The Roi Of Active Association Participation
The ROI of Active Association Participation
Association participation pays dividends
Association volunteers at all levels give a huge amount of time, talent and resources to the industry. This is done with the support and encouragement of their companies. For a company to make this strong commitment from its corporate leadership down to the local maintenance staff, the return on investment is substantial. To understand what companies see on the upside that allows this commitment I interviewed a number of owner/manger and product/service leaders on what they get in return. In my interviews each one touched on virtually every one of the following points.
Published Industry Statistics
Published industry statistics are needed, but they will not replace the information gathered in meeting with your peers while doing association work. Cindi Scoggins, executive vice president for property management at Westdale Asset Management, explains that her superiors are supportive of her association activity. “They are grateful that I can be part of the association and bring back information that is useful, be it at the political level or just the networking with peers from other companies and seeing what REALLY is going on out there.” The ability to get real-time information from your peers before it has been sorted and categorized is essential.
Relationship Development
Multifamily is a very large industry, but in the sense of the close-knit relationships that develop, it is small. This is as true and as important for the product and services member as it is for the owner manager member. Jim Melson, CEO of ClientConnect, says that successful business development in multifamily extends beyond trade show booths, sponsorships and advertising.
“Active participation in association work by representatives of your company demonstrates commitment to the entire industry’s goals,” Melson says....
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