What makes your association so great? Is it your member benefits? Your programs and initiatives? Maybe your special causes? Probably, your absolute best asset is none of those things. It’s your people. Employees are what make the difference in happy members or those who fail to renew their memberships. Employees are what make your events special, cause your membership software to sing its tune, and keep your mission on track. What kind of work environment have you created for these irreplaceable assets? Jazz up your association by making it a workplace your employees love coming to every day.
1. Develop a Fun Work Environment
Are your offices as somber as a funeral home or is the work space full of laughter and a bit of cutting up? While you don’t want to derail productivity, happy workers are undoubtedly the most productive. Plus, they do their work with joy, enthusiasm, and passion. In other words, the work isn’t just done, it’s done spectacularly well! Lighten up the work environment. Encourage mangers to rule with a merry heart and a jolly soul instead of fists of iron.
2. Spruce Up the Office
It’s amazing how much a nice-looking environment makes the work day go better. Just some repainting, adding a few plants, and tossing some colorful decor in the office goes a long way toward improving the attitude of the employees who work there every day. We’re in the process of doing this in Aptify’s Tysons Corner and Chicago offices, and it’s making an enormous difference! Some workplaces add lounging areas with comfy couches or outdoor recreation areas to perk up employees and keep them freshly inspired.
3. Offer Benefits & Incentives Beyond Compensation
While your association may not be able to pay each employee millions, you can still make your staff feel like a million bucks by providing them with some incentives money can’t buy. For example, give them flex time. Allow them to bring their kids or pets to the office or to work from home on occasion. Make your dress code more casual. Provide volunteering opportunities. Give them benefits and incentives that make their lives more enjoyable; they’ll reward you with higher levels of productivity. Your staff will also stay with you longer, reducing the costs of hiring and training, and their happiness is likely to be contagious, meaning your members could get a jolt of that passion and enthusiasm, as well.
4. Recognize Workers for a Job Well Done
When one of your employees goes the extra mile or does something above and beyond the call of duty, do they get any recognition at all? Reward those workers who give you their extra effort. This not only encourages them to do it again, it also helps motivate others to follow in their footsteps. Just be sure recognition is fair. It will backfire if some workers get extra recognition while others doing the same quality of work get nothing.
5. Empower Them With the Right Tools
Do your employees have the right tools to excel in their jobs? If you have a outdated or bare bones membership software system, they probably don’t. Upgrade to a modern, feature-packed AMS software solution so your staff can begin impressing you with all they are able to do. Productivity will soar, as will employee morale—both of which result in higher levels of member engagement, higher renewal rates, and even more new members coming on board.
