“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes…but no plans.”
— Peter Drucker
Renowned management consultant Peter Drucker must have been thinking about private clubs when he made this statement about “commitment.” In this article, learn how to commit to improving the club member experience through annual membership survey completion and most importantly, follow-up.
How many times have you …
- Witnessed a membership survey report being relegated to the “shelf?”
- Seen the board or management say, “that’s nice” before going on to list all of the obstacles to addressing what the survey revealed?
- Observed club leaders recognizing the validity of the survey results but stopping short of sharing what “commitments” or “actions” will be taken?
Many times, a survey is completed because “we’re supposed to do it.” Other times, a survey isn’t issued because it’s expensive and “we” can’t see the value.
Times are changing, however. Private club managers and boards are recognizing the need to treat the club as a business and replicate appropriate tools successful businesses use today. Certainly, keeping in touch and learning what your members (customers) want is one of those critical tools, and this should be the top motivation for surveying the entire membership annually. How many e-mail surveys do you get every week, from hotels, car dealers—and even hospitals? Customers (members) expect to hear from providers.
There are two major benefits to conducting an annual membership survey. The first is to measure the member experience and the second involves using the survey as a management tool for department heads and club staff.
More specifically, the first purpose of the survey is to measure members’ perception and rating of the “membership experience”—overall, and department by department. An important second step is to then enable club management and staff to improve the club with member preferences in mind. Clubs should commit to creating a plan to follow up on what the members indicate through the survey.
An additional benefit is in earning the members’ confidence and respect through the survey process, which requires a detailed communications plan. You can accomplish this by executing key elements of the process correctly. First, tell them what you are going to do, then move on to explain the reason behind the decision and when you expect the task to be carried out. Ask for their participation —and make a commitment to follow through. Afterwards, share all survey results with the membership and staff, including both quantified figures and written comments. Leave nothing out to avoid being criticized for censoring results, while protecting anonymity at the same time.
Next, analyze the survey by tolerance values, such as items rated too low, or areas not receiving high enough ratings. Where are the opportunities to improve products, services, facilities and programs? To be truly “committed,” the club staff needs to design an “action plan” for each area by identifying the issue, assigning ownership, determining the cost, setting priorities, defining dates for completion, and explaining how success will be measured.
These action plans should be frequently communicated to the membership at key points such as:
1. As soon as they are approved;
2. When progress has been made; and
3. When success has been achieved.
This can take days (“there wasn’t any Gatorade in the Pro Shop—but it is there now”), or years (“we are going to construct a new fitness facility; planning will begin next Tuesday and completion is expected in 27 months”). Continually communicate with members throughout the process. Every time something is accomplished, take your well-earned “victory lap.” Conversely, it may be that the club cannot accomplish what many members want, either right now, in the future, or ever. If this is the case, members should still be notified.
The second major benefit to the annual membership survey is its use as a management tool. Survey results can be used to enhance human resource processes in clubs. Member feedback is also an effective tool for goal setting (improvement in your department’s performance in next year’s survey) as well as performance reviews, compensation/bonus distributions, etc. Some questions to ask include:
- Were the planned action steps accomplished?
- Were they completed on time?
- Did they fit within the budget?
The survey itself, in addition to post-survey follow-up with members and staff, can enhance the admirable goals of inclusion, transparency, and communication, as well as provide staff performance measurements, thereby magnifying the return on investment from your annual membership survey exponentially.
Ted Robinson is a partner with Private Club Associates and can be reached at 1-(478) 741 7996 or via email: [email protected].