Wanda Saleem, Past President and Director for Membership.
Wanda Saleem
Every single membership organisation in the world is faced with two (2) ongoing challenges: Membership Retention and Membership Growth, and Rotary is certainly no exception.
The first of these, Membership Retention, is not a challenge for the Membership Director alone. Although people generally join service organisations such as Rotary in a selfless desire to help those in their community who are less fortunate, that is rarely the sole reason. More often than not, people also join Rotary in an effort to expand their own circle of friends, with whom they can enjoy camaraderie and fellowship.
Hence while the work undertaken by Rotary clubs is necessary, worthwhile and often serious, if there is a feeling of fun and belonging attached to those tasks, members will actually enjoy contributing towards the club's efforts. This is why the Membership Director should work closely with the Attendance Director and Fellowship Director, to ensure that newer members in particular are warmly encouraged to regularly attend club meetings and fellowship events, so that their sense of belonging and desire to participate in club projects is nurtured and enhanced.
There are many reasons why members may wish to leave an organisation and some of these reasons, such as emigration, are unavoidable, particularly in a city like Hong Kong where people are often posted for a limited period of time. However there can often be other challenges facing members, such as business or family pressures and/or financial difficulties. Hence it is imperative that the Membership Director takes an active interest in the attendance reports, in an effort to identify members who may be facing such challenges, so that he can hopefully find a way to assist those members.
Membership Development is arguably an even more difficult responsibility of the Membership Director, as this requires introducing "new blood" into the club. However the Membership Director is not expected to single-handedly introduce new members to the club. His/her main task is to encourage other members to introduce their friends and business acquaintances to the ideals of Rotary.
To that end, there is an important third core function of the Membership Director, and that is Membership Classification. Each Rotary club is comprised of members from various walks of life, and each Rotary club tries to have members from as many different sectors of society as possible, because diversity of membership is a keystone of Rotary's success.
One way for the Membership Director to help members identify prospective new members is to regularly publish a list of "available classifications" and perhaps to use the club bulletin to highlight those classifications which should be relatively easy to fill. At the time of writing this guide, KGM has no members representing the medical or dental communities in Hong Kong, however as every KGM member presumably has a doctor and a dentist, it should be relatively simple to find a suitable candidate for membership !
As far as processing prospective members is concerned, the procedure is as follows::
1) The sponsor should invite the prospective member to attend at least four (4) consecutive regular meetings of the club as his guest and he should introduce him to as many members as possible, in particular the club Membership Director, but also to other club directors.
During this familiarisation period, the sponsor should try to explain as much as he can about Rotary to the prospective member, including Rotary attendance requirements and the associated financial commitments.
2) If your guest expresses an interest in joining the club, obtain a "Membership Proposal" form from the Membership Director, complete it and return it to him for further action. At this stage, it is important to clearly determine what is likely to be a suitable membership classification.
3) The Membership Director will, at the next regular Board meeting, submit your Membership Proposal form to the Board for their consideration, at which time the suggested (or another available) Membership Classification will also be considered.
If the proposal is approved by the Board, the Membership Director will contact the proposer and ask him to invite (and accompany) the prospective member to a membership interview, which is normally conducted after a regular club meeting. At the interview, the Membership Committee will ask the prospective member a series of questions and they will also offer additional information about Rotary.
4) Once the interview is completed and your guest confirms his or her continuing interest in becoming a Rotarian, the Membership Director will pass the relevant information to the Bulletin Editor, who is required to publish details of the proposal in the next club bulletin, whereby other members are given seven (7) days to object to the proposal.
5) After the expiry of the seven (7) day "waiting period", provided no objections are received, the prospective member guest can be inducted as a member of KGM, once he or she has paid the relevant joining fee and semi-annual dues to the club Treasurer.
As far as the actual induction is concerned, the Membership Director is required to prepare the "membership kit" for the new member, which should be handed to the club President on the day of the induction ceremony.
The membership kit, enclosed in a "Welcome to Rotary" folder, should be comprised of the following items:
A) Recognition items: a Rotary pin and a club name tag (the latter is produced by PP Vince Pinto);
B) Essential Rotary literature: a copy of the "4 Way Test", "The Objects of Rotary", the "Declaration of Rotarians in Business & Professions" and the "ABC's of Rotary";
C) Other Rotary information: leaflets on the Rotary Foundation and other programs, information on how to introduce new members etc.
