THE NCRA STRATEGIC PLAN. Vision 2018

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1 THE NCRA STRATEGIC PLAN Vision 2018 August 2013

2 The NCRA Strategic Plan 2 Forward F our years ago, NCRA stood at a crossroads. Even the mere pondering by the NCRA Board of Directors and others as to the possibility of opening the association up to those who make use of alternative methods of converting the spoken word to text led to an era of mistrust between and among the Board, state associations, members, and others from within the court reporting community. This era of mistrust was tempered to a large degree by a yearlong membership-dialogue initiative conducted by the Board and famously known as Writing Our Future. While Writing Our Future did not itself solve the challenges we face as an industry and as an association, two years removed from its completion, it would be difficult to understate the importance of the membership dialogue in putting NCRA in a position of getting past some of the fundamental issues that prevented us, collectively, from addressing the challenges that effectively had been left unaddressed in the prior years. The document you hold in your hands was years in the making. This strategic plan, entitled Vision 2018, lays out an ambitious agenda for NCRA over the next five years. The challenges that lay ahead for NCRA and the industry it serves demand that we make efficient and sustained use of the resources we have at our disposal. To do anything less than that would guarantee an equal and corresponding degree of failure. The challenges that lay ahead for NCRA and the industry it serves demand that we make efficient and sustained use of the resources we have at our disposal. To do anything less than that would guarantee an equal and corresponding degree of failure. This plan revolves around six general areas of strategic priority Awareness and Outreach, Advocacy, Professional Development, Education, Resources, and Member Value. Words alone won t get us there, however. Achieving the vision described in this plan will require a concerted and collaborative effort a contract if you will between the NCRA Board, our cadre of member volunteers, our professional staff, and others who compose generally what we refer to often as the court reporting community. Earlier this year, NCRA launched the inaugural Court Reporting and Captioning Week. It created a mobilization of the court reporting community the likes of which we have never seen, and represents the epitome of what we can accomplish when we put our hearts and minds together with everyone pushing in the same direction. Court Reporting and Captioning Week crossed strategic areas aligning what we are attempting to accomplish with our Awareness, Advocacy, and Education priorities. We saw our state associations, our schools, our vendors, and our individual members working as advocates during a single week to cast positive attention on our industry. For this plan to work in aggregate, we need to see a similar community effort similar collaboration across all six areas of strategic priority. With our plan now in place, it is now incumbent upon NCRA, the Board, and all of the stakeholders within our industry to roll up our sleeves and do our parts to achieve the vision contained within this plan. It s time to get to work.

The NCRA Strategic Plan 3 The Process Writing Our Future The process that led to the development of Vision 2018, the NCRA Strategic Plan, effectively began during the summer of 2010 when the NCRA

This membership dialogue was intended to serve as a genuine conversation with state-affiliate associations, with individual members, and with other stakeholders engaged with NCRA, which includes

3 The NCRA Strategic Plan 3 The Process Writing Our Future The process that led to the development of Vision 2018, the NCRA Strategic Plan, effectively began during the summer of 2010 when the NCRA Board of Directors launched an initiative that would come to be known as Writing Our Future. This membership dialogue was intended to serve as a genuine conversation with state-affiliate associations, with individual members, and with other stakeholders engaged with NCRA, which includes stenographic court reporters, broadcast captioners and CART providers, firm owners, court reporting schools, legal videographers, and others. Until the creation of this document, Writing Our Future served as a de facto strategic plan for NCRA, as members identified several key areas of focus for the association, but most notably a super majority of members (more than 60 percent) indicated that NCRA s core constituency its regular membership should remain stenographic court reporters. This was not itself a change of mission or focus, but it permanently put to rest some discussions that previously had taken place by the Board about whether or not the association should consider service to individuals who make use of methods other than stenographic court reporting to convert the spoken word to text. Beyond that, Writing Our Future helped us to refocus NCRA and the Board on what members see as the key areas on which the association should focus its resources: Building wider recognition and appreciation of stenographic court reporting Working with schools to recruit more students into the profession Encouraging more court reporters to write realtime Helping to prepare court reporters for the demands of a paperless business environment Writing Our Future Focus Groups & Member Needs Assessment Board Strategic Planning Retreats Strategic Plan

