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AES Newsletter
Monday October 18, 2021
Association Board meetings can sometimes be viewed as a chore—just another task to tick off the 'to do' list.
However, Board meetings are essential to the proper management of an association. It is during these meetings that Board policies, strategies and decisions are made—they should be a really positive, effective tool within your association's strategic planning journey. Discussions held during Board meetings should help to set the direction for your organisation.
As an Association management and consulting company, AES organises and facilitates over ...
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Thursday October 14, 2021
An interim CEO can be a valuable tool in ensuring continuity of operations and effective change management when an association loses their CEO. This crucial role within the management team requires an experienced and skilful person, and the Board should not rush the recruitment of a new CEO. Instead, an interim CEO can be used to handle operations and maintain the association’s objectives.
Role of the Association CEO
The Chief Executive Officer is the most important figure within an association. They are ...
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Wednesday October 06, 2021
Every association needs to have a clear value proposition to encourage new members to join and existing members to continue being involved. As revealed in recent research, networking rates as one of the greatest benefits valued by professionals, who appreciate associations that facilitate this activity. Associations can offer networking opportunities as part of their membership packages, via targeted events and creation of new connections.
Getting your value proposition right
Membership subscriptions are an essential revenue stream for many associations. It is imperative ...
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Tuesday September 28, 2021
What are you doing to ensure that your members feel that they are getting value out of their membership?
Associations offer a multitude of benefits to members, but sometimes members can be forgotten. When this happens, it’s important that contact is reinstated and members are made to feel valued by the association. This way, they’ll be more likely to continue to renew their membership and be more involved in the association’s events and activities.
Why do members lose contact with an association?
Especially ...
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Wednesday September 22, 2021
The Board and the management team of any association should have very different roles. While the Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of an association, the CEO and other managers are responsible for implementing this plan. It’s important that these roles are clearly defined, with each team member clear on their own responsibilities and remit.
Blurred lines when it comes to the roles of governance and of management can cause delays and frustrations on all sides, leading to a ...
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Wednesday September 15, 2021
Induction processes are vital for ensuring that new Board members are equipped to contribute to an association’s goals. Any association with newly elected Board members must ensure that they are fully aware of their responsibilities. A thorough induction process with key senior figures ensures individuals are able to start meaningful work on the Board from the outset.
Why Inductions are Important
Inductions are a crucial part of any organisation’s process. They ensure that people are informed and empowered and able to meaningfully ...
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Wednesday September 08, 2021
Most associations struggle to maintain and grow their membership, particularly at the moment in the wake of COVID-19 and ever-tightening budgets. The old membership model that offers a list of benefits works in some sectors, but has no impact in others. As such, if you’re looking to grow your membership base, it’s important to stop and consider why people or organisations join your association.
Why People and Organisations Join Associations
Over the years and throughout all the surveys we’ve conducted, AES has ...
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Wednesday September 01, 2021
One of the major differences between not-for-profit organisations and other entities is the reliance on volunteers. Volunteers can play an important role to support some or all of the administration activities, approve membership applications or facilitate the combined learning of the members.
Although volunteers are a valuable part of an association, like all human resources, they must be managed effectively. Ensuring that volunteers are organised to make the most of their time and skills, and that they are equipped to work ...
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Tuesday August 24, 2021
Associations offer advantages to members throughout their careers and regardless of external factors, but their value is best realised when society is in turmoil. The past eighteen months have posed unprecedented challenges for people all over the world. While Australians have been relatively lucky in respect of the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, our economy has inevitably been shaken by these global events.
Being a part of an association offers members a myriad of benefits, especially during times of great ...
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Tuesday August 17, 2021
Ongoing lockdowns have presented an unprecedented challenge for industry associations that typically rely on in-person events and conferences to engage members and grow their membership base. With the majority of the Australian workforce now working from home, the opportunities to connect are more limited.
As the world pivoted to working remotely and online, all organisations have needed to quickly adapt to this new way of communicating. In the past eighteen months, associations have been required to review their technology and the ...
