The Association Diversity Challenge

Nominate your inspirational women in trade associations by the 6th February 2023!

Diversity for many associations is still a challenge, particularly for those who represent traditionally male-dominated sectors.

Traditional associations derive their activists, volunteers and often their staff teams from their members, with individuals often moving to and from associations and their member businesses.

The diversity of an association therefore often reflects the diversity of their sector.

In many ways this is inevitable. Associations need to be experts in their sectors, they need to understand how it works both in detail and in practice. They need to understand all the nooks and crannies, the people, the culture and the industry politics too.

So, in many ways, associations need to overcompensate with their focus on diversity, encouraging unrepresented groups to participate in the association, and also actively seeking diverse candidates into appropriate roles. 

The current labour market has proved challenging on this front, our member benchmarking survey published in November last year, showed that associations are struggling to recruit, and are concerned about retaining talent.

The Trade Association Forum as the ‘association of associations’ wants to play our part as well. 

We exist to bring members together, develop communities and encourage the sharing of best practice. There are some great examples of associations leading the way to encourage their sectors to be more diverse. Including the two associations shortlisted for ‘Diversity Initiative of the Year’ for this year’s Trade Associations Awards:

  • The British Beer and Pub Association launched the first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Charter for breweries and pubs; a sector-wide commitment to embed practices throughout members’ businesses from boardroom to the bar. 
  • RenewableUK launched a Switch List, an industry-sourced list of women in the industry specialists in their field, ready and able to participate in panels, be speakers, keynotes or roundtable representatives. The list is open-access and for use by the whole energy industry and trade bodies to ensure that there can never be the excuse that ‘there aren’t any women who know about this topic’. 

These are great initiatives that we are proud to celebrate with our awards, but we want to use our platform to highlight other stories as well.

This is why we have launched a new initiative with the FSB and the CBI to celebrate women in Associations. We are building the Women in Trade Association Powerlist to publish on International Women’s Day, and bringing together for the first time inspirational women from across the sector to act as a demonstration of the incredible female talent we are lucky enough to have. To coin a phrase, “You can’t be it if you can’t see it.”

We also want to encourage associations to attract and recruit from a wider pool of candidates, which is why we are working to promote associations as a great place to grow and develop your career. We are currently reviewing our training and development offer, and working with our recruitment partners Membership Bespoke and Ellwood Atfield to develop best practice around recruitment and retention.

We are also working with other partners including the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)  to build networks of PR and Public Affairs and communications professionals in associations to champion the work that they do.

In the future, we think that TAF should be the place where anyone working in or looking to work in an association goes when they need professional support and advice about how to build and develop their career in Associations.

You can play your part too.  

Nominate your inspirational women in association by the 6th February:

How to build a successful insurance scheme for your association

a case study

Over many years, but especially since the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact it had on association’s traditional income streams, revenue diversification has been a huge topic for association leaders and one we get lots of questions on here at TAF.

Many associations have tried to launch new member services with the aim of providing greater value to members and also finding new ways to generate income, though with varying success.

Insurance has been one of the main services associations turn to – building a sector-specific offer for a product that is universally needed, but many have struggled to drive uptake or make their scheme a success.

To help members, we have developed this case study in alongside Partners& and TAF member NAPIT, about an insurance scheme they have built that has achieved impressive take up and delivered results for the association and its members. 

The case study

Background – Challenge

NAPIT is a membership organisation for the building service and fabric sectors – primarily electrical contractors, heating engineers and renewable energy installers. Like many trade organisations, NAPIT offers value added and inclusive support services to their members including training, technical support, legal & HR support – and insurance.

Retaining and growing the membership is a challenge in today’s competitive environment. The pandemic has impacted every business sector in different ways. For many, the world they inhabit has changed irrevocably.

As part of the process to design an insurance offering, Partners& and NAPIT focused on understanding the risks and issues facing members and the priorities for NAPIT. As a result, maximising value for existing members and, as a result, enhancing member retention was fundamental. 

What we do - Support

The NAPIT Insurance offering was designed to provide another valuable service that the membership needs. Aligning with a trusted partner was important in order to really understand the membership demographic and their specific needs.

The majority of NAPIT members are small businesses – either sole traders or involving one or two employees of a limited company. Insurance isn’t something they have the time to spend researching – they simply need to find the right covers for the specific type of work they carry out, for the right price.