4 The NCRA Strategic Plan 4 Focus Groups & Member Needs Assessment At the 2012 Convention in Philadelphia, NCRA conducted a series of focus groups with several key stakeholder groups from firm owners and freelance reporters to CART providers and captioners to vendors, legal videographers, and instructors and administrators from court reporting schools. The information gathered from these focus groups in addition to informing the Board s strategic-planning process itself established the basis for a comprehensive Member Needs Assessment that NCRA fielded in September and October of Board Strategic-Planning Retreats As part of its November 2012 meeting, the NCRA Board set aside a full day to focus singularly on the development of a new strategic plan for the association. Engaging in a number of exercises and equipped with the findings from the Member Needs Assessment and Writing Our Future, the Board identified the most pressing needs facing the industry, the association, and the legal community at large. In March 2013, the Board once again set aside a full day to engage in strategic planning, this time joined by a dozen invited guests who represented various stakeholder groups served by NCRA and its membership. It was during this full-day retreat that the vision of NCRA s new strategic plan, along with the core values and high-level strategy that define the plan, were put to words and agreed upon in principle. An Inclusive Process Overall, literally thousands of voices from throughout the NCRA community participated in the construction of Vision 2018, the NCRA Strategic Plan. From focus groups to surveys to one-on-one conversations to the strategic-planning retreats and the decisions made within those retreats, the Board relied extensively on the needs and perspectives of members to create a vision for NCRA s future and the strategy the association will use to realize that vision over the next five years.

The NCRA Strategic Plan 5 NCRA Mission Statement Along with an association s Articles of Incorporation and Constitution and Bylaws, its mission statement defines the reason an association exists and

5 The NCRA Strategic Plan 5 NCRA Mission Statement Along with an association s Articles of Incorporation and Constitution and Bylaws, its mission statement defines the reason an association exists and what it is attempting to accomplish at the largest scale. While it is appropriate for organizations to review their mission statements periodically, generally an association s mission statement is constructed to be timeless, to extend beyond multiple strategic-planning cycles. During the current strategic-planning process that led to Vision 2018, it was the view of the NCRA Board that the association s current mission statement, which was adopted in 2004, remains a correct and appropriate description of NCRA at the highest level: NCRA Mission NCRA promotes excellence among those who capture and convert the spoken word to text and is committed to supporting every member in achieving the highest level of professional expertise.

6 The NCRA Strategic Plan 6 Vision 2018 In contrast to a mission statement, an association s vision typically is changed or refined periodically to describe what the association will look like if it is to effectively pursue its mission over a finite period. In our case, the Board has adopted a vision for the association, which extends to a five-year horizon and that incorporates the core values that NCRA will seek to emulate or represent over that time period. NCRA s Vision 2018 NCRA advances the industry by establishing the stenographic method as the preeminent means of converting the spoken word to instant text and by promoting innovation in education and service to the public. We achieve this through a committed membership that includes court reporters and NCRA-certified professionals and by adhering to eight core values: Education and Certification Ethics and Professionalism Advocacy Service to Clients and Public Volunteerism Innovation Fiscal Responsibility Member Value

7 The NCRA Strategic Plan 7 NCRA Strategy They say that if you don t have a roadmap, you don t know where you re going or when you have arrived. NCRA is surrounded by an industry that is ripe with challenges a declining number of stenographic court reporting students over time, which has led to a decrease in qualified court reporters; threats posed by electronic recording; and the ongoing need to establish and maintain the standards of competence and professionalism. Without a plan without a roadmap it is far too easy for an association to chase after the latest or coolest idea without regard to the long-term effect such pursuit might have on the association. Therefore the NCRA Board in following the process described within this document and in pursuit of the vision it has established (Vision 2018) based on substantial feedback from the stakeholders NCRA serves has identified six, high-level strategic areas of focus for the association over the next five years. They are: Resources Member Value Awareness and Outreach Advocacy Professional Development Education

8 The NCRA Strategic Plan 8 Strategic Priority #1: Resources NCRA will establish itself as the preeminent source of tools and information with regard to court reporting and related technology, creating delivery mechanisms for distribution of information and promotion of tools to member and external audiences. At the highest level, we will work on our Resources through the following techniques: By providing court reporters and court reporting firms with market intelligence and tools to enhance their profitability within a competitive marketplace; By collecting, analyzing, and publishing information on technology and its impact on the court reporting industry and the legal community at large; Through the creation of ideas and tools for members to promote their services and the industry at large to the marketplace around them; By establishing and perpetuating NCRA as the central point for sharing ideas and business referrals; and By establishing new resources and services for skill development, passing certification exams, improving their businesses. Where can NCRA have strong influence?* 1. Competing in marketplace 2. Finding steady work 3. Finding quality work Top Reasons for Continuing NCRA Membership 1. Maintaining certification 2. Connection to national organization 3. Access to NCRA publications 4. Networking opportunities 5. Getting certification 6. Listing in PSL & Sourcebook * 2012 Member Needs Assessment

