MEMBER INPUT STUDIES
Member Input…Both Science and Art Form
For Club Leaders to move a club forward into the future while preserving their club’s culture and heritage, and ensuring their club’s strength and viability through both good times and bad, the members-at-large must be integral to the planning process.
The art of listening meets the science of our process...We have developed methods that turn the chaotic process of proactively seeking member input into concise,logical and effective Discovery Reports.
Pioneers in Member Feedback
Beginning in 1990 Club Resources began conducting member surveys as the primary approach to club planning and monitoring member satisfaction. Now with over 30 years experience conducting Member Focus Groups, Capital Improvement Presentations, Town Hall Meetings and facilitating Board and Planning Retreats, Club Resources has refined the process of gaining member input.
In advance of strategic planning inviting members to participate in a focus group setting identifies issues to be addressed in the survey, and the process informs and dispels rumors before they begin. This approach seemed to be a winning combination. This methodology made a lot of sense to us. It also made sense to the members and ultimately provided more effective club planning for our client clubs.
Our methodology includes an open-invitation to all members to participate in a series of 90-minute discussion groups. Our goal is to get up to 15% of the membership to attend. We ask open-ended questions that we have found effective in deriving the members’ central issues. We digitally record the thousand-plus comments and then synthesize them into an easy to digest report.
Member Surveys
In the early days before online survey software, we hand-tabulated every survey and input the results into an Excel spreadsheet. Today we use Qualtrics, the leading online research software platform.
Regardless of the survey’s objectives (i.e., member satisfaction, capital project oriented, pre-vote, demographic, membership marketing, governance best practices, SWOT, and others), we have refined our survey methodologies to get results.
Member Input Summary
We know how to get members to respond and participate. We also know what to do with the results. Our survey results reporting is second to none. We have developed a multilayer report system which attends to the needs of different end-users within the club.
Beginning with the raw statistical results and a 5-point Weighted Average scale (an industry best practice), we go beyond percentages. Club Resources has developed its own industry ranking and priority ranking to make the results speak to Club Managers and Board Members alike. Club Resources believes that the members-at-large need continual integration in the club’s planning process, however, it is also impractical to expect the club to communicate reams of data to hundreds of members. Mindful of the different levels of reporting needed, we provide the following reports:
• Focus Group Member Comments Report (summarized and edited transcription)
• Focus Group Summary of Comments (consolidated and categorized comments)
• Survey Results Report (Spreadsheet Statistics, Queries and Weighted Averages)
• Survey Summary Report (with Weighted Rankings, Priorities, and Charts)
• Executive Summary (for publication and distribution to the members)
• Narrated PowerPoint Presentation and upload to club website
