Back in August 2013 I shared some thoughts with the CIPD on how they could move the relationship with their members from something that currently feels quite transactional to something of greater shared value. I mapped out a few things, not including fees and qualifications, which I’ve been meaning to share with you ever since. Yesterday evening I received an email from the CIPD asking me to complete a survey about some of this stuff in my capacity as an affiliate member:
I’d like to get your help and views about some changes we want to make to how we structure CIPD membership and the services we offer to members. We want to ensure we’re evolving membership to meet the changing needs of the profession. So, through this important consultation survey, we’d like to understand the specific professional and personal needs which led you to become an Affiliate Member of CIPD.
I have completed the survey, and because I think this stuff is important and has relevance to people beyond the current membership of the CIPD, here’s what I previously shared with the CIPD:
This map is more about questions than answers, and I’ll now try and explain a little more of what I was thinking when I drew it up. I’d be really interested in your questions and comments too, whether you’re a member or not.
Participation
An important of feeling a part of a community is participation, whether that is attending local branch events, using the thriving online communities space, taking advantage of membership offers or any number of other things. What does participation mean for CIPD members and how, if they want it, can it happen most effectively?
Events
What opportunities are there for interaction at events? There are plenty, and even though the CIPD has worked hard at the online side of things in recent years, I think that went up another few notches at the annual conference in November. Live streaming some sessions meant that plenty of people who weren’t there were able to get a feel for what is important to the profession. What else could be done to include people unable to be there in person? The HRUnscrambled fringe session Meg Peppin and I facilitated went well and I hope that side of things can be developed in future. How about the way in which speakers are engaged? Could members have a say on some of the content, and who is asked to deliver it? Could you use technology to gather live feedback to inform the dialogue during an event and to get event feedback in the moment?
Communications
I’ve already mention the CIPD online communities which serve members here in the UK well. How can the CIPD reach out and engage with other HR professionals internationally? There have been improvements in the quality of content in People Management magazine – what else could be done to help the flow of information, in all directions?
Consultation
What are the best ways of keeping in touch, of finding out what’s hot and what’s not? There are a number of different methods the CIPD could use to source opinions from members, and importantly, from other interested parties too. Involving people beyond your core community is often overlooked or undervalued when looking to do things differently. With the technology available, reach should not be a problem and for what it’s worth, I think that wide online reach is well supplemented with some more in depth conversational stuff too. As a member or not, what might you expect? Maybe some of the best known HR blogs (People Management published a recommended reading list recently) could form a part of that consultative web?
Broadening Membership
There are a number of professions and organisations the CIPD might work with in order to increase reach and relevance. I wonder what ex members would have to say about the CIPD, and I wonder what might encourage some of them to rejoin? How about the Learning and Development profession? There seems to be a groundswell of interest around L&D again lately, how might that be developed? And what of the many managers out there who are responsible for teams of people and just need some advice and help from time to time. What opportunities could be created to give those people access to important and useful research and more?
Hopefully this will give you some food for thought. This map is not exhaustive, it’s bound to have gaps and as you spot them perhaps you’d like to fill them in?
I personally joined CIPD for the participation more than the badge and when it got taken back to Wimbledon, I lost interest. In Kent we still have not recovered any sense of meaningful engagement although I sense from our chats that they are trying. I’ll keep a watch on things Doug.
Thanks Peter. When I blogged this yesterday, Barry Flack added this on Twitter in response to what’s important?
Raising bar to professional entry & greater professional standards. No evidence of #CIPD going after the 66% outside looking in.
I’ll pass on anything more I hear, from the CIPD and other sources.
Doug – Thanks for setting this off. With a waning 20+ year relationship with the CIPD I’m desperate for change and have written about this in detail on my blog. Hard to write in short but the above to me is almost the second gate in credibility for the CIPD, the first being able to demonstrate how it can be a professional body with an appropriate barrier to entry, ongoing must-have standards to operate (or be licenced to operate) and teeth to tackle those complicit in nonsense (such as Lucy Adams who continues to walk the boards unashamedly talking at HR conferences where we are meant to pay into to hear how she got shamed publicly).
