7 Steps for Increasing the Effectiveness of Your Association’s Reports
You know it’s time to rethink how your association uses reports when, month after month, you share a report with staff or volunteer leaders and all you hear is: “Hmm, interesting.” A report’s potential is wasted if it’s merely reviewed and forgotten. A report, in the right circumstances, should lead to insight and action—decisions, new tactics, new products or services, or changes in strategy.
But reports can’t prompt action all by themselves. Reports are just one piece, but an essential piece, of a strategic framework for decision-making and action. If you put all seven elements listed below in place, reports will become more effective in helping your association achieve its goals.
#1: Identify a specific goal.
What decision do you want to make? What action do you want to take once you have the data to support it?
Let’s say you want to determine whether monthly virtual meetups for different membership segments are worth the investment of staff and volunteer time. You think they are but you need to find out if these membership segments find them valuable so you have an argument for continuing them post-pandemic.
#2: Define metrics/KPIs.
What would success or progress toward that goal look like? What can you look for to see progress or lack of it?
In our example, we might have a few KPIs.
- In Q1, we want to see X% of members in segment A participating in at least one meetup, and in Q2, we want to see Y% of members in segment A participating in at least one meetup.
- By the end of Q2, we want to see participants attending an average of 2 meetups in those 6 months.
- We want to see an X% increase in members overall attending from the start of Q1 to the end of Q2.
- We want to see an average post-event evaluation rating of 4 out of 5.
#3: Identify data that lets you see progress on KPIs.
Which data sets reveal how well you’re doing on each of those KPIs? In our example, you’d need attendee data for each event (including the membership segment(s) they belong to) and evaluation data for each event.
#4: Have access to data you can trust.
Now, let’s back up a bit. Where is this data coming from? Can you trust it? Is it up-to-date, accurate, and complete? Association management software (AMS)—your database of record—that integrates with other systems, like a virtual event platform or learning management system, can provide a comprehensive view of member engagement. It can slice and dice your data so you can look at different membership segments and understand their engagement (or lack of it).
#5: Make data-sharing easy.
Data only provides insight to those who have easy access to it. Your AMS must have user-friendly tools for system users to create reports and dashboards that are easy to modify, read and understand. When staff and volunteer leaders access reports and dashboards made especially for them, data tells them a story. It gives them a better understanding of what’s really going on, elicits better questions, generates more buy-in, and lights a fire under their seat.
#6: Create a culture of data transparency and trust.
Data must be available to all staff who need it for insight and action, not just to the executive team. Staff must understand the connection between organizational and departmental goals, KPIs, and the data they see in reports and dashboards. These goals remain top of mind because their dashboards reflect them.
When your organizational culture values data transparency, and reports and dashboards are readily available, decisions are informed by data, not assumptions. Data must be part of everybody’s job. Staff should feel compelled to do what they can to keep data up-to-date, accurate and complete—that’s just how you operate. Otherwise, you can’t trust data or feel confident making decisions and taking action.
#7: Avoid analysis paralysis by starting small.
Start small with a clearly defined goal, a few metrics that will show progress toward that goal, and a plan for how you’re going to put what you learn into action. You want to avoid the “Hmm, interesting” response and instead hear, “Okay, now that we know this, we’re going to double-down on plan A.”
You want to start small because if you have too much data to analyze, it will become difficult to come up with an obvious interpretation. Your reports should only display the data needed to show progress (or lack of it) on a KPI and to make a decision or take action.
Now, if you’re seeking a decision maker’s approval for a program or project, keep some supplemental information in reserve to help sway the argument. For example, if you want to continue hosting virtual meetups, you could prepare:
- Evaluation comments (testimonials).
- Comparison of past attendance numbers (in-person vs. virtual)
- Anticipated tweaks to the program based on feedback/data analytics.
- Information pertaining to upcoming meetups, such as popular topics in the online community, website search, and email/social clicks.
Jack Welch, the iconic chairman and CEO of General Electric, once said, “An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.”
Find out how MemberSuite’s robust and user-friendly reporting tools can help you translate data into insight and action.