Member Retention: IEEE Response to US Members Needs

Speaker: John Day, IEEE-MGA Membership Development

John started with several facts: trends, graphs, analysis conducted by IEEE Membership Development (MD) such as membership in IEEE has been decreasing by a net 1% per year since 2002. There is a lot of growth and contraction within the network of IEEE members – members become Life Members, Student Members, Gold members contribute to the contraction and growth fluctuations. John provides the detailed information – stats on the IEEE website under Membership Development.
Interestingly, market penetration in the US is only 7.5%
Tenure is longer now and boosts overall retention rates of 83%; the caveat is the first year members which have the highest departure rates. Of the new members, 50% leave IEEE within two years of membership.
This is a concern which needs to be continually addressed at the chapter and section level.
Member Focus: it is important that we solve individual needs of the members – Why are you here? Surprising to me is that there is information available in new member reports provided monthly from the MD offices.
One of the biggest challenges is recruiting new members as well.
Where do new recruits come from?
- Peer activity (referrals from friends, colleges, co-workers)
- Industry conferences.
Top Reasons for Joining IEEE What they will miss if they leave IEEE
Networking with professionals……..27% IEEE Spectrum ……………..35%
Enhance careers…………………………..37% Nothing………………………..25%
Obtain publications……………………..57% Education products……..12%
To join specific societies………………37% opportunity to stay current……12%
Continuing education………………..34% Tech. Society membership……..21%
No reference to missing career development/Network opps.


Some of the challenges of reaching members = time. Members have less and less time.
Ideas to obtain more membership involvement include:
- Virtual meetings where members can participate from their homes or offices
- Conduct a satisfaction survey – Sections and chapters can begin doing this with the help of V-tools. Specifically ask “what is most important thing we can do for you?”
Some of the strategies approved for Regions 1-6 include:
- Target under represented markets
- Improve the value of individual memberships
- Metro. Area workshops
- Software engineering Bundling
- On-Line career Manager
- Employment Networks
Focus #1 Member satisfaction
Achieve “Top Box” satisfaction ranking in meetings, events.
More info, contact Jamie Moesch j.moesch@ieee.org
Focus #2 First Year Member Retention
Know members interest
Act on new member alerts
Recommend that sections create a Liaison position – someone to reach
Focus #3 New Member Recruitment
-familiarize with existing MD resources that are available to sections and chapters.
- add yourself to MD Alert all to received new member updates
- participate in existing collaborative activities and training i.e.: monthly MD webcasts
www.ieee.org/MD
Focus #4 Leverage existing Resources and Tools
-MD Manual
- Member brochures can be ordered on-line for free
Differentiate between Doing and Driving
Know your objective = Member Satisfaction


-Gary Perman