Membership World Podcast

Why do 84% of largescale digital projects fail with my Guest Nej Gakenyi

In todays episode we talk about why digital transformation projects sometimes fail and what needs to be done in all parts of the process. A lot of this is due to mindset and a desire to change.

We draw on examples in the association world where there are often multiple stakeholders involved.  Nej talks more about the importance of Digital Evolution and why associations need to be constantly evolving in the digital landscape. 

If you want to find out more about GRM Digital head over to the Membership World Solutions Centre or connect with Nej on Linkedin

Russell Hamblin Boone, CEO of the Civil Enforcement Association – the Professional Trade Association CEO

In this episode we talk with Russell Hamblin Boone, who is CEO of the Civil Enforcement Association. The Association deals with civil enforcement for local authorities & government bodies and represents bailiffs.  

Here we talk about the challenge the industry has around bailiff reputation and particularly since austerity and the cost of living crisis. Often people that don’t know too much about what they do have a strong opinion of them. Russell alludes to why its good for associations to bring in experienced professional trade association experts, rather than industry-experienced individuals.

When he went for the interview for the role he said, "If you are looking for a Yes Man, I am not it, because I will challenge positions, in order to move the organisation forwards. Never did I think I needed to be a master of diplomacy, but its true - as a CEO you do.

You have wide opinions and voices across the membership and Board. 

Associations often need to show their value to the membership trough an issue, not only might they have to deal with external issues, but also internal challenges within the sector".

Russell set up the Energy Retail Association which went onto to be Energy UK. He also shares his experiences at the Finance and Leasing Association through the credit crunch. 

We round up by talking about managing crisis and why the Professional CEO has to often be the face of the issue. Navigating around member key stakeholders and communicating the right message is essential for the CEO. If you want to follow Russell on Linkedin, you can reach out to him here

This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)

Securing Digital Trust in the Evolving Mobile Landscape with Dario Betti, CEO of MEF.

Dario Betti, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), is a distinguished figure with over 20 years of experience in spearheading initiatives within the mobile phone industry.

Betti's comprehensive knowledge of the mobile ecosystem, coupled with his strategic vision, has been pivotal in shaping MEF's influential role in addressing the multifaceted dynamics of the industry.

Renowned for his expertise in mobile entertainment, consumer safeguarding, and fostering industry-wide collaboration, Betti has emerged as a prominent authority in the mobile sector. His unwavering commitment to nurturing sustainable and secure mobile ecosystems has significantly contributed to fostering strategic growth and industry-wide collaboration, cementing MEF's position as a trailblazer in driving impactful change within the mobile ecosystem.

This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)

Association Events – making them work better with Heather Lishman - Association Director for ABPCO

In this episode Heather Lishman, Director of the British Professional Conference Organisers, talks about the changing face of association events.  

One of the most stressful jobs, the professional event organisers role has changed considerably over the years, with them having to grapple around event tech, sustainable events, tighter and tighter budgets and more demanding sponsors. 

One of the areas we talk about is the growth in event legacy and Heather cites some great examples of what associations are doing.

This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)

 

Discrimination and harassment in the workplace is still happening

The law hasn’t stopped discrimination misogyny, homophobia, prejudice and sexism it has simply gone underground. This has made it more difficult to prove. Why concrete evidence is needed if the law is to step in.

The problem that discrimination, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder; can you as a reasonable person, know whether a raised voice and/or aggressive action is aimed at you because you are gay, a woman or of ethnic origins?

A personal story to illustrate this; the word of one person against another; laws are there to protect individuals but in practice they don’t prevent inequality, injustices or discrimination.

Along with the incident that caused global outrage with the Spanish Football President, this is just some of the areas we cover in this insightful podcast episode with the Patron of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals, Amanda Hamilton.  Find out more from the Association here.

 

This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)

 

 

Simon Goldie - Finance & Leasing Association

Simon joined the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) as their Head of Asset Finance in 2014. In 2021 he became Director of Advocacy.

