Engagement is the Key to Retention

As we near the halfway mark of the year our membership focus needs to be squarely on retention. Many clubs have added a significant number of new members. Unfortunately, all to often we lose as many (and sometimes more) out the back door as come in the front. Now is a critical time to stand up your retention committee, and start canvasing your members on how satisfied they are, and finding out how to properly engage them in your club.

For new members, the "12 Letters" is a great way to reach out to them and let them know how much you value their membership in the club. This program is explained on our District Membership Development page. Here is a link to the "12 Letters" program on our District website:

 http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50138/SitePage/membership

Just scroll the page down and look for the 12 Letters heading!

For members that have been around for a while, make sure you are calling those who may have missed a few meetings lately. Let them know that you and the rest of the club miss them. Make sure they are getting the return on their investment of  time and money that will make membership in your club worth it! Set up some holiday social events, and make sure those that have been out of the loop get a special invitation to come. You could also add a holiday service project to your club's suite of activities. Go caroling, or be a secret Santa at the local battered women's shelter. The main idea is to get your members, new and old, engaged in your club. That is the glue that keeps them coming back, and will give your club the vitality to continue to serve your community far into the future!

That's All!

How Do We Treat Our Guests?

Any club member can do a great service for membership development in her or his club by focusing on how they treat guests at their club meetings. Remember, they are not only visitors, but potential new members as well. They are going to form a first impression of your club no matter what:

• Their eyes will see your meeting room and everything in it … what will they see?
• Their ears will hear what is (or is not) said to them, and what is (or is not) said to others, before and during the meeting … what will they hear?
• Their hand will (or will not) shake the hands of members and other guests …who will they meet?
• Their mouth will (or will not) speak to members and others in the room … who will they talk to?

Any member can have a tremendous positive impact on a guest's first impression by treating them like the special people they are. You should show them how glad you are that they came, and express that to them. You should be interested in learning more about them: their name, vocation, do they have a family, how long have they been in the area, etc.

How do you feel when you walk into a room full of strangers, and few people even acknowledge that you are present? Has that ever happened? It happens all too often. When it does, we miss a great opportunity.

Alternately, how do you feel when entering the same room and people approach you with a smile on their faces, and their hand outstretched, letting you know how glad they are that you could take some time out of your day to come and visit. How would it make you feel to be invited to sit with them at their table? 

Remember, we don't get a second chance at first impressions. By going out of your way to give your guests special treatment, you will expand your own circle of friends, make someone else's day, and perhaps, just perhaps, help your club build its membership!

That's All!

A Real Mentor, or Just a Check in the Box?

Most clubs have the biggest retention problem with newer members. That is, members who have been in the club for less than a year, 1 to 2 years, and 3 to 5 years. The key to hanging on to more of the new members that you put so much effort into is to ENGAGE them!

Engaging new members in the workings of the club is crucial to
 improving New Member retention rates

Assigning a mentor is a good idea, but make sure that you give clear direction on what you want that mentor to do. Too many clubs that I know of just pick a person and say "tag you're it". It is crucial to make sure that your mentors are not over loaded, understand the expectations from them, are WILLING to do the job, and finally, report back to the membership committee on a periodic basis. 




You don't have to start from scratch, there is great information available on our website. Just click the link below and view it! There is additional information on engaging new members there as well.

https://district5190.egnyte.com/fl/VuFK0OXRmM

You can find lots of tools to improve your mentoring program
on the District Website under membership development.

Bottom line is that the first place for most clubs to get started in enhancing their retention is to focus on your newer members.

That's All!

Woody

What's Rotary?

How many times have you been asked the question: "What's Rotary?" only to have a difficult time coming up with a concise way to describe this movement we all know and love. These are great opportunities to reach out and interest potential new members, but we have to be prepared.

Be ready for the opportunity to
answer the question: "What's Rotary?"

