• Home
  • Publishing
  • Ad Sales
  • About Us
  • Upload an Ad
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
LLM Association PublicationsLLM Association Publications
LLM Association Publications
  • Publishing
  • Ad Sales
  • About Us
  • Current Advertisers
    • Upload an Ad
    • Make a Payment
  • News Center
  • Contact Us

Top Challenges Facing Association Executives and Staff in 2021

September 2, 2021 News

man standing trying to make decisionAccording to the 2021 Association Industry Survey, a surprising 58% of respondents reported a positive impact on their value proposition from COVID. Of the organizations responding to the survey, 88% said members definitely or somewhat recognize the association’s value proposition. Of the 35% of respondents indicating an increase in member engagement in 2020, 48% said that COVID had a major impact.

Regardless of association size or budget, the top three impediments to doing their job that were identified by respondents were consistently:

  • Time – Includes unrealistic expectations of staff by board and members as well as lack of member volunteer support and staff shortages.
  • Money – Includes decreased funding due to non-renewals and event cancellations.
  • Technology – Includes lack of technical infrastructure to support virtual education or events.

The next twelve items included on the “impediments” list were:

  • Staff
  • Events
  • Face-to-face interaction
  • Processes/Operations
  • Board of Directors
  • Member engagement
  • Remote workforce
  • Other/Miscellaneous
  • Government
  • Leadership
  • Uncertainty
  • Volunteers

In spite of these challenges, survey respondents also pointed to changes made in their associations that improved job efficiency, productivity, and satisfaction. These items include:

  • Working remotely
  • Technology
  • Videoconferencing
  • Processes/Operations
  • Miscellaneous
  • Time management
  • Staffing changes
  • Increased autonomy/flexibility

While the 2021 Association Industry Survey focused on responses from association professionals, another survey from Personify asked for input from association employees and members. When asked if they had to significantly change the way they engaged with members in 2020, 90% of association employees agreed.

When members were asked about engagement in 2020 compared to 2019, nearly half reported being more engaged in 2020 than the previous year, and only 28% of respondents report being less engaged in 2020.

Among association members, the biggest changes reported include being able to network with others via digital platforms and social media, with 47% of members saying that this has become more important. Self-service, online member communities gain in importance, with 44% of member respondents saying this service has become more important than ever.

Both reports highlight how 2020 affected association staff and members – leading to changes in the type of services offered as well as the delivery method. For more information about the Association Industry Survey, which includes detailed comments from respondents about their organization’s struggles, click here, and for results of the Personify research, click here.

Share

You also might be interested in

A 2020 Winner: Organizations Benefit from Virtual Meetings

Aug 10, 2020

There is a saying that every cloud has a silver[...]

Are Your Pandemic-Related Price Changes Sustainable?

Jun 1, 2021

The switch from in-person to virtual events and a scramble[...]

Retain Key Staff to Ensure Association Success

Oct 28, 2020

It does not matter how many programs your association offers,[...]

Search

Latest Posts

  • Create a Magazine that Adds Value to Membership
  • Association Event Planners Tackle In-Person Meetings
  • Microlearning: Text Message Courses Add Value and Increase Engagement
  • Differences Between Writing for Online and Print
  • Promoting Innovation in an Association

Archives

  • March 2022 (2)
  • January 2022 (4)
  • November 2021 (4)
  • October 2021 (2)
  • September 2021 (2)
  • August 2021 (2)
  • June 2021 (6)
  • May 2021 (3)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (3)
  • February 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (2)
  • November 2020 (3)
  • October 2020 (6)
  • September 2020 (3)
  • August 2020 (3)
  • July 2020 (2)
  • June 2020 (2)

Contact Us

Have questions or need more info? Please let us know how we can help!

Send Message
Logo

Print and Digital Association Contract Publishing

Contact Us

  • LLM Publications
  • 503-445-2220
  • support@llmpubs.com

Business & Mailing Address

  • PO Box 25120, Portland, OR 97298-0120

© 2021 LLM Publications

  • Home
Prev Next