Recruitment and Retention Project

Recruitment and Retention Project

Action Plan, August 2013

Context

The Communications Committeeput its proposed retention and recruitmentoutline strategy to BSHAA Council in July and the supporting documents were subsequently circulated to Council members. Meanwhile the Committee Chairman agreed that more detailed proposals would be agreed by the Committee as soon as possible with a view to getting these introduced and the project underway quickly.

Two significant issues which were not anticipated when the project began, have subsequently arisen: first the Council has agreed to replace the retiring Company Secretary with an Association Management Company which will handle membership matters and second, the Council has agreed to a “root and branch review of the way the Society is run” and this will take place this autumn.

Although both may affect the way the proposals are put into effect the Communications Committee does not believe that either takes away its responsibility for seeing the project through to its conclusion.

Although individual performance targets are listed, the key measure of success in the next couple of years will be a reduction in the number of ‘new’ members who are ‘lost’ after years 1 and 2.

Headline Statements

• The Society is seen as favouring the big employers
• It offers little for the small person
• The letters MSHAA/FSHAA are an important reason to join but joining is seen as too easy (no exam or qualification requirement)
• Engagement with students seen as best way of growing membership
• Members want to see more online education. This has implications for CPD Tool (more use of once we increase awareness) and Education/Study Days (less of them).

Action Plan

The action plan is in twoparts, part one being those things which can be fixed quickly, and part two longer term aims.

Quick Fixes

Report Headline / Action / How / Who / When / Indication of success
The process of joining is too difficult (process too cumbersome) / Introduce online joining
Encourage the use of online applications
Investigate changing to a rolling membership year so that new joiners would be members until 12 months after they joined. / This is already up and running and is slowly becoming the way new memberships are processed
Encourage everyone who expresses an interest in joining the Society to do so via the website
Put this option on all paperwork relating to membership.
Overtime this would spread the workload and regulate income. / Peel Media/Axia Interactive
Secretariat, Council Members, Management Company
Secretariat, Marketing, Management Company
Management Company to be asked to investigate advantages and disadvantages to allow decision to be made. / Complete
Immediately and ongoing
When any new paperwork is generated
As soon as possible / Number joining online
Society has insufficient contact details for members: e-mail address, telephone and mobile telephone numbers. Many email addresses are which do not allow personal contact with the member. Without a telephone number it is not easy to have personal contact. / Campaign to collect the missing data from members by: / Increasing awareness of need:
Regular articles, panels, page fillers in BSHAA News stressing importance of keeping personal details online up to date.
Ditto in e-news
Click link in all e-communications with members “Are you details up to date” / Trevor Andrews/Karen Finch/Peel Media
CEO/Peel Media
All / Immediately and ongoing / Number usable e-mail addresses
Number of telephone numbers
Change all paperwork/online forms to make the following fields compulsory: Name, home address, home and work telephone numbers; personal email address; Mobile number also compulsory if “contact me by text’ box is ticked. / Secretariat, Marketing, Management Company / Immediately
Use log in of website to encourage updating personal information either by a pop up screen or visible home page message. / Peel Media/Axia Interactive
No longer accept forms that are not completed fully (e.g. Booking Forms) Go back to members who don’t provide information when requested / Secretariat, Marketing, Management Company / Immediately and ongoing
Members want more frequent communication – (e-mail is the preferred method)
There is insufficient personal contact – particularly in first year of membership / Improve Communications / Increase frequency of email communication by introducing e-flashes between e-news providing instant information on key topics.
Ensure full e-news is at least monthly if not more often and ensure content is relevant: (less politics more practice related?)
Ask people who have unsubscribed why they have done so?
Adapt e-news to ensure compatibility with mobile devices.
Telephone members who make enquiries following up with email afterwards (presenting a more human face of the Society)
Contact all new members by telephone to welcome them to membership / CEO/Marketing
CEO/Marketing
Marketing
Marketing/Newzapp.
Secretariat,Marketing, Management Company
Management Company
And President / By September
By Mid September
Immediately and ongoing
This is not currently possible but Newzapp say they are working on it.
Immediately and ongoing
September / Member feedback
Current membership wastage is 1% (10% are lost each year – only 9% join) a serious issue over time.
Most lapsing members don’t realise they have been lapsed (and therefore don’t care)
The renewal process is not member-friendly / Refine Renewal Process and make it easier to pay / Review entire process – likely outcomes to be:
Friendlier approach
Encourage DD – but:
Introduce renewal online
Payment by Credit and Debit
Card both by post, online and on telephone.
Segment those likely to pay late and set aside for special treatment including personal calls
More reminders for those about to lapse including personal telephone calls.
Make it easier for lapsed members to re-join / Whilst Marketing can promote all of these actions, it would see they will need to be addressed by the Management Company. / Review to be conducted immediately and as many actions as possible completed in time to be used by the current renewal process. / Number of members lapsing each year
Member feedback
Number of DD taken out
Number paying by CC
Number renewing online

