communication and follow-up are very important. I cannot stress this enough. An important element of retention that is often lacking is communication. The importance of on-going communication cannot be stressed enough. Communication that supports your members’ motivation supports member retention. It is recommended to periodically remind your members of their objectives, inquire into their progress as well as measure their progress. One easy way of communicating with your members is through email. Obtain the email addresses of all of your members and send them messages regularly to reinforce their motivation. In addition to helpful tips and information about what’s going on in your organization, notes of congratulations or appreciation are always well received. Another way to communicate with your members is simply saying “hello” and “good-bye” to them as they enter and leave your meeting. I know you are probably thinking: “Come on, that’s a no-brainer statement, I do that all the time!” However, how often do you verify that it’s happening all the time? Hang out in the various areas of your organization and observe your organization interacting. You may be surprised at how many members come and go without that powerful “hello” or “good-bye.” If it doesn’t happen then it’s not only a relationship opportunity lost it may be a membership lost. So as an organization, you must find a way to consistently communicate with your members. Keeping members up to date on information about their organization, including new classes and services is crucial. Recognize Your Members Recognition and reward programs are a crucial part of successful retention strategies. We should take advantage of every possible opportunity to recognize and reward our members. Recognition and reward systems that benefit an organization’s members can be a potent tool in making members feel valued and appreciated. Members who refer other members should also receive recognition and reward. Remember, members join and stay because they have developed a personal connection or relationship with the organization. Like all relationships, it will go through different stages, including, a “boredom lull” which can occur about four to six months into the membership. This lull can occur for many reasons, but it does occur. If this relationship is ignored, then it is likely to end sooner or later. Once a member perceives that organization benefits are not equal to the amount they pay, behavior will start to change. This change, like the realization of decreased benefits, is not drastic – a member does not wake up one morning and say, today, I’m going to withdraw as a member and then suddenly stop coming to meetings. The process is slow and can take weeks or months. This change is influenced by many factors: physical changes in the organization, changes in operations, social changes, and, a change in service levels. After a time, the member will start to believe that they are giving more (dues) then they are getting (benefits) in the exchange. Motivate and Reward Your Members Organizations are well advised to reward participation, particularly in the first 90 days of membership. No matter what the cost of membership is, members perceive that they are getting their money’s worth when they are motivated and rewarded for it. Incentives are helpful in circumventing termination. Many people leave an organization simply because they have drifted away. Often, increased retention can be accomplished if the member is invited to rekindle his motivation and rewarded to retain his membership. Complimentary passes to an association sponsored program, a free coffee, or even something as simple as an “atta girl” sticker are good incentives to motivate your members. Celebrate Your Members Whether you celebrate a member milestone, such as their anniversary with the organization, receiving their certification, or even recognizing efforts accomplished while working on a committee, celebrations of any kind are always welcomed and enjoyed. Celebrations present you with yet another great opportunity for your organization to connect with its members and for members to connect with other members. Recognize that your members are motivated by their own individual goals, values and desires. Understanding member motivation and effectively leveraging it will positively affect your retention. Improvements in member motivation, no matter how small, will enhance your organization’s retention. Motivate, Recruit and Retain Your Members
Motivation is
the trigger that ignites organization membership. Recruitment is one measure of member satisfaction. If you are receiving the benefits you sought at the time you joined the organization, if you continue to feel satisfied by the recognition for your participation in the organization, it makes sense that the member will want to share this with others and to bring them to a meeting so they can experience the benefits of belonging to your organization. Member retention is a complicated issue for organizations. It takes focus and work to maintain a membership. But by understanding the pieces that make up the member’s thought process, organizations can take real, smart steps to solve the motivation, recruitment and retention puzzle. Resource: Richard Enstrom, Retention Management.com |
|
|
Cheryl Moseley PLS, CP, TSC Do you remember the excitement of your first meeting as a tri-level association member? What about the first time you traveled to a Texas ALP meeting – wasn’t that fun? You were renewed, rejuvenated, and full of knowledge from the seminars you attended. Weren’t you excited when you decided to accept the challenge of certification and then passed your exam? Even after all of the stressful hours of studying, it was pure joy to see those initials behind your name. Perhaps you haven’t experienced any of those joyous moments – you should. That’s one of the benefits of your membership in our association. Perhaps the joy of your membership has dwindled and you’re just maintaining the status quo. Rediscover your joy by volunteering for the 2007-2008 leadership team! An exciting moment occurs when you decide to step into a leadership role – whether it is serving as a chairman or on a committee. There is nothing more important than to have members who are willing to give a little of their time to further the goals of our association. Typically, there is hesitation from a member before they decide to volunteer, usually accompanied by the “what if I don’t know what I’m doing” or “how much time will this take” questions. Every previous and existing leader has asked those same questions. Honestly, the answers are obtained as you go along. You learn what is needed to do the job, and you find the time to do your best. Members’ hesitation and belief that someone else will step up to do the job make the president-elect’s job of filling the upcoming leadership team a daunting task. Through the past months, I have highlighted various committees for which there is a need for a chairman and/or committee members. Unfortunately, I have received very few responses to my pleas for members to step forward and serve on the leadership team. I need you to volunteer for something – anything – to assist with next year’s team. If you will email me with your interests or with a “put me to work on something small” note, I will find a place for you! Both the Leadership and Marketing committees need several members as volunteers. The Leadership Committee is responsible for planning and coordinating workshops to be held at Texas ALP Board or Annual Meetings, and for publishing monthly leadership articles for the Texas Roundup. The Marketing Committee is responsible for spreading the good news about our association through several avenues, including press releases and participation at the state bar convention, and assists several other committees and local chapters with their marketing needs. With that said, will you step out of your comfort zone and give back to our association? If so, please email me at cmoseley@qsclpc.com and let me know of your interests. The list of committees is located on the Texas ALP website – www.texasalp.org. I would love to answer any questions you have about any of the TALP committees. As always, I'm just waiting to hear from you. :) ~~ Cheryl |