The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2023 - 8

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Meeting Our Members Where They Are:
ATA Is Casting Its Net in 2023
I
KELLI C. BAXTER
kelli@atanet.org
t's springtime, which
brings change and new
beginnings. Time seems
to be moving fast, and new
seasons of change continue to
occur. As we cast our net into
new territories in 2023, we're
listening to our members and
creating enhanced benefits
and opportunities to engage
with ATA. One of the ways
we're casting that net is
in the enhancement of our
member services.
Did You Know
April Is National
Volunteer Month?
Have you made your 2023
volunteer commitment?
Outstanding volunteers
have made ATA what it is
today. Learn more about
the benefits of volunteering
with this free webinar:
Volunteering: Making
Your Investment of Time
Worthwhile. Also, be sure
to visit ATA's website for all
the ways you can volunteer
and get involved with ATA.
Don't let the opportunity
pass you by-share just a
bit of your time and talent
with ATA!
Membership is essential
to any association and can
provide an invaluable avenue
to contribute to its growth.
Meeting ATA members
where they are is vital to the
membership experience. Our
membership survey offers
excellent insight into the
needs of our members. It also
helps us connect personally
and engage in conversations
to address member concerns
and understand your
challenges. Doing so can
create an environment where
ATA members feel welcomed
and valued.
One of the ways we're
working to enhance your
membership experience
is by looking at our own
internal processes at ATA
Headquarters. For example,
our annual renewal period
ended in February, and
some members may have
experienced challenges
accessing their member
accounts online. I wanted to
personally fill you in on why
this happened. For the past
29 years, ATA's membership
database has been manually
updated on a weekly basis.
8 The ATA Chronicle | March/April 2023
Many steps to this arduous
process cause occasional
delays in seeing real-time
updates to member accounts
and the online directory.
We've learned that this
is not the most efficient
process. Many new tools and
technologies are available
to us that will simplify your
membership journey, enabling
you to make more connections
and gain more professional
development in T&I.
Member satisfaction is
our highest priority. And
to improve the value of
your ATA membership,
we're introducing a few
new initiatives this year.
The first is the creation of a
membership services team!
Our new membership services
team will include experienced
membership development
and communications
professionals serving ATA's
membership with increased
committee engagement, new
communication styles, a
more prominent social media
presence, and increased
recruitment efforts. We're
excited to add more value to
your membership experience
with additional staff members
and hope you'll welcome
them with great enthusiasm
this spring.
With a new membership
services team will also
come a complete migration
from our in-house database
system to a new cloudbased
membership database
platform called Nimble
Association Management
System (AMS). The new
AMS will empower us to
engage our members using
customized reporting.
Further, it will improve
staff efficiency through the
automation of certain tasks,
saving hours, days, and even
weeks since we'll no longer
have to handle day-to-day
processes manually. This will
free up our Headquarters
staff to focus on activities
that exceed member
expectations, thus taking
ATA to the next level.
The membership program
of any association can be
significantly improved by
addressing the needs of
its members. These new
initiatives directly result
from your comments and
suggestions and create a
more engaging and beneficial
membership program for
YOU, our members. Keeping
our membership information
secure and up to date is a
priority, and the new AMS
will provide enhanced data
security and real-time
account updates. We'll
keep you updated about
our launch date and will
have plans for a complete
communications rollout to
make sure members are
well informed.
By continuously bringing
you new program offerings
and services, members will
always have ways to engage
and take advantage of the
opportunities to grow and
expand their skills. As my
listening tour continues, I
hope these new offerings will
help take your business to the
next level in 2023!
www.atanet.org
https://www.atanet.org/event/volunteering-making-your-investment-of-time-worthwhile/ https://www.atanet.org/event/volunteering-making-your-investment-of-time-worthwhile/ https://www.atanet.org/event/volunteering-making-your-investment-of-time-worthwhile/ https://www.atanet.org/member-center/get-involved/ http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2023

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