1. Key societal changes affecting
professional bodies
Agnes Jumah

2. “Mobile devices will outnumber people in 2013.”
Alison Dodd, Commercial Director, The Cloud
1. Technology and the internet
• The continued growth in online activity in every area of life e.g. research; service/price
comparison; everyday transactions such as banking.
• The move towards the increased use of mobile devices and a decline in desktop PCs.
• Personalisation, geo-targeting and connected interactivity such as near field communication
(NFC) to become the norm.
1
Agnes Jumah

3. “Given the sort of [ageing population] data given to us in evidence,
it's pretty clear we have major social change coming…”
Lord Filkin, Chair of House of Lords Committee on Public Service & Demographic Change
2. Ageing population and changes in attitude to age
• From ‘Baby Boomers’ to ‘Digital Natives’: the generational differences of your members will be
extreme.
• The needs and engagement preferences of different generations will vary widely.
• Segmenting members solely by age will become wholly inaccurate.
2
Agnes Jumah

4. “…buzzwords such as accountability, responsibility, transparency, and
cost-effectiveness are receiving increasing attention and significance.”
Gloria Shontz, The New Age of Accountability
3. The growing need for accountability, transparency and best practise.
• Libor rate rigging, horse meat; phone hacking; Enron, etc., high profile scandals and their
subsequent inquiries are more frequent.
• The general public is more conscious of best practise and calls for greater transparency and
accountability of practitioners in most sectors.
• Professional, membership and representative bodies will be increasingly required to set
standards, defend good members or strike off poorly performing members in a fair and open
process.
3
Agnes Jumah

5. “Membership has lost its meaning amid an audience that no longer
wants or needs to be a member…”
Sarah Sladek, The End of Membership As We Know It
4. Views of membership
• With changes in technology, information traditionally owned by membership organisations is
available free online.
• Generation Y sees networking beyond the boundaries of membership – and doesn’t want to pay
for the privilege.
• The ‘membership badge’ has lost some of its status amongst younger generations – unless
membership is compulsory or there is a significant benefit.
4
Agnes Jumah

6. What does all this mean for professional bodies?
Here are some top tips.
• Staying on top of technology at a level above what your members expect.
E.g. responsive website design; personalised communications; social media interaction.
• Fully understanding who is in membership, and intelligently segmenting your member base.
E.g. data cleaning processes; on-going member research; efficient/effective CRM system.
• Maintaining a high profile and championing the accountability and standards of your members.
E.g. having a solid policy position; proactive PR activity; robust and transparent conduct
procedures.
• Proving membership value and providing your members with something unique.
E.g. strong leadership on issues that matter to your members; on-going sector research and
ensuring your offering is joined-up for a seamless membership experience. 5
Agnes Jumah

7. Interested in more? Then please:
Email me: agnes.jumah@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter: @AgnesJumah1
Connect with me on LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/agnesjumah/