9 The NCRA Strategic Plan 9 Strategic Priority #2: Member Value NCRA will innovate and enhance the portfolio of programs and services it offers to members, focusing on the synchronization of programs/services on the established needs of the marketplace. Simultaneously, NCRA will work systematically to encourage every court reporter, student, and qualified associate NCRA Reporter Membership (If Trend Were to Continue) member to be an active part of our community. Pursuit of our Member Value strategic priority will include the following: Placing new and relentless emphasis on membership recruitment and retention; Regularly introducing new products and services; Increasing non-dues revenue; Isolating and customizing programs and services to address the unique needs of specialty areas within our membership and industry; Encouraging more members to serve as volunteers as a means of harnessing the collective wisdom and expertise of the industry and by allowing these individuals and the larger community to benefit from the connections and collaboration generated by such involvement; and Engaging and connecting with state associations in a systematic fashion to deliver value at the local level.

10 The NCRA Strategic Plan 10 Strategic Priority #3: Awareness and Outreach NCRA will work with members, state associations, vendors, and alliance groups to build wider recognition and appreciation of stenographic court reporting and its applications among key external audiences. While our Awareness and Outreach strategic priority is general in nature and crosses multiple functional areas, at its core our efforts in this key area will be focused on: Engineering programs and initiatives to build wider recognition and appreciation of stenographic court reporting and its applications among consumers of those services; Continually enhancing the NCRA website to become a go-to resource for networking and for consumers to find qualified professionals from among our membership; Working with members, state associations, court reporting vendors, and others from our community to have more significant, sustained, and productive presence within the websites, publications, social-media outposts, and conferences where the consumers of our members services operate and do business; and Designing programs and services aimed at encouraging a higher percentage of stenographic court reporters to write realtime and to pursue realtime certification while building recognition of the value of realtime among attorneys, paralegals, judges, and other potential consumers within the legal, broadcast captioning/hoh, and related industries. Members: Where can NCRA have strong influence?* 1. Build positive perception of steno 2. Awareness of the added value of realtime for consumers of NCRA members services 3. Build understanding of E.R. limitations 4. Number of reporters in marketplace 5. Number of students entering court reporting schools * 2011 Writing Our Future survey

The NCRA Strategic Plan 11 Strategic Priority #4: Advocacy NCRA will engage in a sustained effort to protect and advance the interests of stenographic court reporters and the legal system by

11 The NCRA Strategic Plan 11 Strategic Priority #4: Advocacy NCRA will engage in a sustained effort to protect and advance the interests of stenographic court reporters and the legal system by educating and influencing legislators and bureaucrats on a federal and state basis, including substantial work on behalf of court reporting schools. To do so, we will: Lobby for legislation at the national, state, and provincial level that supports, advances, and protects stenographic court reporting; Work to secure funding and grants in support of court reporting schools; Seek partnership and collaboration with likeminded organizations in pursuit of legislation and influence within areas of common interest; Explore new applications of stenographic court reporting in alternative business environments; Work to develop and advance captioning quality standards; and Establish, perpetuate, and promote standards of conduct for court reporters.

The NCRA Strategic Plan 12 Strategic Priority #5: Professional Development NCRA will establish and refine standards of knowledge, competence, and professional practice and construct platforms of

12 The NCRA Strategic Plan 12 Strategic Priority #5: Professional Development NCRA will establish and refine standards of knowledge, competence, and professional practice and construct platforms of delivery for education and certification to instill and verify these standards among court reporters, CART providers and captioners, legal videographers, and others committed to the advancement of stenographic court reporting. This will involve: The development and maintenance of reliable, online, on-demand skills testing; Enhancement of programs and services to encourage more stenographic court reporters to write realtime; Expanding NCRA s capabilities to deliver first-class educational programming via the Internet; Packaging education in new formats to engage non-members in a more direct, systematic fashion; and Continually developing and refining educational content to ensure it meets needs of marketplace. Initial Reasons for Joining NCRA* 1. Getting my certification 2. Supporting the profession 3. Connection to a national organization * 2012 Member Needs Assessment

The NCRA Strategic Plan 13 Strategic Priority #6: Education NCRA will establish programs, services, and initiatives aimed at tripling the number of students in North American court reporting programs

