The Ultimate Guide to Member

Training: Unlock High

Engagement and Growth for
your Association
Associations come in all shapes and sizes. They can be anything
from professional or sports organizations, to nonprofits. But, no
matter what your association type is, they all have the same thing
in common — bringing together like-minded people who want the
necessary knowledge and skills to grow and succeed.
In this guide to member training, we’ll explore the key principles
and strategies to create effective and engaging training programs
that unlock the full potential of your members.

What is member training?

Member training refers to the process of training members of a
particular group. This training is designed to enhance their skills,
knowledge, and expertise related to their roles or interests within
the organization. Member training programs are common in
various sectors and can cover a wide range of topics, such as
skilling, role-based training, compliance, and diversity training.
Different types of associations
and the training they need
Professional associations
These are generally a group that seeks to further a particular
profession and the interest of people and organizations engaged
in that profession such as healthcare, accounting, law, sales, HR
and finance. These organizations will often be involved in career
development training for members. These include accrediting
degrees, defining and examining the skills and competencies
necessary to practice, and granting professional certifications to
indicate that a person is qualified in the subject area.
Sports organizations
This is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing and
promoting sports, like clubs and societies. They’ll focus
on training and development which involves in-player and
coaching development, compliance and safety, diversity &
inclusion, and sports science.

Non-profit associations
Non-profit associations can cover a range of causes, but will
generally be organized and operated for a collective, public or
social benefit, like charitable, religious and church, private
foundations and political organizations. These associations will
focus on quality, skills and compliance training. These courses
will cover helping others, how to maintain a certain standard of
quality, ensuring members have the skills necessary for their
roles, and adhere to specific regulations and legal requirements.

Benefits of member training

Retention
Actively embracing education to curb member churn is crucial.
Training equips your members with the tools and support they
need to see value in your organization, and when they see value
they’re successful, and stay with you for the long-term.
Compliance
Crucially this type of training educates your members on the laws
or regulations they need to know. These laws are predominantly
in place to maintain the safety of the organization, those they
work with and the dignity of the person. Compliance training help
to prevent poor conduct and ensure proper governance in your
organization. This helps to minimize risk, maintain your reputation
and provides a better environment for your people to work in.

Member engagement
It’s essential to keep your members engaged and active within
your organization and training programs will do this. By offering
training that matters to your members, you’ll keep them as
actives participants, leading to higher retention rates.
Increased membership and revenue
generation
Training events, workshops, and certification programs can be a
significant source of revenue for associations. On top of that,
offering learning courses can be a serious driver to attracting
potential members, leading to an increase in the membership
fees you collect.

Enhanced reputation and knowledge

Associations that invest in the professional development of their
members enhance their own reputation as leading authorities in
their respective fields. Especially if they offer tailored training
that’s relevant to the learner.
Training also facilitates the dissemination of knowledge, ensuring
that the best practices and industry standards are upheld by your
members at all times.

Industry advancement and advocacy

By training your members, your association will contribute to the
overall advancement of the industry or profession, fostering
innovation and excellence.
While, well-trained members can become advocates for your
association, promoting your important initiatives and contributing
to growth and influence in your industry.
Challenges of delivering member
training
Engagement
Keeping members engaged in training programs can be a
significant challenge. Many will have busy schedules and
competing priorities, making it difficult for them to commit time
and attention to learning. This is especially true if they work on a
voluntary basis. Boring learning content or outdated delivery
methods can further hinder engagement.
Counteract this through personalized and interactive learning. If
you’re using a learning management system (LMS), consider one
with social learning capabilities, gamification features and
personalized completion certificates that your members can be
proud of.

Cost
Developing and delivering high-quality learning can be expensive,
especially for smaller associations or nonprofits with limited
budgets. Finding cost-effective ways to provide effective training
can be a significant challenge.
Associations can easily scale up their training efforts without
incurring significant costs. Replacing traditional classroom-based
training with online learning, delivered through an LMS, can
significantly reduce costs related to materials, travel, and
facilities. This cost savings can be redirected into improving the
overall member experience.
Tracking and Evaluation
Monitoring members’ progress and assessing the effectiveness of
online learning programs doesn’t have to be complex. You’ll need
to implement tools and processes that facilitate tracking and
evaluation, so you know what’s working well and where to make
improvements.
With the right LMS, you can arm your organization with the data
you need to track and measure your learner’s training
performance, and critically, tie your learning insights back to your
association’s impact.
Strategies for delivering effective
member training
Overall, effective member training requires a person-centric
approach, clear learning objectives, engaging content, and an
appropriate delivery method. By investing in training your
members, you can improve member satisfaction, reduce training
costs, and ensure your members have the correct knowledge and
training.

Identify your member’s needs

Before starting a training program, it’s important to understand
your member’s needs, or what they need mandatory learning in.
Talk to your members and find out what knowledge or skills they
need. This will help you tailor your training program to their
specific needs.

Define learning objectives

Establishing precise and focused learning objectives is crucial in
member training to align with your association’s objectives.
Clearly define the specific skills, knowledge, or behaviors you aim
for your members to acquire or enhance through the training
program. This ensures a targeted approach that addresses their
needs effectively while driving desired outcomes for your
organization.

Develop training content

Once you have defined your learning objectives, develop training
content that is relevant, engaging, and effective. Depending on
the learning objectives and member needs, you can create online
tutorials, workshops, videos, or other types of content.

Choose the right format

There are many different ways to deliver training, including
videos, webinars, online learning modules, and in-person
workshops. Choose the format that best suits your member’s
needs and preferences.

Create a training plan

Create a training plan that outlines the learning objectives,
content, delivery method, timeline, and assessment criteria. Make
sure the training plan is tailored to your member’s needs and
goals.
Deliver training
Decide on your delivery method, but make sure the training
is engaging, interactive, and accessible. Encourage member
participation and provide opportunities for feedback and
questions.
Assess the learning outcomes and effectiveness of the training
program. Use analytics and reporting tools to track user
engagement, performance, and feedback. Use the results to
improve the training program and optimize future training efforts.
Get feedback
Finally, don’t forget to ask for feedback from your members. Use
surveys and other feedback mechanisms to find out what’s
working and what’s not, and use that feedback to improve your
learning program over time.