Tapping Every Member's Potential
Individuals are more likely to become involved and remain involved if they feel welcome and are given a role to play. Successful organizations make conscious efforts to create opportunities for new members to participate in an active way.
Listed below are a few of the key points that can help new members feel an integral part of your organization.
New member orientation is very important, especially in a branch with established friendships. Groups in which almost everyone knows everyone else may, intentionally or unintentionally shut out newcomers.
- Have you established a process to help new members to meet other members? Introduce new members at meetings. Use official "greeters" to introduce them to other new and continuing members. Assign a "buddy or special friend" to each for the first months.
- Do you hold your meetings in public places? New members or first-time attendees may find a private home intimidating.
- Are new members involved in activities and meaningful project work from their first contact? Give all an opportunity to volunteer for branch activities, but specifically invite new members. Invite to members to join a committee or a subcommittee, unless time is a constraint for them.
- Do you keep an ../index of member talents and interests? Having such a list available for reference will facilitate getting new members involved in activities.
Good communication is important for all members, but especially new members, to reinforce what the organization is doing.
- Do you keep all members up-to-date with information on projects and activities, member news, fund-raising opportunities and targets, recruitment goals and plans?
- Do you avoid "insider" jargon and abbreviations? Unfamiliar terms should be clearly explained.
- Are all members informed about available programme activities?
- Do you share highlights from the international, regional and national levels with all members? It is especially important to stress results so that members associate the organization with effective action.
- Are renewal notices sent with a personal note? If sent out over the summer with an outline of upcoming fall events, this can be a good way to keep in touch during this less active period.
Shared leadership is another important element in assuring members' continued interest in the organization. Dividing tasks and sharing responsibility also reduces the demands on individual members.
- Are members consulted regularly? Discuss and take as many decisions as possible about programme direction in general meetings or committees.
- Are there opportunities for many members to have a definite function or role? This can be done by constructing innovative and manageable leadership positions with responsibility for a single program or a special project. Where possible, work should be divided into individual tasks with clear responsibilities to be shared among a number of members.
- Do you recognize member achievements in meetings publications?
Open, well-organized meetings can encourage participation. Well-run, effective meetings are planned in advance and provide the face to face communications that are essential to building and maintaining successful community organizations.
- Does each meeting have a purpose? Regularly scheduled meetings that accomplish little or nothing can discourage members, especially new ones.
- Do you invite members well in advance and make sure the reasons and objectives for meeting have been clearly communicated to them?
- Are all participants encouraged to do their homework beforehand? Copies of any reports, background papers and finance statements about which decisions need to be taken should be circulated before the meeting.
- Are there plenty of opportunities all members to express their views? If you are the leader, beware of expressing your own opinion too early; instead get people involved by asking questions.
- Do you stick to the schedule; start and end on time? Do you review the results of the meeting before adjourning and set specific guidelines for acting on them?
See:
Preparing Meetings
Facilitating Meetings
Periodic needs assessment assures that the programme reflects the needs of your changing membership.
- Do you periodically conduct a needs assessment of the membership to see whether the needs of the current membership are being met? The process should be an on-going one, with needs assessments at least once a year.
- Do you contact non-renewing members to see why their needs were not being met? This can be done by telephone. Try keeping a comment log to look for patterns.
Needs Assessment
Assessing the Current Approach
