Last year ASAE published a second edition of the popular Membership Essentials: Recruitment, Retention, Roles, Responsibilities, and Resources. The book, written by thought leaders from across the association community, covers every facet of membership, from recruiting and engaging new members to membership retention and long-term engagement. More recently, ASAE's Membership Section Council presented a webinar [WebEx extension download required] that featured three of the book's authors providing a snapshot of the information contained in their chapters.

One of the authors, Sara Miller, senior director of membership operations at the Association of Corporate Counsel, focused on creating a membership department to meet the needs of the organization at-large. Membership departments do not look the same across all associations and may differ based on factors, such as organization size and type, number of members, geography, budget, and leadership hierarchy or structure.

Organizing or reorganizing your department is a great way to improve efficiencies.—Sara Miller, Association of Corporate Counsel

But no matter how membership departments are structured, every once in a while, Miller suggests examining those operations. "Organizing or reorganizing your department is a great way to improve efficiencies," she says. Miller suggests a three-step process for determining how department structure can deliver optimal value to members while maximizing efficiencies.

1. Understand the department's responsibilities. What does the department do? This answer can be categorized into broad areas—such as marketing or member services—or around activities like event planning, chapter administration, staffing committees, award program planning, and so forth. One way to capture all the department's activities and work is with a mind-map exercise, which will depict it in a visual way. "The mind map should be created so that anyone inside or outside the organization can understand what you do," Miller says. The map should answer questions like:

• What does the membership department own?
• How does the department contribute to other departments?

2. Understand team member responsibilities. Job descriptions are a good place to start. Individual and team interviews with those inside and outside the membership department are a good way to unearth tasks not on the job description. These interviews allow you to see how tasks could be rearranged within the department or moved to other departments. It also can help to identify department tasks that are important but never seem to get done. For example, sending more renewal notices almost always increases the percentage of members who renew, but this task may not be executed because of workload issues. This process makes identifying opportunities easier and is a way to talk candidly about "sacred cows" and how to best allocate resources and time. To better understand team members' responsibilities, ask:

• Who does what?
• What are the ebb and flow of individual team member's workloads?
• What are each staffer's priorities?

3. Build the membership team. Finally, remember that it's more expensive to find a new staff member than it is to retain an existing one. Staff appreciate trainings and new projects that can further their skill set. Miller recommends rewarding staff in small and large ways. One suggestion is "rock dollars"—fake dollars given out by colleagues as kudos to fellow teammates who do a good job. The dollars are eventually collected, saved, and redeemed for gift cards. To build buy-in from your existing membership team, ask yourself:

• What skills need further development?
• How do we keep team members?
• What do individuals value in their work?

"It's important that we all recognize the organization's greatest asset are its people," Miller says. Make sure your department goals and your individual teammates' goals are complementary. With that synergy, you'll have a good blueprint for delivering value to fellow staff and members alike.