In a climate of disruptive innovation and tight operating margins where can companies look for education and training solutions? Quite simply it’s Associations, as they have the ability to facilitate new solutions to address evolving member business outcomes. While the traditional Association model “pushes” out training and education programs, innovative organizations structure these products to help members achieve their business outcomes.
Is Yesterday’s Model Still Applicable?
Associations who continue to push out educational solutions with the hope that enough members find sufficient value to renew membership or attend conferences might be sorely mistaken. The once traditional thinking has Associations speaking of “member benefits” and training programs almost exclusively as what members receive for their money. Seeing value in what any organization does for members can be fleeting and adversely affect member retention and revenue growth. Conversely, member outcome focused training can more effectively position Association’s for long term performance.
Resources Aligned to Member Outcomes
Zell Murphy, Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration at CTAM: Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (http://www.ctam.com) says that educational and training programs are developed on the basis of direct member guidance. In an industry hyper focused on technology, CTAM creates numerous member outcome focused training to continually help their stakeholders: Elevate worker performance and improve company operating results, train new workers entering the cable industry for the first time, and have developers of disruptive technologies provide key external insights on emerging trends.
Member Outcome Focused Training
In today’s environment, it’s not about being the low cost provider of “push” education and training offerings. Instead, it’s about developing educational and training products which demonstrate that an association is appropriately focused on the member’s business outcomes.
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