Membership

“I had a brilliant day!”

I mentioned in the last issue that we are undertaking some research to help us identify what we may need to do differently in future, to ensure Society membership remains relevant and attractive.

I talked to members and delegates at our Annual Conference in Liverpool in March, to find out just what it is that continues to draw participants in ever increasing numbers to our annual showcase event. After all, it’s a serious commitment both in terms of time and money. The quote above is not from me (although I did have a brilliant day too, getting to meet and talk to many from across the organisation). The quote is actually from Mark Jones, an undergraduate student at John Moores University in Liverpool. Mark had come along to the Annual Conference for the first time and summed up his experience in these words. He’d arrived not really knowing what to expect, listened to a variety of presentations, met new people, discussed his work, and went home very happy.

It was a sentiment that was echoed by many. Increasingly, members seem to be enjoying the opportunity to meet first-hand, hear world-class presentations on a very wide range of topics and enjoy the interactions that naturally follow both within and outside the formal programme.

So maybe we shouldn’t try to over-complicate the member research that’s currently underway, looking for all the answers in an in-depth analysis of questionnaires and spreadsheets. Maybe some of the answers are closer and more obvious than we think. From my (admittedly not very scientific) observations, opportunities to meet other members, talk to them, discuss ideas and compare notes all seem to be high up our members’ wish list. So too does having the opportunity to listen to some great science and get closer to the originators of it. Wrap this all up in a supportive and friendly environment (along with regular opportunities to socialise) and we seem to be on the right track in delivering, at least in part, what many members are looking for. In a world increasingly dominated by online interactions, these opportunities to engage face-to-face are ones that seem to be striking a real chord with members.

But these are just my observations from Conference. What about the members who don’t go to Conference? What about those who live overseas? What about those members who are less than satisfied and feel we fall short? What about members who want a more enhanced online experience? And what about those who have made a conscious decision not to join us? We have members – and prospective members – with a wide range of views and opinions and we need to ensure these are captured too. So inevitably there has to be some form of information collection and analysis to get a representative cross-section of views that will help us better understand why a member feels a sense of place or home in one organisation and not in another. And this is why we need your help.

We need you to tell us what you think about your membership of the Society – what we do well, what we don’t do well and what we could do differently in future. You don’t have to be a current member. You can be a former member or not even have been a member at all. If you have thoughts, ideas and opinions around the subject, please let us have them. We’d love to hear from you. There are a number of ways to join the conversation. You can:

• Take part in our Member Survey. It’s a short online questionnaire for current, former and ‘never been’ members. You should have already received an email invitation to take part, but if you haven’t, please contact me and I will send one to you.
• Take part in a focus group meeting. There will be face-to- face group meetings taking place across September 2016 to share insight and discuss membership- related issues in more detail. If you would like to register your interest, please email me. Final selections, timings and locations will be advised closer to the time.
• Email me with your thoughts and suggestions on how we can make membership even more attractive in the future.

With your help, we want to create a membership offering that is attractive and relevant, valued and recognised. In short we want many more of you to be able to say ‘I had a brilliant day’.

PAUL EASTON

Head of Membership Services
[email protected]