I fell into the association world. During the first interview my future boss and I hit it off talking about food and travel. The position sounded interesting so I bit.
I’m not the only one. I bet many of you accidently landed in associations. After that first job, we were hooked. We were promoted or moved to another association. We learned that despite some similarities, each association is unique.
Even if you’re an association veteran, you still need to get oriented to your new one. Orientation shouldn’t only entail filling out forms and signing the employee handbook. It should help you understand your new organization, members and responsibilities.
What should associations teach new staff? I have a few ideas of my own, but I also reached out to the Twitter community to see what they thought.
A day in the life of your member
When I worked at NAHB, I attended a two-day class for local and state association CEOs. We learned about the entire homebuilding process from land purchase to home closing. At the end of the two days, I finally had some understanding of what our members really did for a living.
Every association employee should learn about their member’s profession through a classroom, virtual or on-site experience. One of Stefanie Reeves’ former employers took new staff to a member company for a weekend. Jay Daughtry encourages exploring the member perspective: “anything that helps (staff) to better understand members' needs.” “Help new staff understand members' rituals, routines, culture (and) norms,” says Jeffrey Cufaude.
A social education
My friend Lisa Sullivan is the digital media marketing director for a large residential real estate agency. All new agents are required to take her basic social networking class that introduces them to the benefits of social media marketing, major platforms, successful strategies and terminology.
Member-centric organizations, like associations, should teach these skills to all employees so they can use them to listen to, communicate and develop relationships with members who aren’t on committees. Take time to also discuss your social media policy, basic SEO (everyone’s a publisher these days), reputation management and privacy issues.
Insider secrets
Lowell Aplebaum suggests identifying “the real internal knowledge holders” on staff, for example, whom to contact if your keyboard breaks or you need a report from 1980. Jamie Notter would share “the truth about how decisions get made.” Imagine the increase in effectiveness if new staff could figure out the inner workings of an organization within a few months of arrival, not years.
The power of A
Are you still explaining to family and friends what associations do? New employees need that same education. Jeffrey recommends teaching them “the historical roots and milestones of associations and non-profits, so they understand our role in advancing society.” Give your new employees a reason to get passionate about their work. They do make a difference.
Membership 101
How many staff, not counting the membership department, can readily talk about membership? Carolyn Hook suggests adding these topics to training:
The first month
The new employee orientation at Carolyn’s association takes place over two to three weeks. “Little bites” help to reduce the information overload syndrome that usually accompanies a new job.
Find ways to capture the fresh perspectives that new hires bring to work those first few weeks. You could learn something useful while making them feel they’re already contributing to their new organization.
What would you add to the new employee curriculum?
Deirdre Reid, CAE is a freelance writer who is an advocate for more hardhat days at work.
I’m not the only one. I bet many of you accidently landed in associations. After that first job, we were hooked. We were promoted or moved to another association. We learned that despite some similarities, each association is unique.
Even if you’re an association veteran, you still need to get oriented to your new one. Orientation shouldn’t only entail filling out forms and signing the employee handbook. It should help you understand your new organization, members and responsibilities.
What should associations teach new staff? I have a few ideas of my own, but I also reached out to the Twitter community to see what they thought.
A day in the life of your member
When I worked at NAHB, I attended a two-day class for local and state association CEOs. We learned about the entire homebuilding process from land purchase to home closing. At the end of the two days, I finally had some understanding of what our members really did for a living.
Every association employee should learn about their member’s profession through a classroom, virtual or on-site experience. One of Stefanie Reeves’ former employers took new staff to a member company for a weekend. Jay Daughtry encourages exploring the member perspective: “anything that helps (staff) to better understand members' needs.” “Help new staff understand members' rituals, routines, culture (and) norms,” says Jeffrey Cufaude.
A social education
My friend Lisa Sullivan is the digital media marketing director for a large residential real estate agency. All new agents are required to take her basic social networking class that introduces them to the benefits of social media marketing, major platforms, successful strategies and terminology.
Member-centric organizations, like associations, should teach these skills to all employees so they can use them to listen to, communicate and develop relationships with members who aren’t on committees. Take time to also discuss your social media policy, basic SEO (everyone’s a publisher these days), reputation management and privacy issues.
Insider secrets
Lowell Aplebaum suggests identifying “the real internal knowledge holders” on staff, for example, whom to contact if your keyboard breaks or you need a report from 1980. Jamie Notter would share “the truth about how decisions get made.” Imagine the increase in effectiveness if new staff could figure out the inner workings of an organization within a few months of arrival, not years.
The power of A
Are you still explaining to family and friends what associations do? New employees need that same education. Jeffrey recommends teaching them “the historical roots and milestones of associations and non-profits, so they understand our role in advancing society.” Give your new employees a reason to get passionate about their work. They do make a difference.
Membership 101
How many staff, not counting the membership department, can readily talk about membership? Carolyn Hook suggests adding these topics to training:
- Membership value, process and touch points
- Designation process
- Departmental programs and responsibilities
- Members’ frequently asked questions
- AMS training
The first month
The new employee orientation at Carolyn’s association takes place over two to three weeks. “Little bites” help to reduce the information overload syndrome that usually accompanies a new job.
Find ways to capture the fresh perspectives that new hires bring to work those first few weeks. You could learn something useful while making them feel they’re already contributing to their new organization.
What would you add to the new employee curriculum?
Deirdre Reid, CAE is a freelance writer who is an advocate for more hardhat days at work.
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