Omar Jimenez· Head of Reward, Ravenna Chemicals
Posted in Chapter Leaders Council ·
I lead one of the mid-sized chapters, and our autumn attendance has slipped two years running: 46 in 2024, 38 last year, and 29 registered for this month so far. Spring holds up better, which makes me think the cause is timing and budget season, not interest.
This year we are trying a shorter format: 75 minutes over breakfast with one speaker, in place of an evening panel. Before I conclude anything I would like to hear from other chapter leaders. What did you change that made a difference, in format, day of the week, venue or promotion? And what did you try that made no difference at all?
0 reactions · 4 replies · 3 views
Director, Total Rewards, Steinbach Industrie
Breakfast works for us in a financial district, where nobody stays in town after six. We moved from Thursday evening to Wednesday at 8am and went from about 30 to a steady 55. The other change was asking a member's employer to host in their own office. It costs nothing, and people are curious to see inside another company.
Ximena WalshGRS, CBS
Director of Benefits, Halcyon Financial Group
What made no difference for us: more emails. We went from two reminders to five and registrations did not move. What did was asking each of the eight people on our chapter committee to invite three people personally. That alone accounted for 17 of the 44 who came in September. It is tedious and it works.
Omar HaddadNew
Director, Total Rewards, Steinbach Industrie
Our chapter covers a large area, so travel is the barrier. We now hold the autumn event in a different part of the region each year. Attendance among members outside the centre roughly doubled, though the total rose only slightly, from 40 to 47. I would call it a fairness gain more than a growth one.
Grace ZhangNew
Director of Benefits, Bellwether Consulting
We turned the autumn meetup into a working session on merit budgets, since that is what everyone is doing in October anyway. People bring their planning number and we collect them anonymously on the day. Sixty-two came last year, our highest ever.
Do you take a deposit? One in five of our registrations failed to turn up until we charged ten dollars.
