Did you forget something?
Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report September 2016
Don’t let a memory lapse damage your career prospects. Keep your STLE membership and certification credentials current.
Nearly 90% of the 500 members who participated in the study rated their overall satisfaction with membership as high.
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / jorgophotography
LIKE MOST ASSOCIATIONS, STLE enjoys a membership renewal rate of 80%-85%. Looked at another way, in any given year we lose 15%-20% of our members. Fortunately, our recruiting efforts replace most of those departures with new members, and we have kept the total stable at 3,500 members for the past 10 years.
Reducing the attrition rate would be a good thing for the organization. However, factors such as job reassignments, career changes and retirements make retention an uphill battle. But association marketing experts point to one other factor that suppresses retention rates—people simply forget about us!
The vice president of a marketing firm that specializes in association membership development emphasized that point in a recently released study. He observed, “Associations must realize that many members fail to renew because they simply aren’t paying close attention to renewal notices.”
STLE goes to considerable lengths to address that situation and get your attention. Every member receives three dues renewal notices over a 90-day period before they are dropped from the rolls for non-payment of dues. The notices provide multiple payment options.
You can also self-check your dues status and renewal deadline by logging into your profile on
www.stle.org. Several other technology-based programs that support renewal notices and payments are being investigated. We’re also happy to personally assist if you call STLE headquarters during normal business hours to check status or process a renewal.
STLE’s internal research emphasizes that membership matters because the benefits are valuable. In STLE’s 2016 Association Laboratory Membership Satisfaction study, survey respondents gave STLE stellar ratings for both value and relevance. Nearly 90% of the 500 members who participated in the study rated their overall satisfaction with membership as high. According to the report, “Participants are highly satisfied with STLE member benefits. Benefits with the highest satisfaction ratings are also the ones considered most important to the membership decision.”
If you are among the more than 1,800 people who have earned one of STLE’s certification credentials, it also pays to pay attention when it’s time to renew every three years. Factors similar to those affecting membership, such as retirements or job changes, sometimes result in a non-renewal. But simply forgetting to renew in the prescribed time period can be a painful experience. The only way to reactivate a lapsed certification credential is by taking and passing the certification exam once again.
STLE’s strategic plan places renewed emphasis on creation of members-only benefits. As a result the number and variety of high-value exclusive services is growing. Case in point will be the debut this fall of expanded professional development tools on the STLE Website,
www.stle.org. Individuals seeking relevant professional development guidance and support will have a better experience when accessing and locating this more focused content—provided they are an STLE member!
Don’t let a simple memory lapse lock you out of access to this valuable members-only education resource and from the many other tangible and intangible benefits that accrue to STLE members.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.