Across most of the country, states are reopening, and calendars are starting to fill up. Your chapters and their leaders are trying to make time for normal chapter events amid all of the rescheduled life and social events of 2020. You’ll probably find that some of your members are ready to jump back in, while others may be feeling overwhelmed and burnt out.

Aside from any anxiety they might be feeling, there is a silver lining to the challenges of reopening: It’s an opportunity for you to re-engage your chapters and navigate the uncertainty together. Here are three areas to refocus your engagement of chapter leaders to free up their valuable time and reduce the burden of taking on a leadership position.

Ready Your Resources

Your organization may have a trove of tools and resources available for your chapters to use, but do they know how and where to access them? When leaders are crunched for time, your resources aren’t really saving time if they have to dig to find them. Try these ideas to reduce the barriers of accessing the resources you already have on hand:

• Create a resource repository. Make templates and documentation easy to find with a dedicated landing page on your leader portal or chapter website.
• Launch an email campaign. Utilize email tools to schedule a drip campaign or send a series of refresher emails to remind chapters of the resources they have at their fingertips.
• Share reputable sources. Leverage your email newsletter or social channels to share reliable industry websites, news, or experts that have valuable information for chapters, so leaders don’t have to go on their own hunt.

There is a silver lining to the challenges of reopening: It’s an opportunity for you to re-engage your chapters and navigate the uncertainty together.

Set Your Automation

When schedules are hectic, you can encourage chapters to lean on technology, tools, and automation to pick up the slack. Leaders didn’t sign up for their position to manage email inboxes, calendars, or spreadsheets. Finding meaningful areas to automate takes the administrative burden off your chapter leaders. Consider investing in tools to manage day-to-day tasks in these operational areas:

• Calendar management. These tools assist with finding mutually agreeable times for meetings without the endless back and forth through email. Check out Doodle, Picktime, or Calendly.  
• Event management. From the planning process to in-person payment tools, these tools take the logistic pressure off leaders and allow them to focus on event goals. Take a look at ePly or Eventbrite.
• Financial management. Financial management or banking systems eliminate manual financial tasks like managing spreadsheets, updating ledger entries, reconciling accounts, and balancing the books.
• Member management. Association management software is designed to take on documentation, reporting, and database requirements to keep membership processes running smoothly.
• Chapter management. This software can help headquarters and chapters collaborate better, while providing chapters the tools they need to help streamline their operations and make chapter leader activities simpler.

Engage With Clarity

After spending 2020 coordinating creative virtual programming, you are likely feeling a little burnt out yourself when trying to find new ways to support chapters. Even a well-intentioned webinar or event aimed at supporting leaders feels like one more invitation for their already overloaded calendars—and yet another event you have to plan. How do you support chapters without making it feel like more work for them? Tap into these three ways to support your chapters outside of traditional programming:

• Set clear timelines. Take a good look at your list of requirements for chapters. Do you really need and use everything you are asking for? Or is it just another box to check that wastes time for everyone involved? For the deliverables you do need, make sure to have feasible timelines. Clear deadlines could open the door for communication if they need help streamlining operations to meet them.
• Reward chapter leaders. Think about unique ways you can thank chapter leaders for their service (e.g., discounts on national events and products, VIP treatment during conferences). A healthy approach to thanking and rewarding chapter leadership could prevent burnout and turnover.
• Eliminate the noise. Show your chapter leaders that you respect their time by ensuring you have meaningful agendas or goals for any necessary meetings and events. Don’t just meet for the sake of meeting during times of heavy scheduling.

Burnout is nothing new for chapter leaders, but the conflicting obligations of reopening have raised the stakes for finding a healthy balance between work, family, and volunteering. While there may still be challenges ahead as chapters adjust to post-restriction life, proactively engaging your leaders with support strategies now shows you are committed to being a partner during times of transition.