At Dynamic Benchmarking, Spring and Summer are our favorite times of the year, not just because of the beautiful weather here in New England, but because we enjoy attending the most popular events in our industry.
Last month, Lisa Vivinetto and I attended Great Ideas in Colorado Springs, CO. Created by our good friends at ASAE, the Great Ideas Conference brings together association executives and colleagues with sessions that open doors to new thinking and new ways of doing things.
Finding meaningful and effective means of engaging members has long been a challenge of associations everywhere...
Year end reporting usually means another stack of financial and operational reports hitting your inbox. While the initial influx may elicit a groan of dread, take a moment to consider the treasure trove of valuable information buried within those mountains of statistics and percentages. Answers to questions that have been nagging you all year long can be found buried within those numbers but you need a key to unlock that business intelligence.
In a world where we increasingly rely on emails, texts and various video conferencing applications, the face-to-face meeting is dying a slow and unfortunate death. A 2009 Forbes Insights survey of more than 750 business executives reported that 34% of these executives are traveling much less frequently for business as compared to the previous year. And while 42% reported their company’s use of technology for remote business meetings has significantly increased, more than 8 out of 10 said they prefer in-person meetings.
While knowing where your organization stands in comparison to its peers is valuable, putting that knowledge into action is where you and your members truly reap the benefits of benchmarking. Studies that measure and score against common standards or industry best practices are a great way to assess progress and define performance standards.
The opening session at this year’s ASAE Annual Meeting really pumped up the Dynamic Benchmarking team.
Benchmarking data can be used for purposes that range from providing end users with valuable KPI’s to developing advocacy initiatives. Your organization’s data is meaningful and tells a unique and interesting story about your membership and industry. Often, the focus is on the end user and their use of study data to understand their place among their peers, but your organization can and should be using your data to tell its own story.
Benchmarking reports can be the lifeblood of an association as well as its member organizations. The right report can create a huge impact on an organization’s expenditures, revenues, strategic direction or even the morale of the employees. But not every report will have this kind of success. Find out how to ensure your study is the kind that can make a difference to your members and organization.
All organizations have a mission statement – a statement of purpose, a core focus, a reason it exists. It is this strategic vision that provides the member incentive to join and is the commitment your association makes to your membership.