Longer Term

ReportHeadline / Action / How / Who / When / Indication of success
Win hearts and minds of members about the value of membership / Re define role of BSHAA and how it can better serve the various sections of its membership and subsequently deliver services that members want and value.
Constantly demonstrate the value of BSHAA membership in all communication, personal contact and publications / Key purpose of Council’s autumn away day is to define the vision for the future of the Society which MUST address this action.
Future work of the Council and its various Committees will be to deliver this.
Appointment of Education Professional should also ensure educational offering better meets needs of members.
Council vision of the future to be published after the Autumn Away day
Council members to talk and walk the vision at all member facing events
Strap line: BSHAA Membership value for money 365 days of the year or updated message to be included in all printed material.
BSHAA News and all E-Communication to reinforce the message via its reportage of BSHAA events and its work in the wider audiology world. / Council
Council and Committees
CEO and EPPC
President, CEO, Trevor Andrew and Marketing
All council members
Com Com and Marketing
Com Com and Marketing / Autumn 2013
Ongoing from Autumn 2013
Autumn 2013
Xmas BSHAA News and earlier e-news
Immediately but more practically from the AGM onwards
Immediately
Immediately / Fewer members leaving after 1 or 2 years.
Proportion of registered Dispensers who join increasing year on year (i.e. greater market share).
Improvement in quantity and diversity of educational and development opportunities well supported by membership.
The letters MSHAA/FSHAA are an important reason to join but joining is seen as too easy (no exam or qualification requirement) / Increase the perceived status of membership / Reviewing the way members retain their membership to increase its value. On the one hand the process of joining and renewing should be simply and user friendly; on the other should there be some evidence that members have met their development responsibilities. / Council / Autumn Away Day or very soon afterwards / Members showing pride in membership;
More use of CPD online and better attendance at events
Strategies to reduce Big and Small attitude / Accept and embrace the differences by:
Offering more break outs at Development Days - business topics for the independents; ask employers to deliver relevant topics for the employed.
Constantly review of make up of council membership and encourage members to ensure diversity
Allow interest groups for Employers and Independent’s Committee’s which reports into full Council.
Segment the membership database to maximize appropriate contact / ECCP and New Education Professional
Council
Council
Marketing/New Management Company / As soon as is practicable
Before next AGM and then ongoing
Immediately
As soon as is practicable / Proportionate representation at events.
End to: “not for us complaints”
Hot contests for Council membership with enthusiastic candidates keen to work hard for the Society.
More interest groups and consequently more people available to help run the Society.
More appropriate contact with different membership groups
Properly structured campaign to win student members / Student recruitment: Proper displays and printed material to make it easier for Society to win student members at University Events
Student benefits: make it an attractive proposition for Students to join. What do they get? / EPPC with Com Com and Marketing.
EPPC and Council: Marketing / As soon as possible but definitely before the 2014/15 academic year begins.
As above / Number of students joining
Make those students feel valued / Student representatives feeding into or ON Council.
Competitions with prizes for students at Congress
Student breakout sessions
Forge stronger relationships / EPPC and Council
EPPC and Congress Committee
EPPC and Congress Committee
EPPC, Council and Marketing / As soon as possible and ongoing / As above
Work to ensure student members convert to full member when they graduate / Follow students through their student membership and keep in touch. / EPPC, Council and Marketing / High Conversion Rate = % of student membership