Association Recommendations and Insights for 2022

 Associations Evolve: 2022 and Beyond was just released under the editorial leadership of Belinda Moore. The publication includes articles from  50 leaders in the global association community. I was honored to be included in the group. With over 100 pages of content, I thought it might be helpful to share some selected quotes from the publication. Of course, I recommend downloading the entire document with this link. 

Here are some highlights from Associations Evolve.

"Associations who embraced the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to innovate are already seeing benefits. Many are reporting increased engagement, higher retention rates, and overall membership growth. The [COVID] crisis proved associations can adapt...  When provided with the impetus for change – and the freedom to act - associations were very capable of making the changes needed to advance themselves and their members." Belinda Moore. 

“All member markets are dynamic, and over time most have undergone significant change—without corresponding changes at the association.” Mary Byers, CAE, and Harrison Coerver

“If you want to manage change and avoid disruption, think like a futurist. That means avoiding the trap of relying too heavily on your past experience when making decisions for the future.” Gihan Perera

“Being forced to quickly learn how to run a virtual conference was not just about doing demos with virtual meeting platforms—it was an acceleration of an irreversible trend that has been happening for a long time that we call digital transformation.” Maddie Grant

“People don’t quit jobs; they quit people. If your culture supports people bringing their whole selves to work and your culture is one of belonging, your employee retention will reflect that value.” Sharon Newport, CAE

“Virtual workplaces are here to stay, whether employers like it or not. . .This is going to have a huge impact on how we work. Getting the hybrid model – that combination of at-home and in-office work – right is going to be hard. Impacts will be felt when it comes to all aspects of your association, including productivity, culture, employee engagement, collaboration, innovation, and of course, the bottom line.” Mel Kettle

“The membership economy is booming with more and more businesses enjoying the benefits of more predictable cash flow and opportunity to build strong, ongoing relationships with their customers. . . While many association leaders don’t take these trends as seriously as they should, traditional membership models are losing to the disruptors of the membership economy.” Olena Lima

“We are now living in a time where data is the basis of competitive advantage and strategic decision making. And access to accurate, up-to-date data is key to making the right decisions about how to respond to change. . . Increasingly, organisations will need to use data to support decision-making, to advocate for funding, and to remain competitive.” Joanne Jacobs.

These highlights offer just a glimpse of some very insightful articles. Please feel free to take a look at the entire publication.