Working with both NAPIT and their insurer partners, Partners& carefully developed a tailored package based on the insurance needs of members.

Technology underpins the offering, and the branded NAPIT Insurance website includes an efficient quote and buy online service supporting members’ preferred approach to buying insurance.

It’s then about getting the offer out their and building awareness. Using Partners& marketing expertise and working in partnership with the NAPIT team, they then introduced the NAPIT Insurance brand to NAPIT members. By engaging with the NAPIT marketing team and Partners&’s in-house Insurance advisers, they were able to develop communications and initiatives that are relevant and worthwhile for members – helping them to understand more about the insurance they have and why they need it.

As well as the digital side of things, Partners& supported NAPIT and its members with attendance at industry EXPOs, and by producing newsletter articles which demonstrate thought leadership and highlighted the solutions offered to support them. This helps to truly connect the offer with the membership and understand the challenges both they and NAPIT face.

The results – Perform

Partners& aims to deliver the best traditions of broking – those based on relationship and sound technical advice. By combining this approach with modern thinking and intelligent use of technology, we’ve delivered a quote and buy system that NAPIT members can use at a time that suits them. It’s available 24/7, 365 days a year – not just during office hours.

 

But it’s not just about click and buy. NAPIT members are advised and supported by a personable team of qualified, professional advisers based in our specialist centre near Reading. As a result, NAPIT Insurance is on hand to answer questions and provide advice, resulting in better outcomes for the members. The offering is underwritten by Hiscox who provide a superior claims service – support when it is needed most.

Since October 2020, NAPIT Insurance has:

  • Transacted over 5,000 policies, representing almost a third of membership
  • Achieved a total premium spend of approximately £1.7m GWP
  • Generated more than £250k revenue for NAPIT since launch
  • Anticipated annual revenue after three years expected of £175k p.a.
  • Embedded the insurance offering as a fundamental benefit of joining NAPIT
  • Achieved gold standard Investor in Customers Award, demonstrating our commitment to deliver a positive experience for members

In summary, we have established a proposition that provides NAPIT members with the insurance cover they need – enhancing confidence in their member organisation and delivering outstanding results.

 

Find out more

You can find out more about Partners& on the TAF website, or get in touch with their team to find out about how to launch your own association insurance scheme:

Nominate the best women you know for the inaugural 2023 Powerlist

TAF, the CBI and the FSB are joining forces to champion the role of Women in trade bodies , celebrate their achievements and encourage the next generation of women into the association sector.

On International Women’s Day we will be launching the inaugural Women in Trade Associations powerlist. Our list will celebrate the best, the most brilliant, and the most formidable female business and sector champions in the UK.

We are looking for inspirational women in Associations, women who champion their sector, deliver tirelessly for their members, and support their colleagues.

Nominees must:

  • Work for or in a UK trade association (defined as a UK membership organisation representing UK businesses)
  • Be inspirational, influential and brilliant

 

Anyone can make a nomination, Just tell us why you think they deserve a place on our 2023 list (maximum 300 words).

So, who do you know that should make the list?

Join the conversation

Join the conversation and help promote the Women in Trade Associations Powerlist on social media:

Hashtag:

#WiTApowerlist

why start an awards competition?

Awards are more popular than ever. It’s all about being superior in sport, quality, service, industry, etc. If you wish to improve your brand recognition and your revenue, starting a business award program can be a real game-changer and quite beneficial for everyone associated, including the organizer, sponsors, program judges, everyone recognized with a nomination, and of course the worthy winners.

Awards as a source of revenue

There are usually two types of awards competitions:

  1. Paid awards – entrants pay a fee to enter the awards
  2. Free awards – entrants are either members of an association/membership organization and pay an annual fee that includes nominations for the awards or the awards competition is sponsored by a large organisation/corporation and entrants can enter for free

Both options are powerful tools to increase the revenue of your organization and are often the main source of revenue for some associations or membership organizations.

Obviously, starting an awards competition does not automatically mean increasing your revenue. In order to be successful, such programs should be approached strategically and every step should be planned well in advance.

It starts with understanding why other companies would consider being part of your awards.

