IEEE Member and Geographic Activities

Member Retention Best Practices

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Category: Volunteer Recruitment, Retention, & Recognition
  • Train Section and Chapter officers to give mini-presentations on membership value. Invite Students and Life Members to take an active role and participate in the unit's membership development programs and activities.
  • Using OU Analytics, organize efforts to contact lapsed members, especially after the service deactivation runs at the end of February. For Societies, it is a good idea to get in touch with lapsed Society members from among those who have renewed their IEEE membership without renewing their Society membership.
  • Remind members who have not renewed the membership benefits that they will lose, in particular subscription to publications, the IEEE email alias with virus protection, insurance coverage, other Member Discounts, IEEE Xplore's easy access to the latest technical information, professional networking opportunities, conference discounts, technical programs, and Standards activities.
  • Have your Section's data officer provide your outreach volunteers with the names of new members to be contacted each month to be invited to attend Section meetings.
  • Send out press releases praising local employers who support IEEE membership and volunteer services.
  • Sections and Societies can encourage prospective members to attend their events when they offer professional seminars that help engineers to upgrade their skills or maintain licensure. Go to Educational Activities for information on how to develop a continuing education program or visit IEEE Continuing Education Units for information on awarding CEUs to engineers for attending a workshop, seminar, tutorial, or self-study course that meets their company's training requirements.

Member Recruitment Best Practices

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Category: Volunteer Recruitment, Retention, & Recognition

See below for best practices related to IEEE member recruitment and promotions.

Section/Chapter meetings

  • Advertise Section and Chapter events effectively. Get your event listed in a local publication, blog, or online calendar. The more people see your event advertised, the more  it may spark their interest in attending your event and joining IEEE.
  • Invite a friend or colleague to a Section or Chapter meeting.
  • Include membership recruitment reminders in Section and Chapter newsletters.
  • Plan joint Section/Chapter activities with Student Branches for Spring and Fall. Highlight career discussion exchanges with students and also emphasize the importance of continued IEEE membership after graduation.
  • Demonstrate the capabilities of IEEE Xplore® at Chapter meetings.
  • Visit the Section/Chapter Support or Unit Officer Training sections of IEEE.org for more information on Section management, Section newsletters, officer training and the dynamics of running an effective meeting.

Students/Young Professionals

  • Initiate a Young Professionals Affinity Group in your Section to foster a greater sense of belonging to the community while also providing these members with leadership opportunities.
  • Contact graduating students and invite them to a Section meeting. Form a committee comprised of members from various IEEE employers in the Section available to act as company liaisons or IEEE mentors for these new members.
  • Have your Section's data officer provide your outreach volunteers with the names of graduating students and new members to be contacted each month.
  • Contact a representative at a local college or university to announce special IEEE student rates, networking or career growth opportunities.
  • Sponsor a job fair or career workshop and invite graduating Student members where they can network and learn of the values of IEEE membership.

Recruitment promotions

  • Aggressively promote IEEE membership during technical conferences. Have a kiosk or laptop available at registration to encourage conference attendees to join online.
  • Use the half-year dues period as a peak recruitment time. This allows people to test IEEE membership for a smaller initial monetary outlay. New members pay half price dues when they sign up from 1 March through 15 August. Membership begins immediately upon joining and continues through December of that year. A member joining in March for example receives a bonus of four months of extra service above and beyond the six months they are paying for.
  • Announce and provide information on the Member-Get-A-Member referral program at Section, Student Branch and Chapter meetings. Information is provided on the Member-Get-A-Member page of IEEE.org.
  • Use the Conference Member Recruitment Program on IEEE.org to offer a free Society membership to anyone who joins IEEE at a conference. 
  • Run programs concurrent with National Engineers Week (EWeek). IEEE Sections can sponsor exhibits, local science fairs and contests to promote this week-long technical event in February.

Professional setting

  • With company permission, post notices of IEEE activities on office bulletin boards and electronic communications. Submit articles on employee IEEE involvement and and show how this can reap benefits for the company as well.
  • Conduct a Professional Society Day and have a table exhibit of IEEE benefits and services.
  • Share positive IEEE experiences with your colleagues during professional meetings. This will show potential members what IEEE means to you.
  • Plan national engineering days and week-long celebration displays and exhibits for local schools and businesses.

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Surveying Members

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Category: Volunteer Recruitment, Retention, & Recognition

Surveys are a good way to find out what your local members want and expect.

Survey Assistance

A survey, including a short introductory letter and general questions regarding Section meetings, as well as inquiries regarding volunteering, is a good way to find out what your local members want and expect.  

Because IEEE conducts various membership surveys, you should e-mail the IEEE Corporate Strategy and Communications department before surveying your members.  The staff members can coordinate your efforts and can assist you in doing an online survey.  Online surveys are more economical and are known to receive a better response rate.  

Visit IEEE Strategic Planning and Research on IEEE.org for more information.

Tips and Suggestions

Most Officer positions require that the IEEE member be of higher grade membership status.  You should not have a survey for volunteers sent to those that cannot hold an Officer position, unless it is explained that Students, Associate, and Affiliate members cannot hold Section and Chapter Officer positions (anyone may serve as Newsletter Editor or Webmaster). 

Consider adding an incentive for responding to your survey.  For example, an incentive could be entry in a drawing for a gift or gift certificate.

IEEE Membership: The Elevator Pitch

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Category: Volunteer Recruitment, Retention, & Recognition

Are you interested in or responsible for recruiting new members to join IEEE? You may be asked to explain what IEEE is. Depending on the time you have available, here are some short responses:

The 1-line response:

IEEE is the world's largest professional association advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

The 15-second response:

IEEE is the world's largest professional association advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. It publishes technical journals, sponsors conferences, develops technology standards, and supports the professional interests of more than 400,000 members.

The 30-second response:

IEEE is the world's largest professional association advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. It publishes technical journals, sponsors conferences, develops technology standards, and supports the professional interests of more than 400,000 members. IEEE creates an environment where members collaborate on world-changing technologies—from computing and sustainable energy systems to aerospace, communications, robotics, and healthcare—to engineer a better tomorrow.

Volunteer Recruitment Toolkit

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Category: Volunteer Recruitment, Retention, & Recognition

Volunteerism is the core value of IEEE.  IEEE volunteers lead the organization at many levels and in many ways.

Recruitment kit contents

This volunteer recruitment toolkit has been developed to provide IEEE geographic units (regions, sections, societies, chapters, or affinity groups) with ideas for recruiting local IEEE members who may be interested in volunteering time to help lead in IEEE activities. Included in this package are: 

Please take advantage of these tools to recruit volunteers for your IEEE Unit.  

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail MGA Staff.  

 

  1. Tips for recruiting and retaining volunteers