13 The NCRA Strategic Plan 13 Strategic Priority #6: Education NCRA will establish programs, services, and initiatives aimed at tripling the number of students in North American court reporting programs by 2018 while establishing or refining standards to double the graduation rate of enrolled students over the subsequent five years. This effort will entail: Identifying market demand for court reporters by industry segment, geography, and other key demographics for court reporting schools to use in their recruitment efforts; Mounting a comprehensive campaign to expose large new audiences of potential students to court reporting; Establishing and gaining wholesale adoption of standards related to instruction and/or curricula for schools in alignment with best practices established within programs that graduate higher percentages of court reporters; and As our expertise, resources, and influence allows, providing ongoing support to schools in areas of greatest need. Aging of Court Reporting Population* % 4% 3% % 24% 10% % 41% 35% % 25% 40% >60 4% 6% 13% *Source: NCRA database

14 The NCRA Strategic Plan 14 How the NCRA Board Established Priorities As a major component of its strategic-planning process, the NCRA Board conducted a series of three meetings where it, along with invited guests, engaged in activities and exercises that were designed as a multi-layer filter that identified and provided systematic ranking of the needs, challenges, threats, and opportunities that would form the basis of this strategic plan. In the interest of keeping this document at the strategic level, we will not provide the mountains of data and charts that were used to formulate strategy; however, we would like to provide at least a glimpse of the process by laying out some of the key findings that evolved from our extensive research with members and how these findings are being addressed from a strategic, operational, or volunteer perspective within the construct of this plan. For that purpose, on the following page is a list NCRA s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats as identified by members and the Board during our strategic-planning process along with how a particular Strength is being exploited within this plan, how a Weakness is being fortified, etc. The purpose here is merely to remind ourselves that construction of this strategic plan followed a logical, methodical process that included synchronization of NCRA s activities with the identified priorities of the membership.

15 The NCRA Strategic Plan 15 NCRA Strengths Item Blend of human element & technology Certification programs Brain trust/information Convention Government Relations JCR, Publications, Website Content Upward trend of trust Support of Profession Corresponding Strategy Awareness, Advocacy Professional Development, Awareness Member Value, Resources, Awareness Professional Development Advocacy Resources, Member Value Throughout based on community concept Awareness, Advocacy NCRA Weaknesses Item Lack of public awareness of steno Apathy of reporters Recruitment of students Overextending resources Corresponding Strategy Awareness Awareness, Member Value Education, Awareness Throughout, building on community concept NCRA Opportunities Item Vision for Education Excellence T.F. (VEETF) New P.R. vendor, campaign Strategic alliances, vendors TRAIN (grassroots realtime training) Corresponding Strategy Education Awareness Awareness Professional Development, Awareness NCRA Threats Item Lack of public awareness Aging demographic Budget (membership decline) Myopic thinking Alternative technologies Corresponding Strategy Awareness Education Member Value Throughout the plan, Member Value Awareness, Advocacy

16 The NCRA Strategic Plan 16 Mobilizing and Monitoring the Strategic Plan Too often, strategic plans create new ideas and excitement within an association, only then to be placed on a shelf and forgotten. This plan must be different. To be sure, NCRA has limited resources and already is stretched to something near capacity if we were to attempt to execute on our plan utilizing the same business model that has characterized our association over the last decade. The late Apple CEO and visionary Steve Jobs once challenged his company to Think Different. NCRA must endeavor to do the same. Already, we have made some substantial changes to the manner in which the Board governs, creating subcommittees to expand the Board s capacity to discuss, oversee, and champion a wider array of activities. Already, we have made some fundamental changes to NCRA s longstanding practices related to volunteer committees, approving committee appointments two months earlier than in the past. This was done to give volunteers the opportunity to assemble plans of attack during the Convention in August so that their work can begin in earnest immediately thereafter. Committee charges likewise have been pegged more specifically to this strategic plan and committee chairs took part in an orientation webinar in June to introduce them to NCRA s strategy as well as to a new era of committee empowerment that includes more ambitious charges and higher standards of accountability for committees to deliver on those charges. By empowering committees to make decisions within the disciplined framework of the strategic plan and assigning Board and staff liaisons to each committee to ensure communication lines are unfettered, we have increased our capacity to execute at a higher level, to realize the highly ambitious vision the Board has established. Now, the Board must hold itself, NCRA s staff, and volunteer committees accountable. The plan is in place. Everyone has a role to play. It s time to get to work.

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