Survey Goals:
- To dentify strengths & weaknesses of chapters
- To assess needs of delegates & all chapters
- To identify key areas to focus on at conference
- To utilize data for reference during sessions
- To create a baseline for future surveys
- To use to benchmark technological progress of JETAA
VIEW SURVEY RESULTS
Survey created by Bob Schnyder, JETAA Portland with special thanks for help with data extrapolation & analysis by Ryan Hart & Todd Van Horne. This data was collected on 22 Jan. 2010 in preparation for the the Regional Technology Conference in Portland.
Observations & Key Findings:
- One in five of all chapters’ websites are not live or functional. There is a definite need to provide a set of basic building blocks to guide chapters from the ground up.
- Member data management is a key issue (most chapters still keep everything in Excel spreadsheets) on everyone’s mind, including the delegates at the conference. The main pain point is the maintenance and privacy/security of the data. Chapter leadership wants members to be able to update their own data online providing more efficiency, less paper and less headaches.
- There are a few technically-capable members helping chapters with tech needs, but the majority of chapter respondents consider themselves to be fairly low level in most technical competencies – creating the need for a solid foundation to “raise the bar” for chapters with respect to technology
- Improving communication with new and existing members is top priority for chapters, along with methods that are streamlined, in order to minimize time to implement
- Email is still the primary method of communication among chapters, but Facebook is a 2nd (and even 1st among some chapters). This demonstrates the need for chapters to reach out into social networks to find and communicate with new and existing members.
- Centralization is a key theme for the conference. Centralizing the different platforms chapters are using to consolidate information and documentations is a necessity and current methods (Yahoo Groups, Wiki) don’t seem to be enough or are underutilized.
Areas of Conference Focus Based on Survey Results:
- Develop a website foundation or blueprint to provide all chapters with the opportunity to improve their website sites at all levels, starting from the ground up to advanced technology
- Discuss solutions to help improve data management by providing examples and resources that encourage and enable chapters to streamline data management process and eliminate the security issues of Excel spreadsheets.
- Discuss the idea of a strengthened support role for chapters on technology to help with issues and ideas, plus need for a centralized location for resources.
- Share of technology and tools that do not require much expertise or time to manage yet are highly effective in communicating to new and existing members.
- If we build it, will they participate? Technology must be easy to find, easy for users to interact with, and inspiring to new members so we continue to grow our member bases. Chapters need to find a way for members to have a vested interest in participation and see the value to contribute.
