Whether it's a high profile company, an established conglomerate or a local club, everybody has a hard time keeping their best and brightest to stay. We often have those amazing members who volunteer a majority of their time towards club activities and have invested a lot of their time and energy towards the success of the club. These members join various committees, become executives and handle anything from menial to the most complex tasks. As a result, they become important to the club and to the rest of the club members. Sometimes, a simple acknowledgement isn't enough and it becomes difficult to retain members. However, in order to retain members, we have to understand why members choose to leave in the first place.

1. Lack of Open-Mindedness: Everyone wants to be heard and have their ideas acknowledged. When members begin to feel that the decision makers of the club often waive their ideas aside in order to follow through with an already set strategy, they begin to feel undervalued. As such, they slowly begin to lose interest in the club and its activities. As a solution, always try and incorporate the best parts of their suggestions. New suggestions can only improve your current strategy and help you achieve your goals.
2. Vision/Mission: Look at your club's current mission statement. What is your club's vision for the future? Is is exciting? Is it something your members are proud to share? Do all members even know what it is? A mission statement really defines what your club is about and your vision defines the future of your club. Who came up with the mission statement and vision? Chances are, when your club members choose what it is they want to achieve as a club, they'll work towards making it a success because they'll believe in it.
3. Exciting Tasks & Projects: When we look at the business world, there are hardly any companies that have people follow up with employees asking if they're enjoying their current project or whether they're interested in another project or task. Essentially, these are 'nice-to-have' conversations but hardly ever take place, once a year at best during performance reviews. Similarly, this is something that should be implemented by clubs. A simple question like this can make members feel very appreciated and looked after. Everybody is driven by the opportunity to excel and participate in something big, which will make an impact on their company, life or even club. Why not implement an annual 'check-in' for members to see how their membership is going and what can be done to improve their experience?
   
4. Team Dynamic: Does everyone in your club get along with one another? How is your team dynamic? When everyone gets along and are on friendly terms with one another, you can be sure that they look forward to club meetings and events because they enjoy each other's company. If there's a bad seed that causes friction with more than one member, deal with them! You may think that they do so much for the club and you would hate to lose them, but think about how many members you turn off by letting them get away with bad behaviour. Ensure your team dynamic is strong. To do so, plan events that revolve around building your team dynamic, and find ways to allow members other than the usual leaders play a role. After all, a strong team equals success!
5. Trust & Shifting Priorities: When members promise to fulfill a goal or have a task completed, trust that they will deliver on their promise. You've got to give them enough time to complete the task at hand, instead of reassigning it to someone else. For example, if you've issued a challenge to a group of members to fundraise and collect a certain amount of money by a certain date, believe they will do so. If you see that they won't reach their goal by the set date, offer them advice and help rather than enlisting another group to complete the task. If members feel like their club supports their initiatives, they'll attempt to do more for the club, otherwise, the impression that is left on them is that the club isn't interested in their efforts at all.
6. Authority: Although you cannot exactly 'tell' your club members what to do and how to participate, the board can still outline club expectations from all members. Anyone who is part of an organization, knows there are guidelines to follow and will appreciate suggestions and observations made on becoming active members.

Everyone wants to feel valued. When people join clubs or an organization, they do so to be part of something and to contribute towards something. When they feel that their participation or efforts are not acknowledged, they begin to feel as though the organization they want to be part of doesn't appreciate them. As a result, they feel that leaving the club would be a better option.

 Adapted from Forbes Article - 'Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail to Keep Their Best Talent'.  Want to use this or other articles in your own newsletter? Please keep the credits attached, and reference the ClubRunner Newsletter as your source.

 Let's face it - attracting members to join a service organization is not an easy task. In fact, oftentimes, we see that even though the majority of people are aware of Rotary, only a few know what Rotarians actually do. The prospective members that we try and recruit are often our friends, colleagues or family members. These are people that are easy to recruit because you share a personal relationship with them and can easily explain the work of Rotarians to them.

The question then arises, how do we attract those outside of our personal radar to Rotary? How do we attract the younger generation to become Rotarians? Essentially, it is about publicity. 

1. Take Advantage of Social Media - Your social media channels (i.e.: Facebook, Twitter, etc) can help you reach a wider audience. Promote your events, accomplishments and club or District pictures on social media channels and drive traffic back to your website, where visitors can read more about the wonderful things your club does. This idea is - you always want to be where your audience is, so that you can easily communicate with them.
2. Make it a Media Event - Invite your local newspaper journalist to cover your next Rotary event or simply inquire about having an article published about your current project. By promoting your club through a local media outlet, you can share more information about your Rotary club to members of your own community. By doing so, you generate interest about Rotary among those who you may have never reached otherwise.
3. Host an Open House - Invite members of your local community to a lively membership night! Play some ice-breaker games so prospective members and members of your club can socialize. Invite a prominent community member to give a short talk on a hot topic. Have some marketing collaterals ready to give out at this event that consist of information about your club, activities and Rotary. This way, prospective members have something conclusive to take away and read. Invite all prospective members at the membership night to attend your next regular club meeting so they can get a feel of what the dynamic of the club is like. Those who are really interested will attend and you'll have an opportunity to formally invite them to join the club.
4. Get Involved in Local Events - By being where your audience is, you have the potential to reach an array of potential members. Consider participating in local events such as the local community picnic. Your club can set up a booth and either sell items (e.g. lemonade) or can simply open a stand to collect donations for a specific charity. Not only is this a great way to fundraise but it will also give you the opportunity to meet and greet with potential members who if interested can sign up for your newsletter and take some collateral with them to learn more about your club.
5. Create Partnerships - Think of your club as a brand. When businesses want to reach a wider audience, they often form partnerships with other companies, also known as co-branding. Similarly, you can form an alliance with another club or an organization that you regularly deal with, whereby you can consider 'joint venture co-branding'. You can then work with the organization to come up with a way to market your club effectively. For example, if you partner with a local school, sports team or even charity, you can consider donating a percentage of membership dues you receive from new members back to the organization. Find a specific project or cause that fits the goals of both organizations for maximum success, and use each organization's strengths to pull it through. For instance, you may have the man power to source volunteers but the partner organization may have the broad reach of a wide audience. This concept would not only give your club that added publicity of a larger event, but would essentially be your marketing strategy to entice prospective members to join. 

There are many ways we can attract new members or at least generate interest about Rotary. To generate interest, we have to spread awareness amongst our audience by utilizing the channels they use. Essentially, we always want to be where our audience is. By targeting people outside of our personal radar, we have the opportunity to reach a wider audience, which if done effectively, can help clubs reach their membership goals sooner.

 Want to use this or other articles in your own newsletter? Please keep the credits attached, and reference the ClubRunner Newsletter as your source.