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6 Steps to Revolutionize the Career Journey & Rethink Revenue

Guest contributors to Higher Logic’s blog are valued members of our community who have offered to share their insights. The content contained and the opinions expressed in the blog post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Higher Logic or its employees. Higher Logic does not endorse or make any representations regarding the content and disclaims any liability related to the blog post.

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, staying ahead requires innovation and strategic thinking. What if you could turn your career center into more than just a job board? What if it could become a dynamic hub finely tuned to the individualized career journeys of your members?

That’s why we’re thrilled to introduce you to six steps that will revolutionize the career journey and redefine revenue generation for your association. By creating a cohesive strategy, harnessing the power of your data, seamlessly connecting your tools, activating integrations, scaling with logic and artificial intelligence, and expanding your partnerships, you’ll unlock new possibilities and elevate the member experience to unprecedented heights. Let’s embark on this transformative adventure together!

Higher Logic Thrive Jobs facilitates career development for your members while strengthening engagement and enhancing your Higher Logic Thrive Community.

Step 1: Create a Cohesive Strategy

Mapping your engagement ecosystem is a fundamental step in creating a holistic and cohesive engagement strategy. While looking at the current communications landscape your association has, you can identify key integration points, streamline processes, enhance the user experience, all while revealing opportunities for growth, ensuring your association remains relevant and valuable in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Aligning goals and metrics across different functions, especially focusing on revenue beyond membership fees and engaging members, is crucial for implementing a clear strategy and creating teamwork within the organization. This alignment not only sets clear targets for success but also increases member satisfaction and makes it easier to track progress through joint efforts.

Removing silos is essential when creating a cohesive engagement strategy, both internally and externally. By encouraging transparent and frequent communication channels across departments, it fosters collaboration and the exchange of ideas and information, enhancing innovation and efficiency. Cross-departmental buy-in ensures unified goals, optimizes resource use, and strengthens organizational coherence and performance.

Step 2: Use Your Data

In the digital landscape, associations are sitting on a goldmine of data regarding their members, offering an unparalleled opportunity to unlock insights and drive impactful outcomes. By harnessing this wealth of member and industry data, associations can pinpoint specialized skills and roles that are in high demand, empowering them to stay ahead of evolving trends and better serve their members and the broader community.

Central to this endeavor is the cultivation of robust member profiles, meticulously curated to capture a comprehensive array of strategic data points such as skills, experiences, and career aspirations. With a deep understanding of each member’s unique profile, associations can tailor personalized career and learning journeys that cater to individual needs and aspirations. Whether it’s a student embarking on their professional journey or a seasoned executive aiming for career advancement, these tailored pathways ensure alignment with organizational objectives while maximizing member engagement and satisfaction.

Moreover, the ability to match members with curated job opportunities that resonate with their skills and goals not only enhances their career prospects but also strengthens the association’s value proposition. By facilitating these meaningful connections, associations position themselves as invaluable partners in their members’ professional development, fostering a sense of loyalty and trust.

Ultimately, by leveraging data-driven insights to craft personalized experiences and offerings, associations can elevate their impact, serving members more individually and more impactful than ever before. This deeper understanding not only drives member satisfaction but also propels organizational success, positioning associations at the forefront of innovation and excellence in the digital age.

association staff optimizing member engagement strategies

Step 3: Connect Your Tools

Enhance member engagement through automated, personalized journeys by integrating the tools that best serve your members. Gain insight into the features and functions of your ecosystem to drive targeted initiatives, boost revenue opportunities, improve member experience, and optimize engagement levels.

Bridge the gap between benefits and value by strategically aligning platform content and features, such as educational opportunities or certifications, with role-specific career resources. This strategic connection not only attracts new members but also enriches the membership experience and nurtures personalized growth and career advancement.

Ensure a cohesive member experience by strategically integrating content and features across platforms using cross-platform widgets, feeds, and navigation tools. Elevate engagement and retention by incorporating career center benefits into lifecycle communications, amplifying member involvement and loyalty.

Step 4: Activate Your Integrations

Integrating cutting-edge technologies into a unified and user-centric career hub is crucial for staying ahead in today’s digital landscape. By purposefully incorporating innovations such as single sign-on, data synchronization, and application programming interfaces (APIs), associations can create a seamless experience for members across all engagement platforms. This strategic approach not only simplifies access to resources but also fosters active participation, ultimately enriching the overall membership journey.

A fully integrated digital ecosystem not only benefits members but also streamlines administrative tasks for association administrators. With processes optimized through integration, administrators can efficiently manage activities and gain comprehensive insights into member engagement. This holistic view enables better decision-making, as administrators can easily track engagement metrics and assess member satisfaction levels across various touchpoints. By harnessing the power of integration, associations can elevate both member experiences and operational efficiency, setting the stage for sustained growth and success.

Step 5: Scale with Logic and AI

Leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver dynamic, personalized career tools and resources to better scale your association’s operations. Don’t fear AI! Adopting AI and advanced technologies advances your association’s mission by enhancing efficiency and enabling data-driven decision-making. This strategic integration supports personalized member services and future-proofs your organization in a rapidly evolving digital world.

Be proactive in seeking and adopting new features and functions within your engagement platforms that can leverage AI to enhance member experiences and help you maintain a competitive edge in your industry. Utilize chatbots, workflows, and automation in your association’s digital ecosystem to streamline and personalize the member journey. These technologies scale the ability of your organization to deliver immediate, personalized support and individualized content – as well as automate tasks, and increase internal efficiencies.

using AI to scale member engagement

Step 6: Expand Your Partnerships

Think across your association’s digital ecosystem and expand partner relationships and identify and package value-added opportunities to create more compelling and tailored partnership offerings, including enhanced sponsorship packages.

Take this opportunity to rethink pricing and packaging. Employers gain significant value from being branded across an association’s ecosystem, enhancing their visibility as industry leaders. By connecting content creation, cross-platform advertising, success highlights, and directory listings, partners can actively engage, add value, and showcase their expertise while increasing revenue and offsetting costs.

Conclusion

Transforming the career journey and revenue generation for your association requires a strategic and innovative approach. By following the six steps outlined here, you can improve the member experience and ensure your organization stays relevant in the digital age. Each step, from planning to using data and technology, boosts member engagement and success. Also, expanding partnerships and reconsidering pricing create new chances to grow and earn. By embracing these strategies, you can lead your association towards greater impact and long-term success. Let’s work together to make it happen!

Joshua Slyman

Joshua Slyman is the Director of Product Strategy at Web Scribble. He’s a creative communicator and strategist with over 15 years of experience. He focuses on driving customer success and innovation by bridging concepts, facilitating cross-functional platform strategies, making connections, fostering relationships, and maximizing available assets.