Sector and AuSAE News

  • 09 Jun 2015 9:03 AM | Louise Stokes

    A charity wants the Government to pay for it to take over an Auckland motel for families who are living in caravan parks or doubling up in overcrowded houses.


    Glen Eden-based VisionWest Community Trust was funded by the Government in March to take over a 19-unit motel in Christchurch for two years to house homeless families for up to eight weeks while social workers help them find permanent housing.


    Trust chief executive Lisa Woolley says the initiative is working so well it should be extended to Auckland.


    "The crisis that we have in Auckland is the same as in Christchurch.


    "We definitely need to build more housing, but we need something that is an immediate solution right now."


    At the end of March, 1066 applicants for social housing in Auckland, and 334 in Christchurch, were in priority A - described as "at risk and including households with a severe and persistent housing need that must be addressed immediately".


    Monte Cecilia Housing Trust executive David Zussman said 14 agencies provided emergency housing in Auckland, but mainly for 237 individuals in hostels such as the Salvation Army's 100-bed Epsom Lodge.


    There were only 35 units for families, including 13 at Monte Cecilia.


    Salvation Army social policy director Major Campbell Roberts said it had submitted a proposal to build 10 to 12 new emergency units on church and council land around Auckland as part of a government tender for 300 new social housing units.


    But Aneta Rangirangi of Te Roopu o Te Whanau Rangimarie o Tamaki Makaurau, which houses four families in a three-bedroom house and a sleepout in Mangere, said families usually had to stay longer than the official four weeks.


    Ms Woolley said the Christchurch initiative was rehousing families faster.


    A Social Development Ministry spokesman said families in the Christchurch motel did not pay rent because the programme was fully funded.


    Outside Christchurch, the ministry paid to put families in motels in "some emergency situations".


    Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett ordered a review of the sector due by July 31.


    "As a part of the review, we will consider a number of solutions, including the innovative approach being taken in Christchurch," she said.


    Motel Association chief executive Michael Baines said it was probably cheaper to buy a motel than a house in parts of Auckland.


    Housing the needy

    1066 Auckland households on priority A housing waiting list.


    35 emergency housing units available.


    10-12 new units proposed by Salvation Army.


    20 proposed in motel by VisionWest.


    - NZ Herald

  • 09 Jun 2015 8:33 AM | Louise Stokes

    Saturday, 6 June 2015, 11:21 am

    Press Release: New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists


    The New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists have teamed up with grassroots campaigning movement ActionStation to call on the Government to drop new experiments using ‘social bonds’ to fund the delivery of mental health services.


    “Over the past week a number of our members asked us to launch a campaign calling for an end to this experimentation with mental health funding,” says Marianne Elliott, National Director of ActionStation. “They were concerned about the perverse incentives this approach could create in the delivery of essential services to vulnerable New Zealanders.”


    The petition asks the Health Minister Jonathan Coleman to stop the use of ‘social bonds’ in the mental health sector and calls on him to commit to more government funding to mental health treatment and support directly.


    The New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists share these concerns and have publicly backed the petition.


    “As we talked to our members, and I spoke with members of the general public it became clear that a lot of people are really shocked and worried about the idea of this Government using an unproven funding model with some of our most vulnerable Mental Health consumers” says Kyle MacDonald, New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists Chair of Public Issues.


    “We hope that people who share our concerns take the time to sign the petition and spread the word.” Says MacDonald “This just felt too important for us as a profession, and we felt we had to stand up and say stop. Our hope is that other professions feel the same way and join us in endorsing this action”


    Petition: http://www.actionstation.org.nz/mentalhealth


    Contact: NZPA Kyle MacDonald 021 708 689

    Contact: Action Station Marianne Elliott 021 110 6086


    More details:


    ActionStation is a member-led campaigning group whose mission is to help more New Zealanders get involved in campaigns and actions to promote participatory democracy, and transparent and accountable politics in New Zealand. Launched in July 2014, ActionStation currently has over 80,000 active members.


    The New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists is a professional organisation which sets, examines and maintains specific standards for the safe and ethical practice of psychotherapy in Aotearoa New Zealand.


    ENDS


    - Scoop NZ

  • 05 Jun 2015 3:52 PM | Louise Stokes

    Don’t count on your data to tell its own story. Craft a narrative around its insights and engage in data storytelling! Plus: The risks of recording your history in obsolete formats.


    Let’s say your organisation has a brilliant new study that provides a bounty of insight about your area of expertise. So you prep a press release, line up some internal experts who are ready to field some interviews, and think that the ensuing press campaign would be a roaring success.


