Membership strategies for EBMOs

This online training built and strengthened the capacities of EBMOs staff and Board members to design and implement efficient membership strategies. The training offered an innovative e-learning platform for hands-on knowledge transmission and exchange of experiences between employers’ organizations representatives. This specialized course enabled participants from all over the world to join a virtual interregional network of practitioners flexibly and without needing to travel. OBJECTIVES The course targeted EBMO staff members in charge of membership from all over the world, having both in-depth expertise of the area of work and the organization decision-power to make decisions in terms of development and implementation of action plans. The course provided conceptual and practical tools with sessions on: • The benefits of adopting membership strategies and their building blocks • How to structure EBMOs for them to be truly member-centred • How to adapt marketing theories and tools for a more professional membership management • How can communication and services provision support membership goals CONTENT By the end of the programme, participants strengthened their technical knowledge to design and implement effective membership strategies for their organizations. In particular, participants are now able to: • Describe how membership strategies impact EBMOs sustainability and how these strategies interact with other strategies notably the strategic plan • Outline different indicators supporting membership strategies and select the most pertinent ones for one own's EBMO • Assess the internal organizational institutions and work flow and identify entry points for improvement • Identify the membership recruitment, retention and engagement targets and tools that can be used by EBMOs and assess their use in own strategy • Name other EBMOs practices that can be sources of inspiration when drafting one’s own membership strategy. ACHIEVEMENT The course consisted of a number of online modules offered through the ITCILO e-Campus online platform to be completed from 12 April and 4 June, for a total of 604 learning hours s. The course comprised different learning elements: (i) individual learning ‘at your own rhythm’ with weekly thematic modules; (ii) group assignments and exchanges with peers and experts during ‘live interactive sessions’; (iii) group assignments to go deeper in small groups with a dedicated tutor. A final exam was organized.