Creating a SHRM Chapter Partnership Program Brent Schlosstein

Transcription

1 Creating a SHRM Chapter Partnership Program Brent Schlosstein 2015 Partnerships Director Washington State Human Resources Council July 2015

2 What is a Partnership Program? A SHRM Partnership Program is a carefully designed platform to help your SHRM Chapter grow, both financially and organizationally. A successful Partnership Program implements strategies to ensure a positive Member experience and a fruitful relationship for human resources service providers. Benefits to SHRM Members Here are a few reasons to create a Partnership Program for your Chapter: Education & Networking: typically one of the highest priorities for many SHRM Members. Revenue Enhancement: If your Chapter is struggling to make ends meet, or are looking for ways to fund certain initiatives, a Partnership Program can help defray or cover your costs entirely. Industry Trends & Market Leaders: Many of your Chapter members work for companies that are continually pushing the envelope. These organizations rely on your Members to stay current in this regard. Experience & Trust: Your Member s knowledge will grow from consistent and repeated contact with Partner organizations, allowing your Members to more readily rely on resources outside their company. Organizational Credibility: Trusted vendor relationships bring your Members enhanced credibility and improved quality of management within their organization. Benefits to Partner Organizations Here are a few reasons how a Partnership Program may benefit Sponsoring companies: Brand exposure To better understand HR s perspectives Support the development of the HR field Opportunity to become a trusted partner Exposure to regional and national HR thought leaders Connect with influencers

3 Program Components A Partnership Program will typically consist of some, or all of the following components: Chapter Sponsorships: Often these are packaged programs that are typically labeled Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc. They will usually include discounted pricing for various benefits and will give the sponsoring organization exposure throughout the calendar year. These types of sponsorships provide a nice revenue stream for your Chapter and can help defray operational expenses throughout the year. Event Sponsorships: These are usually one-time or limited-time events like a Conference, Networking Event or a Strategic Series. They give the sponsoring organization exposure to your attendees for a limited time, either before, during and/or after the event. These types of sponsorships can help offset the expenses of conducting a particular event. In some cases, the sponsorship dollars can cover the entire costs of the event. Advertising and/or Marketing Opportunities: These too are usually one-time or limited-time activities but can include such things as newsletter advertising and direct mail. These types of activities pop up from time-to-time or can be integrated tightly into Chapter or Event Sponsorships. Vendor Directory: Some SHRM Chapters have chosen to maintain a Vendor Directory for their Members. This is typically a list of organizations that have paid a nominal fee just to be listed; a list of preferred providers if you will. See the Vendor Directory section for further comments about a Vendor Directory. The Partnership Program Team If possible, your Partnership Program should consist of three, maybe four volunteers. If your Chapter is small, one person would wear multiple hats! Partnership Director Sponsorship Chair Fulfillment Chair Vendor Directory Chair

4 Duties: Partnership Director: This person has strategic direction and management authority over all aspects of the Partnership Program. This person should able to manage a team of folks, preferably have a background in sales and should be a big picture thinker. Sponsorship Chair: This person could also be the Partnership Director, so they should have the aforementioned attributes as well as be able to handle all aspects of vendor relations. Some of the other responsibilities for this person may include: - Setting expectations before, during and after events - Introducing sponsors at events - Ensuring that vendor presentations (PowerPoint, spiel/pitch) are appropriate and succinct - Reviewing advertising and newsletter articles for suitability with Chapter guidelines - Surveying vendors to ensure expectations were met - Thanking vendors both during and after events Fulfillment Chair: This person ensures that each Chapter Partner gets everything they ve purchased. This person should be detailed oriented and great at following-up. Vendor Directory Chair: This is the potential fourth player on the team. If your Chapter doesn t have a Vendor Directory, this position wouldn t exist. If you do decide to have a Vendor Directory, this person secures vendor companies and manages and markets the Directory. This person should work closely with the Partnership Director to ensure Chapter goals and qualifications (if any) are met. Types of Partner Organizations When you think about all the different types of companies you interact with, which firms in your local area would benefit from contact with your Chapter s Members? If you were that company, wouldn t the HR community be your target market? The kinds of organizations that might be interested in partnering with your SHRM chapter are as follows: Payroll companies Meeting and event planners Temporary staffing firms Placement professionals Relocation companies Wellness companies Financial planners EAP providers Insurance companies & TPAs Benefits consultants/brokers

5 Outsourcing firms Training providers University continuing education programs Hotels/corporate lodging firms Retirement plan consultants/providers Health and dental care providers HR consultants Employee recognition companies Employee credit unions University career services offices Outplacement firms Background screening firms Vendor Directory One of the possible components of your Partnership Program is a Vendor Directory. On the surface this may sound like a great idea: create a list of preferred providers that can help your Chapter Members on a variety of subjects. Sponsoring organizations pay to become a preferred provider, deriving more revenue for your Chapter and your Members gain access to organizations they may not have known about prior. You may find, however, that a Vendor Directory poses many challenges: How does the Chapter vet potential vendors? What kind of liability does the Chapter have by promoting certain organizations to its Members? Will you limit the number of vendors by industry? If so, how many? Some vendor partners may be able to discount their services. Others may not. In a perfect world, your Chapter s Vendor Directory would be the first place a Member would turn to learn more about best-in-class organizations in a particular HR service sector. While this may be possible, there are important considerations to consider. Final Thoughts... Know your Chapter Member demographics! Everything from years of HR experience, title, the number of employees at their firm, certification level, etc. Potential sponsors will expect you to know this information. The better information you have, the better your odds are of attracting top sponsors. Have a vendor Code of Conduct. What are vendors allowed to do? What can t they do? Require vendor representatives to also be SHRM members and affiliate with your Chapter!

6 Let your sponsors introduce themselves if they are part of an event. Keep them on a short leash though and don t let them ramble on! If you have Chapter meeting sponsors, try to align their core competencies with your Chapter meeting topics. If you create a Partnership guide and have different levels of participation, make it easy for potential sponsors to determine what s included in the various sponsorship levels. A grid helps with this. Have it towards the front of your document. If you allow electronic advertising in s or on websites, sponsors will want analytics around click-throughs and open rates. Be prepared to provide this information as it will enable the vendor to measure ROI. Partner with business associations and chambers in your community; business leaders need to understand the importance of HR!