The year is coming to a close, and if I have to write a letter to 2020, I will close it with “virtually yours.”
And why not? For ten months since the lockdown started in March due to the pandemic, I already lost count of the number of webinars, e-meetings, virtual conferences, exhibitions and tours, as well as other online events that I have co-organized, spoken in or attended. I’m counting this should not be less than 100 in total!
Despite working mostly from home and a couple of days a week in the office these past seven months, I have been busier this year. In fact, my calendar is packed with virtual appointments I have never experienced before. And with these events happening in different time zones, it has been crazy working sometimes from six in the morning to midnight!
I have also ‘occupied’ a small room in our house and ‘converted’ it into a radio station booth, complete with two laptops, three monitors, a webcam, a decent microphone, a sound bar, a live sound card, a large ring light and a green screen background — all set to broadcast or participate online.
Is this a good thing? Well, yes, at least from my perspective working in the association world. Among others, I have: (a) learned a lot in so short a time; (b) known so many people and peers in the sector; (c) become tech literate through ‘hands-on’ lessons from my millennial son; (d) accessed more knowledge resources I can use in my job; and, (e) gotten ample references to write for this column.
Will this be the ‘new normal’ in association management? I say yes, absolutely! Virtual activities and events will be part of the growing portfolio of service offerings that associations will have to undertake even beyond the pandemic.
What does it take to adapt to this new way of managing associations? Here are six things – ‘6S’ – to consider based on my experience:
1. Start where you are right now. Your organization must already be doing some form of digitalization, e.g., having a website, producing e-newsletters, doing email marketing, using social media — so begin innovating here.
2. Source a good video conference platform. You will need this to organize virtual events, e.g., webinars and e-meetings, to engage with your members. There are a lot of good and reasonably priced platforms available out there.
3. Scout for appropriate technology. Aside from a video conference platform, look out for association management software, customer (member) relations management tools, etc.
4. Seek out for partners. This will boost your confidence in transforming digitally as many other associations are in the same situation as you are. Consider jointly organizing online events in collaboration with another association in the same industry or profession. You may wish to contact my organization, PCAAE, whose members are trade associations and professional societies.
5. Skill-build your staff. With the digital change, your personnel needs to acquire new competencies to do their work well.
6. Strategize proactively. Your digitalization efforts will evolve as you go through the process. Try to look beyond what you have started and aim for continuous improvement.
The column contributor, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, Founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The purpose of PCAAE—the “association of associations”—is to advance the association management profession and to make associations well-governed and sustainable. PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org