Time is short but things take time
Respect the fact that, when you reach someone at the association office, their time is short. They get many calls from vendors – and fielding them might be the last thing they want to do right then.
As the education director for a national trade association, I oversaw up to a dozen face-to-face events that involved close to 200 member volunteers, many of whom required individual facilitation and leadership coaching. We had programs in roughly 10 different cities around North America in any given year, all at varying stages of development and planning. Each required marketing, registration tracking, and other administrative oversight. Add committee meetings and agendas, reports for the board of directors, special initiatives, and other responsibilities to an already full day. With one full-time meeting planner to assist me, and the occasional help from an administrative assistant, my daily to-do list never got done. Vendors calling in the midst of this got my attention when they knew who I was, what I did, and had the courtesy to find out if that was a good time to talk or if another time would be better. Usually I wanted info via e-mail first so I could look at it on my schedule, rather than on the caller’s timeline. Other education directors are in similar situations. Find out how they’d like to receive your information, and respect what you hear.
Vendors need to understand that sometimes projects get dumped before they can get traction; sometimes things emerge full-blown, requiring immediate action. After months of contract negotiation and budget approvals, we signed a license agreement with a Web conferencing provider roughly two weeks before our first live Webinar. I was grateful the provider could brand the landing page as quickly as they did so our members would see our logo when they logged in.
Learn what you can about the association’s priorities, their budget cycle, and other key events that will affect your staff contact’s time and timeline – help them to help you.
Shifting priorities and chain of command
While corporations are not accustomed to changing leadership every year or two, this is the norm for associations. Though there are exceptions, most elected leaders serve short terms and want to make their mark in that period of time. A key challenge association staff members face is in providing program continuity and momentum, despite the shifts in priorities that a constant change in leadership can mean.
Heading the staff is an executive director or CEO, but that person’s power and authority is shaped by the association’s culture as well as his or her personality. The board of directors hires and fires the executive staff leader, which means that person might not be willing to stand up to the board despite serious disagreements with the board’s direction or decision. Staff members report to the executive staff leader, but – especially in small associations – they also interact frequently with the board members, key committee chairs, volunteers, and other members. This mix of personalities, the combination of modus operandi, and other factors will affect how nimble you’ll need to be in working with any given association or non-profit.
Because of the chain of command, when the board of directors drops a project or initiative it’s unlikely your staff contact – even if it’s the chief executive staff member – will be able to do anything about it.
Find out what you can about the decision-making level your staff contact has and respect it. Sometimes offering to attend a board of directors meeting can help, but garnering a guest invitation to these meetings can be very difficult if not impossible in some associations.
Non-profit doesn’t mean non-revenue
Though budgets and financial sources for associations and non-profits vary considerably, a few generalizations are safe. First, every organization must generate enough revenue (most non-profits prefer “revenue” to the words “income” or “profit”) to cover overhead. They do this in a variety of ways: membership dues, program fees, sponsorships, products (such as books), and services (such as consulting). Some earn income from advertising in magazines, directories, on the Web site, and the conference program book (“income” works here, as this money is taxed).
Some organizations expect to generate revenue from the e-Learning they offer. Others will have decided that the programs only need to break even, or have accepted the possibility the programs could lose money. Some will cover costs through registration fees and sponsorships. Funding for a project you’re on can come from an array of sources, and those could have an impact on the project. For example, if funding for an asynchronous course will be coming from sponsors, you should find out if those sponsors will be recognized within the course or be part of the content development or review team.
Work with your association staff contact to avoid last-minute corrections or adjustments. Remember, clients who have not been down the e-Learning road before will be looking to you for guidance. They’ll be relying on you to think of the questions they won’t know to ask.
Unique SMEs
Though many corporate subject matter experts (SMEs) provide their expertise outside of their regular work schedule, most are contributing to the project with the support of their supervisors and the company in general. In some associations, SMEs have not only paid for the privilege of joining the organization, but are often providing their expertise to it free of charge. In many cases, they’re contributing to the project on their own time, using their own personal computers, phones, and other equipment to participate. They’re fitting this project into a full-time job, full-time family, and other volunteer activities, because these are usually people who are involved in more than one association or more than one major project within the association. These are valuable volunteers to the association, so don’t be surprised if, when push comes to shove, the association contact sides with the SME instead of you, despite better judgment. Understand the delicate tightrope your contact is walking between you and the volunteers; doing all you can to help widen the tightrope will benefit your relationship and the project.
Scheduling your project’s milestones will be tricky, so build flexibility into your plan. In addition to the usual delays caused by vacations and travel, and the possibilities of sudden illness, you’ll also need to schedule around the association’s programs, especially their annual conference or convention. Building your timeline in conjunction with the association’s SMEs and your contact there is essential. If the client has a particular “go live” date that cannot be moved, but you know the timeline can’t be met, be clear about why, offer alternatives for scaling back or phasing in the project, and work toward a common solution.
Patience and service are virtues
Your courtesy and patience as you do business with associations will go a long way in establishing a favorable reputation. Associations exist to serve their members, so member service is second nature to association staff members. They will recognize poor service from others – from you – in an instant. Unrequested, constant follow-up on initiatives or projects that have been suspended won’t help, but periodic calls or notes to say, “How are you doing?” will be appreciated.
Companies willing to invest the time and effort to learn about the association world will find a wealth of opportunities awaiting them. Carpe diem!
