When I help my clients through the process of selecting a new association management system, they also get the benefit of reviewing existing business processes and thinking about the people involved. Every project is about people, process, and technology. Selecting a new AMS gives you the opportunity to review all three of those aspects of …
Long ago, I defined business intelligence as a business process using data to make decisions. The key to the definition is “make decisions.” That is, to take action. As consultant David Maister has said, we all know what to do, we just don’t do it. In other words, we don’t take ACTION. A good idea …
When discussing how much access staff users should have to the database and its functionality, I always tell my client “Give them the absolute minimum they need to do their job.” My clients will often respond with “Let’s just give users access to everything and then over time we can determine what functionality they don’t …
I was very pleased to read this recent article in Associations Now by Joe Rominiecki about the Society of Hospital Medicine’s efforts to make their online join process easier. From the article: Last year, [SHM] reduced its membership application from 64 data fields down to nine required fields. At the same time, it has become …
One of the most important skills I’ve learned in my 15 years as a consultant is the ability to listen. And one of the best ways to ensure that you are listening is simply this: when you’re in a conversation where you’re trying to learn something, let the other person finish their thought before you …
One of my data management commandments is that data should never have to be re-keyed. That is, once data has been entered into a system (e.g., the customer has completed a form online, or staff has entered data into a spreadsheet), that data should never have to be re-keyed again. Once data is in electronic …
I’ve written before about the amazing advances in technology that I’ve seen in my lifetime (and I like to think I’m not that old!). But the other day I was reminded that, as a child some 40 years ago, the mailing list that was used for monthly mailings of the newsletter that my 4-H club …
One of the more important services I provide my clients is what I call a systems audit. The purpose of the audit is quite simple: to determine what is working, and what is not working, when it comes to the systems in use and how data is being managed. (With today’s highly integrated systems, this …
When I help associations seek out and select new association management systems, one of the first questions I ask them is: “What’s your relationship like with your current AMS vendor?” (Assuming they are using a vendor.) Too often the response is something along the lines of “We don’t talk to our vendor except when there …
I believe understanding and measuring member engagement is not a fad; it’s a critical part of every association’s long-term survival and relevance. When associations measure member engagement, they discover that some portion of the membership (20%? 30%? 50%?) is not engaged at all and the natural tendency is to say “We need to do something …
New Article Posted – "I'm as engaged as I want to be." Read More »