    “But as someone who has worked the beat as a reporter and sat in an editor’s chair, I can say that most nonprofits (and businesses, too) have a difficult time pitching stories about their data and research,” Panepento Strategies principal Peter Panepento writes. “And as someone who has done a lot of storytelling with data, I can see why.”


    In a guest post on Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog, Panepento makes the case for finding the narrative within the data you’ve collected and then pitching that to the media, instead of just overwhelming them with statistics.


    “It all starts with asking the right questions. In the same way a reporter interviews a source or a detective interviews a witness, you need to interview your data—asking questions that will help draw the conclusions you need to go forward,” he writes.


    For some specific examples of how organizations have succeeded by tying their data to a narrative, read Panepento’s full post here.


    Sourced from Associations Now here.


  • 05 Jun 2015 3:33 PM | Louise Stokes
    Article by Oliver Garside sourced directly from LinkedIn here.

    Many of us work for organisations which provide the opportunity and encouragement to pursue charitable endeavors via the donation of time, resources or expertise. Often it’s upon this foundation of support and encouragement that like-minded and talented groups of professionals can make amazing things happen!


    I am fortunate to work for one such organisation. The desire to create economic opportunity for its members is deeply woven into LinkedIn's culture. Some people may question the authenticity of LinkedIn's vision statement but I can tell you it's very real and nothing symbolises this quite like the LinkedIn for Good Foundation (LIFG).


    LIFG is LinkedIn's charitable foundation which provides opportunity for employees to pursue charitable endeavors. It's a global initiative which supports philanthropic ideas and passions and enables every employee to give time and expertise for causes which are often of deep personal significance.


    In 2013 I was made aware of a LIFG program called "Recruiting for Good" which is an idea brought to life by my ex colleague Bob Spoer.


    Bob realised 2 things:

    1. Not for Profit organisations often do not have the networks, time or financial resources to identify and attract  the best talent
    2. LinkedIn is uniquely positioned to put it's technology, member network and internal resources to great use to help connect talent with opportunity in Not for Profit sector

    And thus "Recruiting for Good" was born and continues today as one of the ways that LinkedIn is helping to drive social change through volunteerism and philanthropy.


    So how does it work?

    Recruiting for Good provides a recruiting service on a pro-bono basis for agreed upon positions. LinkedIn employees volunteer their time and use LinkedIn technology to help Not for Profit organisations identify talent for senior or board level positions. Once identified, interested candidates are then introduced to the Not for Profit organisation for a more detailed discussion and evaluation.


    LinkedIn has partnered with organisations such as The Ashoka Foundation and Engineers without Borders Australia on Recruiting for Good initiatives.

     

    We are currently looking for new partnership opportunities in Australia. If you work for a Not For Profit organisation and have an executive or board level position you are recruiting over the next few months (or you know someone who is) please share this post or contact me via LinkedIn to find out more .


  • 05 Jun 2015 3:29 PM | Louise Stokes

    Posted by Christina R. Green, Member Clicks


    No one has time these days. We watch TV or sporting events with a device in hand; we reach for our phones to cover up even a moment of quiet.


    So what makes you think your potential members will take a moment extra to figure out the membership application process?


    They won’t.


    You need to make it as easy as possible for them. Eliminate all of the friction and challenges involved in joining. Here are some things to consider:


    Membership Information Front and Center

    You must feature the reasons someone should join your association. Don’t present them as a list of benefits, although that seems like a quick way to do it. People tend to zone out when reading lists. However, if you present them as solutions you’re prompting action. Prospects will recognize a problem they have, that you have the solution to, and will become members in the hopes that you can solve it for them.


    Some associations have turned to infographic displays because they get noticed. There are several free software platforms, like Piktochart, that help you create infographics in a few clicks.   


    Join Now Button

    This type of button on the homepage is a must. It should be prominently displayed as a button (or a first-level menu tab). Don’t make people hunt around for a way to join your association. Make it obvious.


    Online Application

    It’s important to remove all obstacles to joining. If you’re using only a paper application, that’s an obstacle. Sell your memberships online. People often make decisions after 5 p.m., and sometimes, on weekends. This also means allowing people to pay for their dues online.


    While you’re making changes, ensure your online membership application form is mobile friendly as well.


    Allow for Online Renewals

    Just as you should take online applications, you should allow for online renewals as well. Let your members pay online so that they can renew when it is convenient for them.


    Removing the obstacles to joining your association is one way to show you understand your members’ needs.


