I just created a spreadsheet called Winning Value Economics (WVE) and I mailed it to the new GM of the Philadelphia Phillies. Essentially it’s a formula that combines actualized individual player statistics combined with average salaries. In other words it helps determine what players are holding best value. It’s kind of complicated but I believe that analytics is the way to maximize team efficiency.
Membership organizations aren’t different. In the past I have written about the need to meet, greet and engage potential members. There is still no substitute for face-to-face recruitment. However knowing your audience is essential. I was recently hired to do a membership audit for a neighborhood alliance. The organization was interested in creating a Young Leadership Institute to help usher in a new talent for future boards. The idea is not unique and in some ways quite effective. However I did some initial research and I recognized the marketplace is not highly saturated with young talent.
To make the matter more challenging was the lack of information kept from the association standpoint. Past membership status and registration info did not capture essential details to help streamline this directive of finding young talent. Essentially the pitch had t start at square one. It was a multi-leveled approach.
Since it was a neighborhood organization we were will able to extrapolate data from local institutions (religious and community groups). However we were also able to recreate some old files, research original member applications and interview association leaders. We came up with about 50 individuals that fell into this demographic. From that 50, the association was able to find about a dozen viable leaders. It seems like a minor victory but it really sets the culture and ensure a more long-term viability of the association.
The lessons learned are to collect as much information as permitted on your members. Have a pipeline of leadership succession and maintain a reliable database to help source other subgroups for your organization.