During the first half of the
Rotary year, District 5420 was showing positive growth being up 16 members
through November. Those numbers soon
dropped as the Clubs cleaned up their membership rosters and dropped those
members that have stopped participating in Rotary. This semi-annual cleanout, each December and
June, results in large drops in membership (we are minus 18 in the District as
of January 10th, 2018).
So, what can we do minimize the
semi-annual drops in membership? The key
to growing your Rotary Club is adding new members but more importantly keeping
the members you already have. As our Zone website indicates:
“Rotarians
actually do a great job of recruiting new members each year. The challenge
clubs have is retaining members. Statistical data indicates that approximately
50% of new members leave Rotary within the first 12 months of their membership
in the service organization. This is an indictment on the way in which we
recruit and teach our new members about one of the most significant service
organizations in the world.”
The Retention problem (really the
lack of Member Satisfaction) is about how we manage member expectations and
experiences. The Rotary “We Care”
program (A Guide for Building Strong, Effective and Fun Rotary Clubs for the
New Millennium) states the following:
“One of our
greatest challenges in Rotary is to better understand what type of expectations
new members of Rotary have. We need to
take time and analyze what attracts new members and what will keep them in
Rotary. One of the foremost needs of new
members is a strong desire to feel that they are spending their time
wisely. If they feel someone is wasting
their time they have a tendency to avoid or eliminate whatever they feel is
causing it. New members need to be able
to see immediate productivity. They
challenge us on a daily basis to teach them about Rotary at a quicker
pace. We must prove to them that Rotary
is an organization that they should be part of.
Too many times we do not take the proper amount of time to reach out and
help new members become part of Rotary.
New members must be educated quickly so they feel that they are part of
the organization. The question is, are
our Rotary Clubs attractive, interesting, and do they give all individuals a
feeling of accomplishment? We all need
to review our club’s attitude, environment, posture and direction. This will
help to ensure that we meet the need of the new Rotarian of the 21st
century. During this process we must
never lose focus of our duty and goals of being Rotarians. Most importantly, we
must never compromise our beliefs.
Instead, we must modify our goals and expectations to be realistic and
give our members the ability to reach the goals. Our members must have the opportunity to feel
they have accomplished something special and important. Consistent direction and understanding are
the keys to a successful club!”
Please take steps to ensure that your existing members are
having their expectations met and that they are having a positive Rotary
experience. Consider how you conduct New
Member Orientation, look at updating your Club Membership Plan, or conducting a
Rotary Club Health Check. Additional
membership resources can be found at the following web sites:
