StarChapter of June: PMI St. Louis
Recognizing volunteer efforts, engaging members in both the local and the national levels, and utilizing the StarChapter software to its fullest have been just a few of the strategies implemented by the leadership of PMI Metro St. Louis chapter of the Project Management Institute. We spoke with Vish Tripathi, the President of PMI Metro St. Louis, and learned why their events usually get an average of 9 out of 10 star reviews, and how in just 2 years, the chapter grew its membership count by 11% and reduced volunteer time.
1. What was PMI St. Louis chapter’s strategy for engaging new members in the past year?
“PMI Metro St. Louis chapter used several approaches to engage and retain new members. One key strategy was offering a semi-annual "new member orientation" meeting, in which we also distributed new members welcome packages. Board members also attended these meetings to improve engagement with new members by participating in various committees in their area. We also recognized new members during the dinner meetings and weekly emails. In the last 2 years, our membership grew by almost 11% thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and board members.”
2. Tell us about a successful event/meeting you organized last year
“Our chapter volunteers exceeded all expectations by organizing successful events and meetings last year. We had surveyed attendees after each event and the average rating for our events/speakers was usually 9 out of 10 stars. Our premier event was the Annual International Project Management (IPM) Day celebration in November with the IPM Day founder Frank Saladis. Over 180 members, volunteers, and executives attended this event at St. Louis University. The number of attendees in this event grows exponentially every year. Another event worth mentioning was the Volunteers Appreciation evening at D&B, in which we recognized more than 80 volunteers for their efforts.”
3. Do you get ideas on how to improve membership value from other PMI chapters?
“Yes. Being a 100% volunteers-based organization, we rely on experienced volunteers from our chapter and other PMI chapters. There are few PMI chapters that have fine-tuned their processes and achieved the maturity level we strive to achieve. During the Region 6 meeting, we met with volunteers from 26 other PMI chapters and exchanged ideas and best practices on how to improve membership value. PMI Metro St. Louis chapter always focused on "Membership Excellence" and that's the reason why it has been recognized by PMI National for last 3 years for providing high membership value to its members.”
4. Do you have any tips/advice to share with other board volunteers?
“Stay engaged and focused! The chapter can only grow when you get involved with members and listen to what they want to get out of their membership. We have found that members are 300% likely to renew their membership if they are involved with the local chapter. Beyond the members, our volunteers are the backbone of the chapter and as such must be recognized and appreciated.”
5. Through a unique integration developed by StarChapter, PMI Metro St. Louis chapter has been sharing membership data with PMI national. What has the chapter been able to accomplish so far?
“PMI Metro St. Louis was one of the very first chapters to adopt StarChapter and integration of shared membership data with the PMI national. Our experience was very smooth without any interruption. Beyond saving almost $18,000 in last 4-5 years on credit card charges, our chapter was able to automate some of the processes, in turn leading to a 11% increase in membership and saving of volunteer time. Volunteers are now able to focus on setting the strategic goals instead of doing redundant tasks of running the chapter.”
6. How did using StarChapter help you run PMI St. Louis and reach its goals?
“PMI Metro St. Louis Chapter is now able to retain and engage members by using some of the standardized templates StarChapter offers. New members are welcomed every week. Soon-to-be-expired members are easily notified and reminded, while renewing their membership is just in one single click. Meetings are set up in less than 5 minutes and surveys are set up well in advance and are sent automatically to attendees after the event.
We have come a long way as a chapter in last 4-5 years. Some of this success is attributed to StarChapter and its team.”
7. What is in store for the members of PMI Metro St. Louis chapter in 2016?
“Our chapter is all about the project management profession and the community we all live in. 2016 is dedicated to continue improving the "membership excellence" value. Members will have access to a variety of events such as the PMI dinners in regular and alternate locations, with speakers such as Jim Snyder, one of PMI’s founders during our October dinner. For our veterans, we plan to create a Military Liaison position/committee which will help our veterans' transition into the project management profession much easier. Finally, we will be launching the "Free Chapter Guest” program, designed for members of PMI National who are currently not members of our local chapter, to develop inclusion and the project management profession as a whole.”
StarChapter of May: IFMA Chicago
Member engagement has been at the backbone of the Chicago chapter of the International Facility Management Association. From emails to phone calls and direct mailing, outreach efforts had increased and improved member participation across the board. We spoke with the board of IFMA Chicago chapter, and learned some valuable tips on chapter management practices, member engagement ideas and how to improve membership value by increasing participation and experience in the region.
1. What was IFMA Chicago’s strategy for engaging new members in the past year?
IFMA Chicago has pulled out all the stops when it comes to new member engagement. Our committees have been teaming up to directly reach out by phone and email to potential members, and even buddy up with potential and new members at events to ensure they feel connected and engaged. We have also increased our outreach by creating a bi-monthly postcard mailer, a quarterly email newsletter, and a Facebook page through which our members can actively connect.
2. Tell us about a successful event/meeting you organized last year
In 2015, The Chicago Chapter of IFMA teamed up with CoreNet Global Chicago Chapter to host an educational event discussing body language. This event included a networking happy hour that was very well attended. By combining efforts with another strong association in Chicago, we were able to bring in talented and knowledgeable speakers who our members fully enjoyed. Both groups experienced a turnout that was better than expected, and found not only the education but also the networking to be top notch!
3. Do you get ideas on how to improve membership value from other IFMA chapters?
Yes, we stay up-to-date with what other chapters are doing to engage members including attending the Best Practices program at World Workplace, and take note of what seems to be working elsewhere throughout the country. The Executive Board meets with the Northern Illinois Chapter to share best practices for our region and how we can serve members better. The full Chicago board collaborates as a team to determine the best new approaches for our chapter to improve membership engagement and growth.
4. Do you have any tips/advice to share with other board volunteers?
The members of the board have a focused approach based on the mission of the Chapter. Enhancing relationships and education within IFMA drives chapter growth and engagement. Our advice would be to make an extra effort to fully engage with both Professional and Associate members as much as possible, because it is through connections with other people that we are able to learn and produce the most good as a community and chapter.
5. What is in store for the members of IFMA Chicago next year?
We will continue to focus on engaging membership by enhance the offerings to both Professional and Associate members. Expect more co-events with other chapters to expand our networking opportunities while providing affordable educational offerings.
6. How did StarChapter help you run IFMA Chicago and reach its goals?
Engagement can be challenging in today’s busy world. Making it easier for members and guests to access information is critical to engaging and growing our membership. StarChapter has helped us accomplish this task with an upgrade to device friendly webpages, easy registration and registration accounting, and even a newsletter template. In addition to the front-end improvements and tools, the StarChapter back-end database is an impressive and powerful tool. Managing the chapter database in StarChapter has allowed the administrator’s office to invest less hours in online event creation and registration and membership roster reconciliation. It is also a very easy to use communication tool that allows the chapter to send regular emails, newsletters and meeting invites with just a few clicks. StarChapter also provides the ability to have multiple users so board members and committee chairs can contribute to the creation of communications and update the website as needed. All of this has led to less administrative fees for the Chicago Chapter of IFMA, positively affecting our bottom line and permitting the administrative office to focus on other needed tasks.
