February 14, 2012

So You're the New President. Now What?

Will you leave your chapter better than when you found it?

It sounds like an obvious answer, but in reality organizations have what we call 'momentum' and it is often much harder to change or improve a situation than one might think.  I like to use the 'tanker' metaphor because it really does show what we are dealing with.

Imagine a tanker heading across the ocean to deliver its cargo.  But somehow early on in the journey the ship was steering slightly off in the wrong direction.  It wasn't noticeable at first but halfway through, the crew knew they were not in the right position.   Now tankers are large and they weigh a lot and they don't turn on a dime.  When the choice is made to correct it, it doesn't happen right away.  The crew has to change direction and make a very large turn that can take miles to complete and a good bit of time.

Organizations are the same way.  Everyone might know there needs to be a change but there might be years of doing things a certain way that people are just 'used' to.  And just changing it might be risky or make people uncomfortable.  This resistance is the equivalent of the momentum in the tanker.  Everyone has to agree and that is challenging. So you might come in as President with ideas for putting the chapter on the right track, but get met with lots and lots of resistance.  Before you know it, your term is nearing its end and not much if anything has changed.

The truth is, people only really change when they have to.  When they are faced with making a choice between two things, they will choose the less painful alternative or conversely the more pleasurable one.  Your board will have to see that continuing on the same course will lead to disaster and that changing now will correct this and lead to growth and overall success for the chapter.

Another important item to know is exactly what you would like to change for the chapter.  Some common suggestions are:

• Improve meeting attendance
• Increase meeting revenue
• Increase membership renewals and add new members
• To put in a better succession plan for board members
• To create a new set of procedures for each board position
• To simply redesign the website and use new technology to make the chapter run better overall

Each one of these ideas would be great things to improve in any organization or association.  The key will be to find a way to accomplish these changes that will be an easy, pleasurable and/or problem solving choice for your board members to choose.

Author: Admin

February 13, 2012

Keep the Chapter Running When Board Members are Out

On most association boards, every member has a specific job. This makes chapter management easier for everyone, until the only person who knows how to do an essential task goes on an unexpected leave of absence. Emergencies (and vacations, luckily) sometimes happen, and your association has to keep running when they do.

• Develop Written Procedures
  Ensure each board member has a backup. A clear procedures manual with the chapter's practices and policies should be stored in a mutually accessible place. Secure online document storage is a simple solution.
  
  In StarChapter, you can upload board-only documents through the Downloads section. A side benefit of storing these on the website is that board members will see the documents regularly and will know that they're available.
  
  
• Don't have time to write up your procedures?
  Keep a file of board resources. StarChapter's user's guide and online video tutorials can be a great resource for board members who suddenly need a hand.
  
  
• Think: Understudies!
  The 'show must go on' is true in every industry. When each person has an assigned back-up, you can train that person in advance to take over another member's duties. StarChapter conducts weekly group training sessions and there is no additional charge for your board members to attend these and learn more about how to do your chapter's essential tasks. E-mail StarChapter Support for upcoming dates and call-in details.
  
  
• Create a contact list of members who previously served in a position or list your technical support who can assist anyone who is taking up another member's duties. All StarChapter packages include support. Contact resources are available in your website's administrative area.
  
  

Author: Admin

February 06, 2012

Ryan Felps, CEO, Featured in SmartCEO

Check out CEO Ryan Felps in this month's edition of SmartCEO.

Author: Admin

January 24, 2012

What's In It For Me?

Five ways to add value for your organization's sponsors

Sponsorship is a great way for businesses to give back to their communities and advance their associated professions, but many business owners may not see it that way. To entice local businesses to sponsor your organization, you'll need to make sure that you have definite benefits to offer them. A good chapter management solution like StarChapter will give you tools to add value to your sponsorships. Here are five concrete benefits you can offer to your next potential sponsor:

1. Free Meeting Registrations. For year-round sponsorship, give your sponsor a coupon code good for the cost of a registration. You can set a redemption limit when creating the coupon so the sponsor can use it as many times as you'd like to allow. If the sponsorship is for a particular event, it's even easier. Just create a guest ticket named "Meeting Sponsorship" with a higher price.

2. Classified job listings. Do you normally charge for non-members to place classified ads on your website? Posting your sponsor's job listing is a win-win situation. Members will find an employer who is interested in advancing the professional field, and the sponsor will catch the attention of qualified local professionals. Classifieds are managed in StarChapter as part of the Content Manager.

3. Logo or QR code on badges. If you print name badges for your meetings, you can easily add your sponsor's logo on all badges by editing the badge templates under the Meeting Manager settings. Does your sponsor have a QR code? That can be integrated into the graphic so every attendee will have your sponsor's contact information at hand. You can also add a graphic into your badges if you create them using a mail merge in a desktop application.

4. Ad space on your website. With StarChapter, you can easily add sponsor graphics to specific pages or all pages using the Page Content section. The Sponsor Rotator section template rotates through sponsor logos and can be restricted to a specific sponsorship category, so you can easily give your top-paying sponsors more prominent placement.

5. Mention in your newsletter or meeting announcements. Sponsors' graphics are included by default in the newsletter e-mail template in StarChapter, but you can always add some promotional information for your sponsor in the meeting description.

Author: Admin