    While it sounds like common sense, unless you’ve tried joining a group when no one is available to take your call, you may not be aware of the limitations and frustrations in doing so. Take a look at your site today. Are you making it hard for potential members to join?


  • 05 Jun 2015 3:24 PM | Louise Stokes

    Written by Jamie Notter, SocialFish


    It’s a hot topic in both corporate AND association circles: engagement. The for-profit folks tend to talk more about employee engagement, though engaging customers gets attention over there as well. But in the association community, it’s almost exclusively about member engagement. Member engagement is some kind of magic elixir that will keep associations from losing ground in today’s ever-changing landscape. The more engaged your members are, the more they will renew, the more they will spend, and the more they will serve as ambassadors, bringing new members to you. Right?


    Well, there’s certainly that potential, but it’s by no means easy. Member engagement is complicated, and if you don’t get clear on exactly WHAT you want to improve, you’re more likely to end up spinning your wheels. We recently helped one of our clients get clear on their strategy for improving member engagement, and in the process we outlined the different approaches to member engagement that we saw in today’s association environment:


    Purchases. Frequently, member engagement has been framed around increasing the number of members (and customers) who buy something from the association (which can include membership). This is basically a customer relationship management (CRM) challenge. Can you use the data you have on your members, customers, and prospects to target your marketing and other efforts to get them to pull the trigger and buy more from you? Increased “engagement” equals increased revenue.


    Customer Satisfaction. Other approaches to engagement focus on increasing positive sentiment among members/customers and generally improving the relationship they have with the association. In other words, make your members happier, and the results will follow. This approach often focuses on the Net Promoter Score–moving people from being neutral or negative into being more positive. The challenge here is that not all your members are the same. In fact, they are each unique, so this pushes associations to offer more customization, like tiered membership levels with different benefits, allowing more members to get just what they need.


    Content. In the digital age, many associations have realized that “consuming” content on the web (even though no money changes hand) can be just as valuable as purchases. David Gammel wrote about the “engagement acceleration curve” where members start by reading things free online, but that can lead to commenting or maybe even writing an article or two, which is often a gateway to further involvement, including contributing significant time and effort through volunteering. The trick here is pushing people along the curve–make sure that after they perform one small engagement task they are presented with opportunities to take the next step.


    Volunteering. For many associations, volunteering (ultimately by serving on the Board) is the ultimate in engagement. These are the members that will renew forever and do almost anything to serve the association. We look at these dedicated volunteers, and think, “Why can’t more of our members be like them?” So we try to get more members to volunteer. And while not everyone can serve on the Board, getting members to volunteers is an attempt to move members from  being “regular” members to being more “embedded” in the association. The more they give, the deeper they are embedded.


    Community. When you take this embedding concept to its fullest extent, you end up by focusing on community. This involves creating a context within which members and customers can build relationships, solve problems, and identify professionally. Obviously the hot topic of online communities comes into play here, as there has been evidence that active online communities are correlated with higher renewal rates (and, according to one study of for-profit companies, even higher stock prices).


    So which of these is the right approach? All of them, of course. You’ll have to figure out which approach is going to give you the greatest return on the investment of your time, energy, and money. You can improve engagement along any of these lines, but will that really move the needle on the organizational results you’re seeking? Figuring out how to move the right needles is where the real work begins.

  • 05 Jun 2015 2:10 PM | Louise Stokes

    In May, the AACB Board of Directors held a two day strategic planning session to confirm progress made in relation to the 2012-15 strategic plan and outline a new three year strategy to build on AACB's previous success in the areas of raising industry profile and increasing influence.


    The third goal has expanded from a staff education focus to encompass more broadly on stakeholder engagement and relevance to maximise member value.


    The resulting strategies and actions will be implemented in a new 2015-18 strategic plan that will be finalised and adopted by the AACB Board prior to the Staff Conference in September. The following goals will drive the future direction of AACB:

    • Raising Industry Profile to promote the economic contribution and social impact of Business Events to Australia.
    • Increasing Influence to leverage our partnership with Government to drive positive policy and investment decisions for the Business Events sector.
    • Member Value to drive sustainability through stakeholder engagement and relevance.
  • 05 Jun 2015 1:55 PM | Louise Stokes

    The Australian Salary Packaging Industry Association (ASPIA) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Re:think Tax Discussion Paper and to have input into the discussion the Government has initiated about the opportunities for reform of the Australian taxation system.


