Member-Driven or Staff-Driven? A False Choice

The above question is often posed to association leaders to gauge who sets the agenda for the organization. The assumption being that member-driven organizations are more connected to members’ needs than staff-directed organizations. But that question is a false choice. In today’s environment of short attention spans and over-crowded schedules, an association is unlikely to survive without a strong staff, with equally strong opinions and ideas of where an association must move to stay ahead. Associations today must find ways to know member needs, without burdening volunteers’ time and resources. To that end, Printing Industry Midwest invited a series of executives to participate in brief focus groups designed to reveal top management concerns of today’s print service leaders. The process discovered:

Business Managers are seeking …

Solutions for replacing an aging print workforce and developing a pipeline of quality candidates.

Leadership development strategies to support their employee’s career development.

Opportunities for engagement with their peers to discover and share best business practices.

Sales Managers are seeking …

Strategies for rewarding, motivating, training, and finding qualified sales personnel.

Market trends and prospecting skills to help win new business and grow their companies.

Technology solutions and talent required for improving client relations and management.

Technology Managers are seeking …

To reduce workflow touchpoints, relieving stress on labor, and take costs out of the supply chain.

Best practices and intelligence for securing customer and corporate data.

Improvements to the processes and capabilities of job estimators.

Armed with this intelligence, it then turns to association staff to drive initiatives that impact these critical member issues.