Online course on membership strategies. VNO-NCW inputs with best practices

Covid-times force to change methods. Training must continue, now online. But the topics of training often remain constant. Membership strategies is such a topical issue. It is central for employers and business members organisations (EBMOs), both for their representativeness and for their revenue streams. It is a permanent concern.

Even more in Covid-times, where quite some organisations struggle with membership levels and income, but  fortunately, probably less than was feared initially. (ILO, A global survey of EBMO, Inside impacts and responses to Covid 19, ILO, June 2020, p.3-7,  https://www.ilo.org/actemp/publications/WCMS_749379/lang--en/index.htm . At present, the effects on membership remain an open question. But there are informal reports that  indeed a number of EBMOs would rather have benefited in terms of membership, thanks to the pro-active role of EBMOs in recovery plans and in direct support for companies, which triggered a high level of members appreciation and loyalty (see ILO, Analysis of the activities of EBMOs in Covid times, January 2021, https://www.ilo.org/actemp/publications/WCMS_766658/lang--en/index.htm .

Whatever the facts will later bring on the effects on membership, both the Covid context, and the constant training request of partners were the background for further training efforts in this key area of EBMO operations. Hence DECP and  ITCILO, the training centre of the International Labour Organisation, organise at present a new edition of an online course on membership strategies.

During 8 weeks, at a rhythm of a 1 day training input- effort per week, 30 participants -EBMO  staff from 25 countries- are trained, via lectures, exchanges, exercises and reading materials, in mastering strategies and tactics in membership management and -policies. The course aims to incite participants to look at membership policies holistically. Starting from the creation of a strong value proposition, to segmentation, branding, and ending up to what really matters: do well in the various steps in the membership cycle: recruit more, engage more and retain more members.

VNO-NCW, the Dutch national EBMO, also contributes to the contents development and adds pertinent and practical experiences from the Netherlands. Mrs Rita ter Steeg, manager association development of VNO-NCW, extensively intervened in one of the recent sessions, reviewing some key points of the VNO-NCW approach in membership policies. Amongst others she focused on the importance of policy influence as part of the value proposition (1), on the key role of account management in membership policies (2) and on the specific case of recruiting and engaging associations as members of the employers’ organisation (3). The latter was an eyeopener for a number of participants, which may tend too much to identify the notion member with member companies, whilst the experiences in the European Union, including of course VNO-NCW’s practices, show the vertebral role of sector and regional associations in making national EBMOs strong and vibrant. And hence the key attention to be given to sectoral associations in any membership policy, and the important added value of the Dutch practices which were reviewed in this course.