    ASPIA was formed in 2007 to provide a forum for discussing the overarching legislative and taxation issues affecting organisations within the growing outsourced salary packaging industry and their corporate and individual employee clients.


    Since then the Association has evolved to more broadly represent and promote the industry, particularly engaging with Government and regulators. It also performs an educative role, striving to build an understanding of the industry by publishing information about its impact and economic importance.


    Furthermore the Association plays a role in setting and maintaining the standards of the industry, establishing minimum guidelines in relation to service and inter-provider engagement, as well as providing a complaints handling facility for member firms’ customers.


    ASPIA currently represents more than 30 organisations involved in the salary packaging industry in Australia, and together they employ more than 1,500 people. The Association is run by a small, voluntary Board, who hold senior positions in companies that operate in the industry.


    Our members service more than 6,200 organisations, ranging from corporations and government departments, to various Not-For-Profit (NFP) organisations, including Public Benevolent Institutions (PBIs), Health Promotion Charities and Public Hospitals. More than 1.5 million employees are eligible for benefits, with an estimated 50% of eligible employees taking advantage of their entitlement. ASPIA’s members administer at least $300 million in benefits each month.


    The Re:think Tax Discussion Paper sets out to create a better tax system, one that delivers taxes which are lower, simpler and fairer. It needs to encourage higher economic growth and living standards, improve international competitiveness and be responsive to a changing economy and new opportunities.


    The comments we provide support those tenets absolutely. We believe that this review is a timely opportunity to address some inequities that exist in the current system, and to make it simpler and more easily administered, at the same time as providing the framework to facilitate the next stage of growth in the Australian economy.


    We welcome the opportunity to elaborate on any of our views and should you need further information, please contact Leigh Penberthy, Chairman by emailing leigh.penberthy@aspia.com.au or by calling 1300 766 064.


    Australian Salary Packaging Industry Association (ASPIA)

    PO BOX 7622

    MELBOURNE VIC 3004

    http://www.aspia.com.au


    Please find the full discussion paper here.

  • 05 Jun 2015 1:45 PM | Louise Stokes

    Sourced from Smart Company, Written by Paul Lin


    Transitioning to mobile can be intimidating for many businesses. It’s such an evolving beast that it can easily be put in the too hard basket.


    As the chief executive of enterprise mobility company Empirical Works, I work with small and big companies alike to develop mobile solutions. Every day, I see the difficulties businesses face as they try to implement mobility at an enterprise level. While making the transition can involve a lot of time, money and change to process, the alternative is far worse. If you don’t keep up with the mobile trends, your competitors will—and you run the risk of losing business.


    But while it’s difficult, it’s not impossible.


    Mobile is not just an add-on

     

    Implementing a mobile strategy for your business requires one key thing—a structured and integrated approach. For too long businesses have looked to tack an app onto the side of their business operations, but the reality is it needs to be integrated into the core business processes, and open to change.


    It may be hard to remember now, but when businesses first began developing websites in the early 2000s there was a lot of doubt, fear and frustration. Questions regarding staggering set-up costs, maintenance, security, and fear of leaks through the internet plagued many management teams. Mobile is now viewed with similar frustrations.


    With the expectation that most businesses should have a mobile presence, companies need to carefully consider not only how they will migrate, but also maintain their presence. Whether it’s a marketing campaign, ensuring a service that is available online is now on mobile, or enhancing an internal workflow process, thinking outside the box and considering the mobile experience will always work in your favor.


    A common mistake I see businesses making when approaching mobile is employing the wrong people to roll out the project. An IT specialist or someone who has built award-winning websites is not necessarily the best person to roll out a mobile strategy. It requires a completely different approach. Enterprise mobility requires an understanding of the relationship between business requirements, mobile technology and enterprise infrastructure constraints.


    There are now specialists who will independently review the day-to-day running of your business and advise the best enterprise mobility solution for you. Often it can be difficult for a business to take a step backwards and say ‘maybe we are doing this wrong’ or ‘how can this process be improved?’

     

    Mobile is a way of life

     

    Seeing mobile as an ‘addition’ to the website is also a dangerous way of working to implement mobile. Considering how we interact with mobile in every day life, our behavior is very advanced and ‘mobile-first’.


    Australians, particularly, lead mobile trends globally and are very quick to adapt. No longer tied to desktop, our mobile use extends to countless facets of our life:  we check and respond to our emails, capture moments, socialise, consume news and browse the web courtesy of our phone.


    It’s interesting because mobile behavior in our personal lives is so advanced, but when it comes to work, we revert to traditional methods. However, many businesses seem unwilling to consider such behavior away from the desktop.


