Stakeholder Engagement binds Members to your Association

Collaboration among stakeholders who are spread across the country or even around the world is often complicated. Meetings of the people involved generally require extensive preparation and follow-up, as well as significant effort. The solution here is digital committee work. On a stakeholder engagement platform, members and committees can come together virtually. Spatial and temporal boundaries no longer matter, as everyone can contribute flexibly and as they wish. Stakeholder engagement creates loyalty by overcoming the barriers of today’s collaboration. It especially simplifies the work carried out in project groups and committees.

Stakeholder engagement also creates loyalty through structured knowledge management. On the stakeholder engagement platform, knowledge can be stored sustainably and made easy to find. For example, the outcome of the latest committee meeting, whether face-to-face or digital, can be uploaded to the platform as a document. Such content remains available even when members change. This benefits both new and long-standing stakeholders: newcomers can gain a better understanding of topics already addressed, and experienced members can refresh their knowledge whenever they choose and even expand it. Overall, participants feel more involved in association work because they have access to the association’s information and knowledge at all times.

Anyone who knows they can make a difference is more likely to contribute again. A stakeholder engagement platform also performs well here. Thanks to transparent communication, your members can immediately see the impact of their suggestions. Members can contribute to what is happening in the association through surveys and discussions. When these members see that their opinion is not only accepted but can actually lead to change, they feel encouraged and identify more strongly with the association. Potential opponents or refusers become fans who are emotionally attached to the association. They then behave in a supportive way.

This target group of fans is particularly important for association work. If you succeed in binding many fans to the association, a stronger sense of belonging develops among them. On the stakeholder engagement platform, many motivated and interested people come together and can network and exchange ideas. This strengthens your internal association network, as members motivate one another and share their knowledge with each other. When other, less connected members see how committed the work on the platform is, they too become more active. The group of fans therefore motivates the rest of the membership.

But fans benefit you not only internally: the benchmark study “Fanfocus Germany: Associations 2014” shows that members with a strong emotional bond are more willing to recommend the association to outsiders. This helps you find new potential members who may be motivated by the association’s cause. High member retention therefore contributes to the development and expansion of your association.

These and other advantages can only be achieved if you, as an association, promote stakeholder engagement. For this, not only must the technical tools, such as an interactive platform, be available. Stakeholder engagement is also a matter of mindset. Your members must be given the opportunity to participate. Do not take this lightly. If you introduce an “interactive” platform but continue to conduct important discussions and decisions behind closed doors, the interest and motivation of your stakeholders will decline. However, if you give all stakeholders the opportunity to take part in association work, you will benefit from advantages such as stronger member retention and the collective knowledge of everyone involved.