In our ongoing efforts to meet the needs of our members, the Vancouver Chapter recently conducted an on-line survey. We are quite pleased with the results - we had 51 responses out of a possible 101 - an excellent rate. Of those members who responded, most have been members for one to seven years. Some additional highlights uncovered by the survey are:
84% joined IAAP to stay abreast of trends and technology in the administrative field;
70% enjoy the full support of their companies, which reimburse dues and meeting costs;
90% recommend membership in IAAP to others in the administrative field; and
87% consider our education segment to be just right at 60 minutes.
Leadership Skills Development (82%) is the training our members are most eager to obtain. Problem Solving Skills (78%) and Project Management (74%) are also very important. MS Office Training and Productivity came next with 67% and 65% respectively. Team Building (57%) and Networking Skills Development (54%) followed. Internet Searches and Social Media were not as critical (35% each).
Unfortunately, only 27% of our respondents would be interested in serving on the Board of Directors, which could spell trouble for our future. We need members to step into leadership roles and take on the rewarding job of guiding our chapter into the next decade and beyond. Serving on the Board of Directors is an outstanding career move as it provides opportunities to practice team building, managing budgets, organizing meetings, and strategic planning. The Executive Council is in the process of establishing a succession plan, so we need members who are willing to participate. We hope that you will accept a Board role when your chance comes.
Finally, it appears that your Webmaster has some educating to do to encourage members to use our website and the Web Community. The vast majority have visited the Vancouver Chapter website to get meeting details (89%) or access the job postings board (73%). Some respondents read The Link on-line (60%). Quite a few access the Member Roster or use the website as a launching pad to other links (49% respectively). But that's about the extent of involvement. If anyone reading this post has suggestions to improve these results, please contact Webmaster
Phyllis Harber-Murphy, CAP. She would be delighted to hear your ideas.
This is just a brief summary of the results of the full survey, which ran to 52 questions. We sincerely appreciate your participation. We realize that it was quite detailed, but we have not conducted a survey in several years. As with every living organism, the Vancouver Chapter has evolved and morphed over time. It is important to determine whether we continue to meet the needs of our members and where we can improve. If you would like to see the full report, just click on this
link.