    You should be operating your business and engaging in behavior that mimics your personal life. If the majority of your personal planning, communication and entertainment is conducted via your smartphone, why should your work life be conducted in a completely different way?


    Recent research reveals some staggering mobile statistics: 64% of corporate decision-makers read their email via mobile devices and 78% of Facebook users are mobile only.


    The pros outweigh the cons for SMEs

     

    Applying mobile thinking to business processes and adapting to this new and complex mobile ecosystem can be intimidating at the best of times. The hesitation to migrate to mobile can be put down to a number of things – resistance to change, staggering costs and adjusting administrative processes.


    On the upside, there are tangible and immediate benefits to a mobile transition. Enterprise apps have been proven to increase worker productivity by more than 34%, with companies gaining an extra 240 hours on average per employee from mobile computing.

    While small to medium-size businesses can feel intimidated to integrate mobile solutions and look to larger companies to lead the trend, they generally have the advantage of being less tied to clunky, out-dated and expensive infrastructures. 


    Interestingly, many companies in developing nations have leap-frogged international competitors because they weren’t tied to antiquated mobile solutions and workplace processes. If you currently have little to no mobile implementation, view it as an opportunity to be more nimble, adventurous and open to improvement.


    The beauty of integrating mobility solutions into business is you can accurately measure your ROI – whether it’s an increase in efficiency, a decrease in material costs or an increase in sales and profits. It’s an essential aspect of any competitive business and highly satisfying to see the positive implications and results, especially when efficient mobile solutions result in real savings.

     

    Tips for transitioning to corporate mobile:

    • Don't fixate on how mobile ‘should’ work for your company. The more flexible you are, the better the results will be.
    • Recognise the trend away from desktop. Mobile now accounts for a quarter of all web traffic. Consider how this move may affect your business in the future (employees, customers, clients) and start integrating this into your decisions.
    • Don’t think of an app as a project-based investment, but a business infrastructure investment. An app is not a standalone product but something that needs to be integrated into your business process.
    • Do your research! Talk to mobile experts and don’t be afraid to ask questions. The technology and approach is not your traditional digital marketing or IT.
    • Talk to your customers, talk to your employees and talk to any relevant stakeholders within the business. How do they interact with mobile?
    • Check out your competitors. It's good to know what they're up to. Look to successful companies and other industries. What are they doing with mobile, and what is applicable or relevant to your business?
    Paul Lin is CEO of Empirical Worksan enterprise mobility company that offers consulting services.


  • 04 Jun 2015 4:44 PM | Louise Stokes

    AuSAE Partner PRODOCOM are helping Australian Not-for-Profits create valuable and insightful conversations to engage with their member base.


    PRODOCOM offer many communication tools to assist your organisation with day to day member communications including:

    • SMS reminders – remind your members about upcoming events and membership benefits through SMS
    • Automated responses – automatically send confirmations to your event attendees and new members
    • Document hosting  -  store important documents online to reduce large emails clogging up audience inboxes
    • Public Service announcements – why not try fax and sms messaging for important announcements
    • Voting and polling  - use PRODOCOM solutions to organise your AGM or regular member elections
    • Surveying  - gather valuable data about your members on a regular basis  
    • Track Readership – find out who is opening your emails and clicking on banners
    • Mobile App – develop a special mobile app for your members linked to your all-in-one Prodocom communications portal
    • Integrated communications – The best benefit of using PRODOCOM solutions is that you can send one message via multiple communication channels at once! Such as email, sms and social media.

    PRODOCOM solutions are perfect for small to medium sized not-for-profit organisations. The PRODOCOM toolset offers multiple communication channels all on the one platform and you can choose to only utilise the communication channels that suit your needs.


    The PRODOCOM offering takes you from excel spreadsheets without the need for an expensive sophisticated CRM.  They also have expert staff just a phone call away who can guide you towards better member engagement and help solve your communication challenges.

     

    Call PRODOCOM to book a Communication Needs Assessment today and they will develop a communication solution just for you. The first 10 not-for-profit organisations to book will also receive a sponsored place to attend ACE 2015.  First in, best dressed!


    To make a booking contact Simone at PRODOCOM on simone.aikens@qld.prodocom.com.au today!


The Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE)

Australian Office:
Address: Unit 6, 26 Navigator Place, Hendra QLD 4011 Australia
Free Call: +61 1300 764 576
Phone: +61 7 3268 7955
Email: info@ausae.org.au

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Phone: +64 27 249 8677
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