Organizations need to track performance. We work towards strategies with measurable outcomes and tend to do it the same way we have for years. New members, total members, and event attendance seem important because they are part of our revenue projections. But, as we work towards quality assumptions of organization success, the below gauges can aid in better understanding of your organization.
Reports -> Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Transparency is fundamental and finding a summary of the organization’s progress can be highlighted via a KPI Dashboard. The KPI Metrics are selected and approved annually and represent areas of importance to the organization. KPIs are reported on a dashboard and data ranges can be color-coded.
The following are examples of measurable KPIs and represent a twist on traditional metrics.
Attendance -> Membership Engagement %. Attendance numbers show us total numbers of each event, but membership engagement is a great data point when deciding the success of your total programs. By understanding the percentage of your total members who attend monthly or annually, you will quickly understand if programs are attracting a mixture of members or if we are just making our active members busier with another event. The formula does require taking attendance at all events and committees and entering them into a database system. (Total Members / Members who Attend = Membership Engagement)
Satisfaction -> Net Promoter Score (NPS). Would you rather know if someone is satisfied, or if they would refer your association to someone else? Let’s use this in another example: A fast food hamburger might satisfy you, but you probably are not going to refer that to someone else. By asking the NPS question (which is now asked on ACCE’s Benchmark Survey), our organizations get a clear picture of our promoters and detractors. (% of 9 and 10 – % of 1-6 = NPS)
Total Members -> Member Pace. It is easy to know your total membership today. Tracking member pace allows you to project membership over a future given period. This is helpful in budgeting (along with member revenue retention) and allows us to see a timeline of achieving a total member number. (Total Members + Period of Time Historical Average Net Membership Numbers = Membership Pace Projection)
The new data points will take time to recognize trends in areas but once a baseline is identified, your organization can use this data to better forecast and engage with non-active and detractors of the organization.
A sample KPI Dashboard is available at: https://georgetownchamber.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/KPI-Sample.pdf
Jim, you nailed it. It is all about performance. Great article. Bob