To continue the theme of “what’s been brewing lately?” I recently received a message from an NSTA chapter leader who asked for guidance on what to consider before hiring staff to support their chapter.
Here are a few items to think about:

• First, consider your budget, level of activity and membership size (including the potential number of members your organization could have). These factors, with a few others, will dictate what type of management your organization will need.  Association management can vary from an executive director (with other staff members) to a part-time administrative assistant – and with that, the cost of management can vary as well!
• Connect with other education associations in your state. Do some research by contacting other organizations to do some comparison shopping.  The firms that manage these organizations may be willing to provide you with a proposal for service in the event you decide to hire staff.  You may often find a management company that specializes in working with a particular industry like educators, medical professionals, etc.  In most instances, this can be a “win-win” for everyone especially if the person (or company) that ends up managing your organization is well connected to key stakeholders in that particular state.
• Back to “level of activity”. Try to be detailed about what’s included in your Request for Proposal (RFP). This may be a time for you to not only consider what your organization offers its members and other stakeholders, but also what you should STOP doing – activities that don’t offer much to your organization’s member value proposition.

In general, your operations will fall under one of the following categories:

• Membership Services (including marketing)
• Financial Management
• Conference Planning
• Publication Development
• Web Design and/or Management
• Board and Governance Support, and
• General Administrative Support (answering phones, replying to e-mail messages, etc.)

I have uploaded an outline of management activities to the NSTA Chapters and Associated Groups Community.  If you are a chapter or associated group leader and have not joined the NSTA Chapters and Associated Groups Community, please send me a message (including your preferred e-mail address) and I will send you an invitation to join the community.
As always if you have questions, please e-mail me at tbirts@nsta.org.
Talk to you soon!
Teshia