Why Associations Must Be Intentional About Recognition and Why You Should Expect It

Last week? we dove into the value of associations to fuel your professional soul and (desperately needed) reconnection.?

This week, let’s make sure that when members come together, it is so scrumptious that people feel that reconnection as well as all the professional gains. As Brene Brown shares, “connection is the energy that exists when people feel seen, heard and valued.” How energized do you feel in your association? How could you amp it up, as an individual member, by seeing, hearing or valuing one other member? If you have an active role in your association (such as on a Committee or the Board), how do you fuel energy into your events, recognition programs, and professional appreciation weeks? Read on, and let’s amp it up!

Reimagining the Value of Associations

What if you could create an association where people found as much value in it as they provided? Where they were excited to attend meetings and do the work. Where everyone is working together towards a common goal.?

Recognition can help you to achieve that.?

Tom Topping, an active volunteer leader in?SHRM ?(the Society for Human Resources Management) and I discuss how recognition and awards can retain association members, build connections, and create a positive culture where everyone feels they belong.?

Keep reading (or watch the video) to discover how you can use recognition to improve your association – membership, involvement, and loyalty – and ultimately, curate an experience of being part of your association that fuels connection and amps up much-needed professional energy.

Why Associations Need Recognition

What drives people to show up, dedicate their precious time and effort, to volunteer for an association? After all, joining an association costs time and effort that a potential member could otherwise spend on work, with their friends and families or taking a much-needed break. Yet members continue to come out, recruit others, and actively engage with their associations. That sense of connection is why people show up and are willing to volunteer; if they don’t feel valued, it’s a slippery slope of not volunteering again, stopping attending conferences, and possibly not renewing their membership.?

Reconnection is the untapped supercharger of connection. It’s true in interpersonal relationships, teams, and of course, organizations; that includes associations.?

Members feel that they aren’t just a number and a membership due to continually acknowledging and recognizing within associations. If associations try to take it all on themselves, they can burn out or as soon as that person who was gung-ho about their project steps away; the program falls flat. Member-to-member recognition is fundamental.?

Recognizing Volunteer Members in Particular

Too often in associations, like in organizations, we focus on rewards and awards. Some are motivated by this; however, way more are motivated by recognition, such as thank-you and personalized words of acknowledgement verbally, through social media posts, member spotlights, cards, and the list goes on.

The need to recognize is particularly true for volunteers; no association can function without busy professionals dedicating their time, energy, expertise and experience. When seeking volunteers for committees and boards of directors, have a plan for how to show appreciation to them (and get members involved!) To ask for individuals’ effort on top of their full-time job, they need to know their expertise, competence and strengths are needed and valued.

Without recognition, or worse, with backstabbing, time-wasting, and lack of reliability, people will direct their energy to where they know their time counts. If you cannot get volunteers, no doubt a lack of recognition and possibly even psychological safety is likely a huge part of this.

What Every Member Can Do…Now

Ask yourself:

1. How can I support and appreciate other members to be more?connected?to them?
2. How, as a volunteer, can I ensure my fellow volunteers know their?efforts are valued?
3. How, as a board of directors, do we?role model?what appreciation looks like for each other, and how can we amp it up?
4. How, as an association at large, can we create a?deeper sense of the value?of members and volunteers?

On this last point, come back next week as we dive deeper into the topic of rewards and recognition programs within associations.?

Are you an association looking to elevate recognition for your members, volunteers, at your conferences and every day??Let’s grab a virtual coffee ; I’m?happy to share my expertise with you. My way of giving back to you.

In the meantime, here are some past blogs with scrumptious recognition ideas to consider:

• Shifting Your Hiring Practices to Create a Great Employee Experience
• Hardwire Recognition to Show Appreciation For Those Returning to Work
• Going the Extra Mile For People Who Go the Extra Mile: Appreciation Done Well

We love working together here at Greatness Magnified! This article was a co-creation between Mallory Dunbar, Learning Specialist and Sarah McVanel, Chief Recognition Officer.