Give me a body with ambition to serve us professionally and with teeth. Part of that ambition could be going after the enormous lost generation of people who work across HR roles but don’t need membership or any type of status. You can engage all you want but these folk see no relevance after years of inaction (on both sides). Where is that being tackled or are we destined to howl at the small number of recent converts from the twittersphere who have miraculously converted in the exchange of some consultancy work or a paid invoice (funny that) from Peter and co.
Before I vent further let me talk about what might help me positively:
1. Show some professional ambition – go after a goal representing the entire sphere of HR people in the UK in 5 years and back into it for example. Stop howling at the usual suspects and believing that’s progress.
2. Produce a service catalogue that matters to its membership – ask beyond the usual suspects and engage what it takes for the wider community to see relevance, come back and engage.
3. Future proof – I honestly think that despite the odd cosmetic stuff on magazine and social the CIPD is on the wane and in danger of being dead in the water in 2/3 years. Needs a wake up call and a realisation of this. Content used to be a pull but that is more easily obtained by the social scene now and if you can’t sell a kidney for an overpriced and badly delivered CIPD course then what’s the point? Where does the pull for the next generation come from ? How do we catch early the brightest things and push them into our profession given the compelling nature of it rather than the back of the class brigade?
4. Commit to a membership development agenda and invest accordingly. Hire the right people to do this and build a compelling product.
5. Build a franchise network instead of branches or semi-professionalise it based on demand. The quality of output and people in places at branch level is appalling. I’ve had 2 people in the last decade sacked for being utterly useless in my HR teams who were both branch secretaries of the CIPD.
As for an elephant in the room is that fact that a part (let others quantify) of our HR population today who are pretty mediocre, lazy and never want to be engaged. I want a proactive profession that makes it more difficult for these people to thrive and survive.
I’m up for the challenge but let’s not duck some big issues out there (you sort of know I won’t)
A secret admirer.
Thanks Barry – there’s a lot to take in here, hence the delay in me replying. And of course, I’m just a member, my responses are just my point of view, it might be interesting for the CIPD to join in the conversation too?
I think you are right to identify the large group of people working in HR who don’t need some kind of ‘status’ as you put it. I do think though that they could benefit from some kind of membership, rather than none at all. For example – I am an affiliate member. I have no current inclination to pursue any CIPD qualifications, despite occasional encouragement from the CIPD to do so. What I do want and get is access to the network and networking, lots of relevant resources online, a magazine which I think is improving in terms of content quality, and, as I’m discovering, other associated benefits such as good value public liability insurance. Other people will have different needs, and I think there is a great opportunity to engage with the profession here.
I’m curious about the miraculous conversion. I don’t see it, and I certainly have no evidence to link enthusiasm directly to payment, do you? If you do – I’d appreciate it if you could maybe share what you’ve found.
I like your stretching goal idea. I think you are right to suggest development of services that matter – and I think that engagement with the wider community is the driving force behind the map I shared. This approach could easily lead into more thinking and doing on your point of future proofing, or increasing relevance perhaps?
The CIPD has just announced the appointment of Andy Lancaster to head up learning and development. One appointment does not a summer make (who said that?) but Andy is a smart guy and I think, based on what I know, he will encourage and drive change.
Your branch network suggestion is interesting too. Personally I’ve had mixed experiences at branch level and like you – I feel there is room for improvement. That is not to say that some folk aren’t doing a great job, they are, and there should always be room to think, how might we do this differently?
To your last point – a lot of this is about supporting the CIPD as it grows to become genuinely attractive, genuinely compelling and the place to be. The place that helps make HR a great place to work.
Thanks again for taking the time to put your thoughts down here.