It’s great marketing

Awards celebrate success and hard work, but also make for great PR opportunities. They’re a fantastic marketing tool, full stop! Any business can improve brand awareness and acquire new customers by simply being nominated, let alone winning an accolade.

A good benchmark

Participating in an awards competition is a good way to see how a company compares against the rest. Whether this is then used to convince future clients into doing business, or helps the company improve various aspects of their work, it’s always a win-win, no matter the benchmarking results.

Improved social trust

A business getting short-listed for an award is essentially viewed as a 3rd party endorsement. It can improve social trust in the nominated brand, which can then be used as a sales pitch, help retain existing clients, improve relationships with suppliers, stand out from the competition, etc.

Awards attract talent

It’s a way to strengthen a company’s hiring power. Award-winning companies pitch themselves as the best and this helps them attract better talent, which in turn empowers them to take their business to the next level.

Employee motivation

Awards essentially recognize the hard work of a company’s employees so an award or two often boosts staff morale and motivation. It also shows people what’s great about the company they work for and this gives them pride to be a part of that.

How to make it work?

Laying the groundwork

Set a budget and make sure you have some of it dedicated to marketing and the tools you’ll be using to make the program a pleasant experience for everyone involved. Consider your pricing strategy as well, it’s quite important. Figure out the key dates like entry submission, judging rounds, winner announcements, etc.

Building toward success

An awards program has a lot of moving parts and you will need a dedicated staff to keep everything on track. It helps to have people working on specific goals for the program with set deadlines. Remember that getting your awards ready for accepting entries requires an enormous amount of work.

Getting the right tools for the job

One of the big struggles with organizing a successful program is staying organized. At this point, no matter how big your team is, you will need a reliable end-to-end awards management platform. This is basically where a tool like Evalato takes over and helps you literally every step of the way.

  • Streamline and automate your work. Saves you time and makes your program look top-drawer and highly professional. Not only that, but the platform is also highly flexible and customizable so you can tailor everything down to the last detail.
  • User-friendly and modern interface. This is another important element, as it directly affects how entrants and program judges perceive your awards. It also guarantees that both judges and entrants have a blast being part of your program, so they’ll gladly come back for more.
  • Create a site for your awards. This is quite an important part and should be a big focus in the preparation of your call for entry. And even if you have your own website, the platform integrates easily with it, so you’re still making the most out of it.
  • Powerful entry submission. Collect more submissions with a sleek and adaptive submission portal. The application process can be customized with various powerful options.
  • Easy communication and follow-ups. Whether you wish to send notifications to remind people about submitting their entries, or to instruct judges about their duties, you have the tools you need.
  • Custom evaluation phase. You can set up the entry evaluation to your exact requirements, choose various scoring types with custom criteria, scales, and weights, then invite people to the jury panel, create public voting rounds, etc.
  • Announce the winners. Then easily set up a gallery of all award entries, so people can admire them long after. You get to showcase program applications, results, judge comments, individual votes in just a few clicks of the mouse.
  • Analyze data and improve. Benefit from an always complete picture with real-time scores, votes management, a results page, and many features that help improve and grow your awards.

Focusing on awards credibility

On one hand, with Evalato you get a secure and fully GDPR-compliant solution, but that’s not enough. To add actual credibility to your program, consider inviting some big names from your industry to judge program entries. Having judges who are well-known will greatly increase the prestige and legitimacy of your awards.

Sponsors as a source of revenue

Sponsors and partners are crucial stakeholders that can really help with growing your program and your revenue. Here it’s important to understand why they would be willing to sponsor your awards to make them a compelling offer.

The buzz

Awards are the darlings in any industry and that’s what makes sponsors take notice. It’s a chance for them to reach a wide audience, or at least strengthen brand recognition. Which is always a win for them.

The feel-good

An awards competition often serves a good cause. They can be about distinguishing excellence in science, supporting environmental efforts, pushing innovations, etc. A good cause is something that any company is happy to get behind.

awards as an indirect source of revenue

Business awards not only directly increase your organization’s revenue but also provide excellent business opportunities that indirectly contribute to the overall growth of your business. It’s why business awards are such an excellent business opportunity.

Get new business leads

No matter how large a database of existing clients you have, an awards program will attract some extra attention to your brand. And this naturally brings many new business leads, which is always good for business.