When someone asks you "What's Rotary?" you have about 2 seconds to start to say something. After that, you only have about 20 seconds to "set the hook" and generate some interest in Rotary. If you go on much longer and the people are not interested, you'll bore them, if they ARE interested you'll be preventing them from asking questions. Here is a great answer to the question, that is short and succinct, and hits on the primary reasons WHY people join and stay in Rotary.

"It’s a leadership organization…We’re made up of local business, professional and civic leaders. We meet regularly, get to know each other, form friendships, and through that, we’re able to get things done in this community."

This simple answer is a great tool to start a deeper conversation about Rotary with those who are interested. Memorize it and have it at the top of your toolbox to use the next time someone asks you: "So, what's Rotary?"

That's All!

Why Did You Join Rotary?

Why do people join Rotary? This is a great question and the answer holds the key to igniting membership development in your club. Rotary International recently engaged a consulting firm, Sigel and Gale, to get the answer to this question and more. The purpose was to better understand how we as Rotarians can turn around the shrinking of Rotary in North America.

Sigel and Gale interviewed 20,000 Rotarians to come up with some answers that you can use to help your club grow. They found that the majority of people JOIN and STAY in Rotary for two primary reasons. They join to have a positive impact locally, and to forge friendships. They stay for the same reasons. Other factors are networking, personal and professional recognition, training opportunities, and to have a positive impact globally. Local factors make up over 90% of the reasons folks join our great                                                                                     organization. 

Here is the "bottom line of what our members value in Rotary:

1. Friendship
2. Local Impact
3. Vocational Respect (value me and my work)
4. Leaders to work with 

When we think of Rotary as a business, we often think of our customers as the beneficiaries of our service. It follows that our "product" would be the service we provide to our communities. In light of the knowledge provided by Sigel and Gale we need to change the way we look at this if we are to have a resurgence as an organization. Our customers are our members (and prospective members). Our product is friendship, opportunities to have local impact, giving vocational respect, and working together as leaders.

Once we know and understand this, it is simply a matter of making sure our customers (and prospective customers) get what they want out of membership in our clubs. If we weave our product into our approach to Attraction, Engagement, and thus Retention our clubs will grow and prosper like never before. As a result, Rotary will become even more relevant in making the world a better place, one community at a time.

That's All!

Get off to a Great Start!

August is Membership Month. Now that the Rotary year is beginning to settle in with new officers and leaders at the helm, it is a great time to make more progress to develop membership in your club. Developing a written plan and getting it done is critical to a successful year for your club.

Get to know your fellow Rotarians!

When we talk about membership development we usually think of the broad categories of Attraction (bringing in new members), Engagment (making sure that ALL of our members are engaging to get what they desire out of Rotary), and Retention (a product of being an attractive and engaging club). In the broader sense, membership development is simply about building great relationships with our fellow Rotarians, and sharing our Rotary experience with others. Membership development is the glue that binds our clubs together into fun, productive and stable units. A Membership Development Plan is the biggest thing you can do to help make your club stronger and more effective.

To view the plan in detail, click the link below:

Quick Start Membership Development Plan

The plan is divided into three time frames, NOW, 30 Days, and 90 Days. A few examples of the NOW action items are:

1. Identify all of your new members (24 months or less)
2. Reach out to them and identify or clarify their interests and expectations from membership.
3. Start "New Members Letters" (for more on this, click this link: here)

What a great place to start. Usually members in your club for two years or less are the most vulnerable to dropping out. 

A few of the 30 day items are:

1. Review and update your club website and or Facebook page.
2. All members develop and practice how they would ask a prospective member to come to a meeting.
3. Assign a greeter, and establish protocols for making all feel warmly welcomed.

By 90 days the results will start to show if the plan is being implemented.

1. Members have learned more about each other, and laid the groundwork for stronger friendships.
2. Guests/visitors consistently feel welcome to the club meetings.
3. All members are engaged with an assignment.

Use this plan to get a start on a great year in your club! Remember, this is a great way to get a quick start, and then later develop some more action items to enhance the plan and develop membership. Plan to come to the Membership Seminar on September 19th to get more information that will help your club grow and have the best year of service yet!

That's All!