“I’ve never met members who are so proud, passionate and committed”

For the last year, Janet Talman has been doing great work heading the membership arm of the Royal British Legion as Director of Membership.

Having worked for many different membership organisations previous to the RBL, she believes there are a few things that make us special, some of these being our “passionate, committed and proud” members and having “some of the strongest advocates and ambassadors I’ve ever come across”.

Janet takes us through the key work being done around membership, including the Comradeship Working Group, and we also hear from, Alison Bunn, new Head of Membership Engagement.

Plans for Membership

?Where are things now, in terms of building a stronger future for membership?

“We’re going back to basics. Sadly, our membership is in decline – something that’s happening not only to us, but also to a lot of other membership organisations. As a result, we need to redefine membership to ensure that it’s fit for the future and welcomes in a new generation.

“To do this, we’ve been asking ourselves: What is the purpose of membership? What unites us all? Our starting point is comradeship, ‘the company and friendship of others with common aims’. That’s what binds us, that’s what membership of the RBL should provide, that’s what should be at its heart – indeed, that’s what many members already experience. We now need to build on that and take it further still in defining our membership offering.”

?Have members been involved in this?

“Yes. As I said, the concept of comradeship is a starting point. We need to do more work on making sure that our offering is special and unique to the RBL, setting it apart from other military charities. We can’t do that thinking on our own, so last summer we set up a Comradeship Working Group, made up of members and staff, so that those questions could be developed. What has come out of that group has been brilliant, and I’ve shared it with the Trustees, Membership Council and other parts of the RBL so we can refine it”

How are you making sure that members are heard and supported?

“I’m pleased to say that we’re already making changes that we hope will make members feel more supported. On 1st March, Alison Bunn took up her new role as Head of Member Engagement, a position that didn’t exist before. She used to be an Area Manager, so she knows the RBL well. She’ll focus on supporting branches, engaging with them and building relationships.

“And even better news is that the Membership Support Officers will join her team, with reviewed roles and responsibilities to make sure members feel that they are valued and have help. It’s a change that I’m really pleased about, and I think it will make a difference. Not only is branch engagement crucial to retaining existing members, but a successful and supported branch will also be better able to welcome new members.”

So, how will we build the membership of the future?

Our membership is changing. Nearly half of it is now made up of the family and friends of those who have served, and that proportion is growing. The younger generation is also keen to get involved in a cause. They don't need to have a link to the Armed Forces if they think the RBL is where they want to give their time or money. If they think we’re an exciting and interesting cause to get involved in, they'll do it. ?

“We’ve set up a new Network Engagement team to establish communication links with sections of the community to get our message out there and keep us relevant. There will be engagement with the Armed Forces to make us more known to those who are still serving, there will be community engagement for rural areas and diverse cities, plus a national network of links with schools. This is a team that membership will be working closely with. I’m really excited about it.”

Meet our new Head of Membership Engagement

Alison Bunn is a veteran and has been with the RBL for five and a half years as the Area Manager for Greater Manchester and Lancashire:

“Head of Membership Engagement is a new role, and it’s a great time for me to join the Membership team. Membership engagement is all about how we communicate and interact with our members. It's a two-way relationship, and our aim is to bring members closer to the charity and the charity closer to our members.

“I’ll have lots on my ‘to do’ list, but one of my priorities is to develop a thorough overview of what’s going on – there are so many positive activities being organised by branches, counties and our national and overseas membership.

“I will also oversee the Membership Support Officers (MSOs), bringing them into one team. They provide invaluable support to the members and will play a key role in relationship building and improving membership engagement in the future.”

“I’m passionate about the work that membership does because they support the RBL in their own time, are committed to what they do and they make a difference. You only have to look at how members stepped up to become telephone buddies during the lockdown, ensuring that socially isolated individuals had someone to connect with.

“Members can expect to see a lot of me from now on, including at the Membership Meet-ups that are planned for this year I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone.”

A look at the Comradeship Working Group

We talked to members John Boisson, Membership Council Representative, East Anglia, and Desiree Niezen, Honorary Secretary, District of Germany, about their ongoing work as part of the RBL’s Comradeship Working Group:

What is the Comradeship Working Group and how did you get involved?

John: The Comradeship Working Group was formed late last year to develop a modern comradeship model as a core element of the current and future RBL membership offer. It’s an advisory group, and our main contribution is to suggest ideas, give expertise, identify issues and recommend solutions as we create an environment where comradeship can be fostered and sustained into the future. As I’m still serving, I was asked to join the group to provide a current service person’s input.

Desiree: I got involved so I could add an overseas perspective and give voice to the younger section of the membership (I am 25)

Why is comradeship important?

John: It’s the core bond that connects all our members. It evokes a strong sense of personal belonging and a collective purpose. For me, it’s comparable and directly related to the strong sense of camaraderie I’ve experienced throughout my military career. For many years, comradeship has been referred to without defining its importance for our members. Our group is making good headway in addressing this and identifying imaginative ways to encourage and promote more comradeship opportunities for our members.

It has been especially interesting to explore the different reasons why our members join and what motivates them to be so committed to helping and supporting our Armed Forces community in their local areas.

Desiree: We also wanted to determine if comradeship is even the correct word for us to be using. Do a lot of members still identify with it or does it need more thought? Does it include everyone? I think it does, but this always needs to be reviewed.

What have been the outcomes of your meetings so far?

John: Our meetings have been extremely productive in working towards our key objectives: to define comradeship and its role in the Royal British Legion membership; recommend how it can be fostered and sustained; identify the barriers to and opportunities for embedding it in the current and future membership offer; and to develop methods to assess the effectiveness of the comradeship model.

Desiree: The meetings have helped us to see that comradeship is essentially a feeling, and it’s that invaluable feeling that creates our sense of community. We’ve worked well together, often splitting out into groups and then coming back together to see our theories through.

Have you found collaborating useful?

John: The make-up of the group and the way we’re working collaboratively very much typifies the spirit of One Legion. Having members involved in all stages of the decision-making process ensures that our future plans have been viewed from a member/volunteer perspective and are fit for purpose.

Desiree: I think it's great that they decided to include members in the group, since in the end, we’re the ones who most identify with comradeship and really understand what the branch offering is about. I also saw the value in being able to discuss this with staff from other parts of the RBL, because they understand how the organisation works in a totally different way. Together, we have been able to come up with more rounded thinking.

Interested in learning more about working at the Royal British Legion??Follow us on LinkedIn?or?visit our website.