He is responsible for the FLA Asset Finance Division and the cross-organisational advocacy work that the FLA undertakes. This includes representing asset finance members to government and the regulators, developing relationships with stakeholders, overseeing the FLA’s asset finance policy work and ensuring that they have a joined-up advocacy programme that demonstrates their members contribution to the UK, so that they can raise their profile and influence public policy.

Simon’s background is in public affairs and communications. Previously, he worked for membership bodies and the commercial sector, including the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Association of Consultancy and Engineering. LexisNexis and in leading market research agencies.

He has also been named one of the top 100 UK lobbyists.

When he is not working, he and his wife raise two children and one cat. The jury is still out on which species is the easier to guide through life.

 

This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)

The power of volunteering – with CEO of Scouts UK Matt Hyde

In this episode we talk about the power of working with volunteers for your membership organisation, with the CEO of the Scouts movement.

Matt Hyde is Chief Executive of the Scouts, the UK’s largest youth movement. Formerly Chief Executive of the National Union of Students (NUS), he’s undertaken a number of leadership roles in the charity sector and as Chief Executive of the Scouts has contributed to a period of record membership growth since joining in 2013.  He has led award-winning campaigns, spearheaded work to support the growth of Scouts in areas of deprivation and oversaw the development of a new age range, called Squirrels; opening up Scouts for four and five year olds.

Matt is Co-Founder of The Big Help Out, an initiative to dramatically increase volunteering numbers across the UK as part of HM King Charles III’s Coronation, which saw over 7.2m volunteer.

He is a trustee of Comic Relief, a Patron of UNLOCK (the charity for people with convictions) and was previously Vice-Chair of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). 

Matt was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year Honours List, an Honorary Fellowship from Queen Mary University of London in 2012 and an Honorary Degree from the University of Hertfordshire in 2023.

 

This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)

British Orthopaedic Association: Director of Communications – Annette Heninger

The British Orthopaedic Association has over 5,000 members throughout the UK and overseas and is the special surgical speciality association for trauma and orthopaedics.

Annette Heninger is the director of communications, and in this episode shares her insight about how they communicate and engage with their members and how they are even exploring a new membership tier for their retirees.

For more information on the BOA viist https://www.boa.ac.uk/

 

This podcast has been sponsored by RD Mobile - the complete events and membership engagement platform.  Find out more RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com) #membership #engagement  The go-to technical creative agency | Pixl8 @gordon@gordonglenister.com

Industry Veterans Russ Magnusson & Alex Skinner

In this episode industry veterans Russ Magnusson, CEO and founder of RD Mobile and Membership digital agency founder Alex Skinner talk about the some of the trends facing the membership sector post Covid. Skinner commented, one client had 70% of income from physical training accounts so were motivated to make decisions to move online very quickly.

Culture played a big part to do something different. How do you managed a large remote distributed team, this was new ground for a lot of membership bodies. .  Some decisions during the Pandemic were made at speed and in some cases now having to re-evaluate as not all the these products were talking to each other in one centralised platform. 

Magnusson suggests not many organisations have gone for a hybrid model and a desire for in-person events has been very high.  Find out more from this riveting interview.

This podcast has been sponsored by RD Mobile - the complete events and membership engagement platform.  Find out more RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com) #membership #engagement  The go-to technical creative agency | Pixl8 @gordon@gordonglenister.com

Sally Hardy & Alex Homes – The Regional Studies Association

The Regional Studies Association is a learned society - there are about  26,000 learned associations around the world.

The RSA has membership from all over the world and its members range from academics, geographers, political scientists, planners, journalists, and rise from students  up to professors .

The society was established in 1966 and the current CEO Sally Hardy is coming up to her 37^th year.  Members love the networking most, says Sally. What they are looking for are those personal connections, people doing the same things they are.  They have a huge global conference programme and publish a number of journals. They talk about how their app has helped boost membership engagement. This has helped the organisation grow its online community particularly younger audiences

This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)