Strengthen your brand

That extra attention to your brand will of course strengthen it considerably. An awards program is a long-term project and as time goes by, the awards will grow and the benefits to your brand will get bigger and bigger.

Extra publicity for your organization

Not saying here you’ll automatically get free publicity simply because you’re organizing an awards competition. But awards generate a ton of online buzz, media coverage, shares, likes, and commentary across all channels.

New business partnerships

Because everyone’s fascinated by award competitions, there’s great potential for negotiating new business partnerships, even with companies that aren’t part of the industry you operate in. Awards are great for branching out as well.

awards as an indirect source of revenue

Awards are a lot of work if you go the old-school route of spreadsheets, folders, endless emails, etc. But this can be so much easier with a good platform that tracks, stores, and helps you manage every stage of entry submission and judging for your program. Saving hours upon hours of work is another way you’ll be increasing your revenue, should you decide to start your own awards program.

Evalato is the next-gen awards management software designed to suit all your needs  – free testing is available and no credit card is required.

Published originally on Evalato on June 2, 2022.

Comprehensive financial, salary & benefits benchmarking of more than 100 trade associations now available to buy!

The TAF Benchmarking survey 2022 produced in partnership wtih Ellwood Atfield provides up-to-date information on key financial indicators, salaries, pay awards and benefits offered by associations.

The data was collected during September and October 2022 and there were 105 valid responses from organisations together employing some 1,152 staff with combined salary bill of more than £42m.

The report allows association leaders to make informed decisions about budgeting, salaries and strategy. Available now for just £100 (ex VAT) for TAF Members and £150 (ex VAT) for non-members.

The report and accompanying data tables breaks down findings by geographical location and size of association and has been produced specifically to help associations benchmark themselves against similar sized associations. The data includes:

  • Salary bill, wage inflation and benefits
  • Revenue makeup and cash at hand
  • Recruitment, staffing levels and ways of working
  • Salary scales at 5 levels of seniority
  • Bonus levels and criteria
  • Board remuneration
  • Pensions

Example data

Below are some examples of the types of information included in the report:

How long could your association survive on cash-at-hand?

How have you found recruitment over the past 12 months?

Salaries

We benchmarked salaries at 5 different levels for trade association staff (by size and geography) and also explored how employers have adapted to new ways of working and are using benefits to improve their offer and retain staff.

Get this and much more in the full report and data tables.

 

TAF member-only content

This content is only available to Trade Association Forum members, if you are a member please log in below and you will be able to view the content.

If you are from a TAF member organisation but do not have an account yet, please contact secretariat@taforum.org and we will set you up, or you can speak to the lead contact for TAF at your organisation who will be able to set you up.

If you are not a TAF member and would like to find out more about joining, take a look at all the great TAF member benefits here or get in touch with us directly and we would be happy to discuss.

 

 

TAF member-only content

This content is only available to Trade Association Forum members, if you are a member please log in below and you will be able to view the content.

If you are from a TAF member organisation but do not have an account yet, please contact secretariat@taforum.org and we will set you up, or you can speak to the lead contact for TAF at your organisation who will be able to set you up.

If you are not a TAF member and would like to find out more about joining, take a look at all the great TAF member benefits here or get in touch with us directly and we would be happy to discuss.

 

Your hands are already full to overflowing with the endless pressures, demands and responsibilities of a workplace where everything needed to be done yesterday. So, it’s unsurprising that you quite simply don’t have time to think about D&I (diversity and inclusion) in your business. Or, you might think it’s for bigger companies with massive resources, and that it doesn’t apply to you at the smaller end of the scale.

In truth, there are many and varied narratives around D&I in small businesses all over the country.

Perhaps you’d love to get fully behind D&I, but you’re too time-poor to make any serious headway. Or, do you fall in to the “Why bother?” camp. You might not yet know enough about D&I to understand the benefits to your businesses and to society. So, you choose to sidestep it.

Do any of these scenarios resonate? If so, you’re in the right place. Read on.

Why D&I Matters So Much

Sitting comfortably? Good.

Take a second and visualise the people who hold power and authority in society. Hold that thought.

Now, take a closer look at them.

  • Which groups are overrepresented and which groups are underrepresented?

Move in a little bit closer still.

  • How many women are in that picture?
  • How many black women?
  • How many gay, black women?
  • How many gay, black women with disabilities are there?

