When I work with clients on pretty much any issue, a question commonly asked is "What is your process for doing X?" (For example, "What's your process for onboarding new members?")

Very often my client will respond "We don't have a process for that." But that answer is, more often, technically incorrect.

While the association may not have a formal or documented process, they very likely do have a process for it. They may even have several different processes for it, depending on which staff person is doing it. And that's where the problem lies.

Whether you know it or not, you have a process (or several) for most things you do. And the problem is, if you haven't formalized the process, by definition, different staff will execute the process in different ways. And of course, different processes will lead to different customer experiences, different data collected, and very likely poor outcomes.

So no matter what the process is, you need to have it formalized, standardized, and (ideally) documented. Because if it's not, it's not being done consistently, which will lead to all kinds of problems downstream.