IEEE Kerala Section

Membership Development Strategy & Plan

Shahim BakerMembership Development ChairKerala Section shahim@ieee.orgphoto

IEEE MD Strategy

Section Situation

Section MD Plan

Topics

IEEE MD Strategy

IEEE MD Support & Evolution

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

365,500 members

BMS transition ‘Great Recession’

Optimizing the Campaigns >

renewal

recovery

recruitment

reinstatement

benefits promotion

382,400 members

(renewal alerts integrated into next-gen products)

367,400 members

Integrated multimedia

Putting a face on

membership promotion

Remaking the Collateral >

Integrated MD strategy &

plan

Integrated MD reporting

397,000 members

Synthesis & Engagement

First-year member experience

Message testing

MD webcasts

374,800 members

Building a Volunteer “Field Team” >

MD KitsMD portal

Membership presentation

MD Manual

MGM business cards

MD virtualcommunity

On-demandKit ordering

MD Strategy w/ Full Volunteer Integration

MD Volunteer “Platform”

Membership Situation

Kerala Section

Kerala Section Total Members

Kerala Section Total Members Since Year 2000Formation Date: 18 November 1983

IEEE Kerala Section Membership31 December 2011

SWOT – Section’s Member Growth ProgramStrengths

• Strong section leadership & well organized structure•2 Subsections- Kochi & Malabar, ensuring geographical outreach & local initiatives•Increasing number of IEEE activities•Fast-growing student member and Student Branch counts•Increasing number requests from Engineering colleges to get IEEE partnership for conferences

Weaknesses •The ratio of Industry Members to Academia Members is low•Most of the Professional Members from academia join IEEE, to get IEEE Explore Digital Library Access. They don’t renew when they find they can’t download papers as they expected.•Contact details of many members are not updated in IEEE databases, hence they don’t get information about section events.•Some find the online joining/ renewal process a bit confusing

Opportunities

• Most of the Faculty of Technical Colleges are non Members•More students joining for Post Graduation/ Research in Technical fields• The number of engineering colleges is increasing in Kerala•Growing number of Entrepreneurs

Threats

• A large number of Student members from Kerala are moving to other sections after graduation for job.•Low cost of membership among other professional societies.•Competition from other international societies such as ACM

Section MD Plan

Membership Year BeginsFull-year dues enactedRenewal opensKey month for launching new or

upgraded benefitsFrom Sep thru Dec, revenue

deferred to next year

Membership Mid-Year½-Year Dues-Cycle BeginsArrears-Recovery BeginsKey month for launching new or

upgraded benefitsMembership Year ConcludesMember retention rates determinedBusiness fiscal performance determined½-year dues cycle concludes

Calendar Year ConcludesYear-end membership statistics determined

Active-Status TerminatorPast-due members placed

into arrears

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

APRIL

MARCH

FEBRUARY

JANUARY

AUGUST

JULY

JUNE

MAY

Timing is Everything – Know the Membership Calendar

Constituencies Technical Development

Professional Development

Community Development

Cost Savings / Discounts

Existing Members

Prospective Members

Differentiate Audiences – Different Expectations

… their needs change throughout a career

… they are everywhere. When we do recruit them, 50%+ attrition rate (first-year member strategy)

IEEE Entity Communications Events Recognition Evaluation

Considerations

Kerala Section

• Traditional Mail communication requesting to update contact details in IEEE Profile• Social Media - Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter•Membership benefit related mails to members•“Call for volunteers” mails for all major IEEE events in the section•Renewal Recovery Mails•Arrear Recovery Mails

•Continuing Education Congress• Technical Workshops by various society chapters• Teacher in Service Programme•Monthly workshops at Student Branches•Group Projects at SBs•Section level and subsection level student technical symposiums. •Internship opportunities for students.•SIGHT projects including professionals and students•STEP Workshop•Placement Training for students•Professional Development Workshop

• Member Grade Elevation• Life Member Affinity Groups• Higher Level Volunteering opportunities in India council, R10, MGA•SBs having higher retention rate will be considered for Section Outstanding Student Branch Awards•Student Project funding

• Event Participation• Volunteer Recruitment• Student Branch Vitality• Member Retention

Opportunities for Engaging Existing Members

IEEE Entity Communications Events Recognition Evaluation

Considerations

IEEE Kerala Section

• Media Coverage for events• Social Media - Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter• E-mail invitations to attendees (non members) of past events•Membership desk at every IEEE event•Conference Membership Recruitment Campaign at Every Conference•Half Year Membership Opportunity mails•Membership offer mails•Full year membership mails

• Entrepreneurship Special Interest Group Events• Free Software Special Interest Group Events•Professional Guidance Panel•Networking Dinner with Corporate Heads•IEEE Awareness events at various organizations•Industry Academia confluence event oriented at college faculty•A number of Conferences including INDICON 2012•Online training about membership benefits•Social & Humanitarian Activities

• Awards for Outstanding Professional contributions in the areas of IEEE

• Diversity and frequency of opportunities for member recruitment• Follow-up with interested individuals• First-year member engagement

Opportunities for Engaging Prospective Members

Membership Development Plan

Engagement Venues & Frequency

1Q(Jan – Mar)

2Q(Apr – Jun)

3Q(Jul – Sep)

4Q(Oct – Dec)

Communications

Social Media Publicity Weekly publicity Weekly publicity Weekly publicity Weekly publicity

MD Mails Renewal RemindersHalf Year Membership

Invitation,Arrear Recovery Mails

New member invitation Mails,

Membership reinstatement

mails

Renewal Reminders

Events

MD Events- IEEE Awareness Campaigns

1 event 2 events 4 events 2 events

Workshops 3 workshops 3 workshops 3 workshops 2 workshops

Social Humanitarian Activities10 Events including

SB events10 Events including

SB events

10 Events including SB

events

10 Events including SB

events

Recognition

Senior Member Elevation 5 5 5 5

Status Update

Engagement Venues & Frequency Goals & Progress

Communications

Social Media Publicity A team to be formed for active use of social media publicity

MD mails Arrear Recovery mails sent. Invitations sent to several non members to join IEEE

Newsletter Print Newsletter already existing

Events

Membership Development Campaigns

Conducted 2 events till May end

Workshops & Seminars Multiple Events conducted till May end

Social/Humanitarian ActivitiesAffinity Groups, SBs and various other IEEE entities within section planning various SIGHT projects and other social activities

Recognition

Senior Member Elevation Decided to Appoint a volunteer to take care of Membership Elevations

Student Project Funding ComSoc & PES Society Chapters decided to fund selected student Projects

Section’s Membership Situation, As on 2012 April End– Senior Member + Life Seniors: 63– Members:396– Affinity Members: 19– GSM: 347– Student Members:3107– Total : 3932

Section MD Plan– Increasing Sustainability by providing more membership benefits– Special Events to attract members from industry & faculty

members of colleges/universities– Increasing Visibility of IEEE by using variety of media & events– At least 1-2 events per SB per year, providing volunteering

opportunities

In Summary…