Fact check: This distributional skew isn’t because one group of people is more capable or has a higher IQ than other groups. It’s because conventional systems and structures favour some groups of people more than others, and create more barriers for some groups than others.

It’s the byproduct of historical and structural inequalities and racism. They’ve been ingrained in to society for centuries, at an individual, organisational and structural level, interwoven into our –

  • Systems
  • Processes
  • Policies
  • Behaviour
  • Language
  • Culture

You might be surprised to learn that all of these combined influences make you biased at some level, even if you aren’t aware of it. It’s the result of a lifetime of absorbed stereotypes, culture, gender, society, family and life experiences.

The good news about bias- whether you’re aware of having any or not – is that there’s plenty you can do to mitigate it, because the brain is malleable and capable of positive change.

What’s D&I Got to Do with Your Business?

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to identify any bias that exists and to implement interventions to mitigate it. Otherwise, it’s unlikely that you’re providing equal access to opportunities to everybody. There aren’t any brownie points to be scored for doing it. It’s simply the right thing to do in contemporary and progressive society.

It might be challenging to think about bias in this way. But if it makes you feel uncomfortable or threatens you, it’s probably because you’re used to privilege. That’s why providing equity for others can subconsciously feel like something’s being taken away from you.  

So, how can you shift your mindset?

In truth, levelling the playing field and promoting equity takes a lot more than education. It takes positive and accelerated action. This is 2022, after all! The days are long gone of waiting for those at the top of the tree to wake up and smell the coffee, with a drip feed of improvement from one generation to the next.  

Does this ruffle your feathers or make you feel defensive? If so, that’s not a bad sign. In fact, it’s a plum opportunity to reframe your attitude and consider why you feel like this.

But D&I is so much more than the morally right thing to do. In addition, can supercharge your competitive edge, because diversity of thought and input empowers businesses to –

  • Innovate
  • Be more competitive
  • Boost profitability
  • Enhance employee satisfaction
  • Increase productivity
  • Improve staff retention

There are whole rafts of research that demonstrate how well-managed diverse teams outperform well-managed homogeneous teams. Do a quick Google search on McKinsey, Deloitte or Hall & Partners, and get stuck in!

Or, if you don’t need any further convincing, then stay tuned for my Top 10 D&I hacks coming soon in the next article.

For more information and tips to help you get started with D&I, please contact Shelley Green at EDI Connect.

 

TAF member-only content

This content is only available to Trade Association Forum members, if you are a member please log in below and you will be able to view the content.

If you are from a TAF member organisation but do not have an account yet, please contact secretariat@taforum.org and we will set you up, or you can speak to the lead contact for TAF at your organisation who will be able to set you up.

If you are not a TAF member and would like to find out more about joining, take a look at all the great TAF member benefits here or get in touch with us directly and we would be happy to discuss.

 

TAF and CIPR Launch PUBCOM

The Trade Association Forum in partnership with the Chartered Institute for Public Relations (CIPR) are delighted to launch a new networking group for PR and PA professionals working in Trade Associations.

The TAF PR and Public Affairs Best Practice Forum (TAF PUBCOM) held its first meeting on 22nd September and agreed a remit to:

  • Provide a professional network for PR and PA staff working in trade associations
  • Support trade association PR and public affairs staff to develop their skills and professional careers, including through the provision of tailored training and development and CPD learning opportunities
  • Share best practice, discuss challenges and initiate benchmarking and research into the challenges faced by PR and public affairs in trade associations
  • Provide mentoring and support to those looking to grow and develop their career in PR and public affairs within trade associations
This is a fantastic initiative, which I am delighted to be part of. I am looking forward to developing a community of professionals and delivering a useful and engaging programme which supports our professional and personal development
Tom Reynolds
CEO of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association and Chair of the new TAF PUBCOM
We are delighted to collaborate with TAF to launch this new network to help support public relations and public affairs professionals to meet their peers working in similar organisations and learn from each other.

In times of turbulence and change, the role of trade associations to communicate with and on behalf of their members is crucial. This new initiative will help us develop and build collectively and undoubtedly be a valuable resource.
Alastair McCapra
Alastair McCapra
CIPR Chief Executive

For more information about the network please contact TAF CEO, Emily Wallace, or register for updates below:

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