The Membership Director must ensure that he keeps a reasonable supply of each of the foregoing items on hand, but additional supplies can be readily obtained from Rotary International.
The first of these, Membership Retention, is not a challenge for the Membership Director alone. Although people generally join service organisations such as Rotary in a selfless desire to help those in their community who are less fortunate, that is rarely the sole reason. More often than not, people also join Rotary in an effort to expand their own circle of friends, with whom they can enjoy camaraderie and fellowship.
Hence while the work undertaken by Rotary clubs is necessary, worthwhile and often serious, if there is a feeling of fun and belonging attached to those tasks, members will actually enjoy contributing towards the club's efforts. This is why the Membership Director should work closely with the Attendance Director and Fellowship Director, to ensure that newer members in particular are warmly encouraged to regularly attend club meetings and fellowship events, so that their sense of belonging and desire to participate in club projects is nurtured and enhanced.
There are many reasons why members may wish to leave an organisation and some of these reasons, such as emigration, are unavoidable, particularly in a city like Hong Kong where people are often posted for a limited period of time. However there can often be other challenges facing members, such as business or family pressures and/or financial difficulties. Hence it is imperative that the Membership Director takes an active interest in the attendance reports, in an effort to identify members who may be facing such challenges, so that he can hopefully find a way to assist those members.
Membership Development is arguably an even more difficult responsibility of the Membership Director, as this requires introducing "new blood" into the club. However the Membership Director is not expected to single-handedly introduce new members to the club. His/her main task is to encourage other members to introduce their friends and business acquaintances to the ideals of Rotary.
To that end, there is an important third core function of the Membership Director, and that is Membership Classification. Each Rotary club is comprised of members from various walks of life, and each Rotary club tries to have members from as many different sectors of society as possible, because diversity of membership is a keystone of Rotary's success.
One way for the Membership Director to help members identify prospective new members is to regularly publish a list of "available classifications" and perhaps to use the club bulletin to highlight those classifications which should be relatively easy to fill. At the time of writing this guide, KGM has no members representing the medical or dental communities in Hong Kong, however as every KGM member presumably has a doctor and a dentist, it should be relatively simple to find a suitable candidate for membership !
As far as processing prospective members is concerned, the procedure is as follows::
1) The sponsor should invite the prospective member to attend at least four (4) consecutive regular meetings of the club as his guest and he should introduce him to as many members as possible, in particular the club Membership Director, but also to other club directors.
During this familiarisation period, the sponsor should try to explain as much as he can about Rotary to the prospective member, including Rotary attendance requirements and the associated financial commitments.
2) If your guest expresses an interest in joining the club, obtain a "Membership Proposal" form from the Membership Director, complete it and return it to him for further action. At this stage, it is important to clearly determine what is likely to be a suitable membership classification.
3) The Membership Director will, at the next regular Board meeting, submit your Membership Proposal form to the Board for their consideration, at which time the suggested (or another available) Membership Classification will also be considered.
If the proposal is approved by the Board, the Membership Director will contact the proposer and ask him to invite (and accompany) the prospective member to a membership interview, which is normally conducted after a regular club meeting. At the interview, the Membership Committee will ask the prospective member a series of questions and they will also offer additional information about Rotary.
4) Once the interview is completed and your guest confirms his or her continuing interest in becoming a Rotarian, the Membership Director will pass the relevant information to the Bulletin Editor, who is required to publish details of the proposal in the next club bulletin, whereby other members are given seven (7) days to object to the proposal.
5) After the expiry of the seven (7) day "waiting period", provided no objections are received, the prospective member guest can be inducted as a member of KGM, once he or she has paid the relevant joining fee and semi-annual dues to the club Treasurer.
As far as the actual induction is concerned, the Membership Director is required to prepare the "membership kit" for the new member, which should be handed to the club President on the day of the induction ceremony.
The membership kit, enclosed in a "Welcome to Rotary" folder, should be comprised of the following items:
A) Recognition items: a Rotary pin and a club name tag (the latter is produced by PP Vince Pinto);
B) Essential Rotary literature: a copy of the "4 Way Test", "The Objects of Rotary", the "Declaration of Rotarians in Business & Professions" and the "ABC's of Rotary";
C) Other Rotary information: leaflets on the Rotary Foundation and other programs, information on how to introduce new members etc.
The Membership Director must ensure that he keeps a reasonable supply of each of the foregoing items on hand, but additional supplies can be readily obtained from Rotary International.