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Wednesday August 11, 2021
One of the services that AES has offered to associations for a number of years is the provision of an interim CEO. Often, this service is utilised by association boards that are in a transition phase, defined by the recruitment of a new CEO.
When acting as an interim CEO, AES has had the opportunity to experience first-hand a range of different leadership styles and management cultures within many associations. Along the way, we have identified areas of leadership excellence, as ...
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Monday August 02, 2021
As we move into an increasingly digitised world, the threat of cyber-attack is growing. Regardless of the size of an organisation, cyber-criminals can infiltrate your systems and target you for payment. Payments made to cyber criminals typically cannot be recovered, so it is vital that associations understand the risks and take action to strengthen their cyber security.
Evolving Threat
These days, cyber criminals are not normally individual hackers. Rather, they are complex entities, operating business models called Ransomware-as-a-Service (RAAS). These businesses have ...
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Thursday July 29, 2021
I recently spoke to AES Legal Advisor John Crosby about how Copyright can apply to associations and some things to watch out for.
As John noted in our discussion, Copyright is controversial. It is often asserted by different organisations, but not always with merit. Many documents will feature the Copyright symbol; however, this symbol is irrelevant when asserting or proving Copyright. Copyright exists whenever a work in original and every work of literature created by anyone has Copyright is original creations ...
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Wednesday July 07, 2021
Many associations rely on events as a major source of revenue. With business events cancelled and postponed over the last 18 months due to COVID-19, this has significantly impacted association revenue.
While we are slowly returning to some form of normality, the future of events is still unpredictable to say the least. Snap lockdowns and border closures can put event planning into a tailspin with little more than a moment’s notice.
Until such time that the majority of the population is fully ...
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Wednesday June 30, 2021
One of the biggest challenges facing many associations today is the rapidly changing pace of technology. Today, new and improved technology is enabling associations to provide services, manage the organisation's day-to-day functions, and communicate with members in a way not previously possible.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant change in how associations interact with members, including an accelerated uptake of online technology. Virtual platforms that enable us to host webinars and even whole conference platforms are changing not ...
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Thursday June 24, 2021
Associations can be very dynamic organisations. They can bring together like minded members to share information, ideas, and best practice processes within their industry or area of interest.
Modern society prospers as a result of this type of collaboration; it has instigated breakthroughs in science, changed society's values, and influenced government policies. An effective member association can serve the community in any number of ways.
So then, what do dynamic, effective member associations have in common? Generally, they can demonstrate best practice ...
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Wednesday June 16, 2021
Each year, association and not-for-profit Boards need to ensure that their organisation is compliant with all requirements imposed by the relevant regulators and government departments, particularly the Australian Tax Office.
This is not always an easy task, particularly if your organisation has limited resources and volunteer Board members. To help make the process ever so slightly simpler, I’ve put together four important areas you may need to check or include on the agenda for your next Board meeting.
Keep in mind that not all ...
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Wednesday May 26, 2021
Association Executive Services (AES) hosted its first face-to-face event since COVID-19 yesterday: a breakfast attended by over 20 association leaders in Melbourne. The theme for the event was Refreshed Recharged and Ready for 2021.
Ironically, at the same time, the Victorian Government had identified 25 new cases of COVID-19 and, today, Melbourne is set to go into lockdown—again.
During the event, we discussed some of the issues that association leaders faced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and are now facing as ...
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Tuesday May 11, 2021
Most associations send out a membership invoice subscription to their members either once a year or on the anniversary of their joining. Membership subscriptions can present a range of issues for associations. In particular, pricing can be a dilemma each year. Is your pricing structure right? Are your members going to be pleased with the subscription price? Do you need to increase the price? These are all questions your Board of Directors should review (and answer) each year.
Recently, I was involved in the membership ...
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Wednesday March 24, 2021
It’s now over 12 months since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet, its influence on associations throughout Australia is still being felt. Many association leaders have had to revisit their membership engagement and marketing strategies to ensure that their existing members renew and new members are attracted.
Here are some of the changes to association member engagement that we noticed emerging in 2020, and developing in the first quarter of year.
The Changing Face of Membership Value
With the closure of ...
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