06/07/2021

Association Leadership Realities

What matters is the experience of staff and members

The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has questioned the way associations serve their members. The impossibility to hold large in-person conferences and exhibitions during the last year and most probably for several more months has forced us to develop new services and engage differently with members.

Despite the absence of events and in-person meetings, members have never been as engaged and active as they have been during this crisis. Committee meetings attracted many more people, more diverse profiles (more women, more young people) and from more countries, when organized remotely. With active advocacy, strong media engagement, numerous webinars and e-training sessions, a rich production of knowledge papers and study reports, diverse research projects, on-demand initiatives and a close follow up and coverage of COVID-related issues, UITP has offered its members and stakeholders a diverse and dense portfolio of services. We have succeeded to be up to the expectations of members and demonstrate the relevance of the association and the importance of belonging to a community, today more than ever.

In times of crisis, it's essential to go back to the basics, the foundations of the organization. And the foundations of an association like UITP are the people: the staff, who work in the association and those we serve, the members, both of whom are engaged by the mission of UITP. Everything else is nothing but means to an end goal: events, studies, committees, trainings, webinars, projects, newsletters, etc. are engagement tools. If you ask members why they join an association or what they want from it, they will never tell you that it is to attend an event or contribute to a project or read a document. Same for most staff, it is less about the salary or the job title. For both, employees and members, it's their experience of the association that is key.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Boardroom Magazine.