Yesterday I was having coffee with an ITCRA Member and discussing what I thought was ITCRA’s success story over the past 12 months – I was working hard to convince them that renewing their Membership should be a no brainer. Now this Member didn’t know me as well as some do or the question would not have been asked!
ITCRA’s success is based 100% on the commitment of the Membership base to the Association’s programs and principles – and their willingness to work towards a common goal – no matter how competitive they are in the marketplace.
I can, and do, talk for hours on the ITCRA value proposition which is tangible and which is responsive to Member needs but I think that speaks for itself when, in this current renewal period, even with a Membership restructure – most renewals occurred within 14 days, and with minimal questions asked. In fact, several Members offered their companies to be used to market ITCRA to competitors!
However, in answer to this Members question I used the iSafe Network as the best case study I have seen in over 20 years of Association management where a program has delivered on so many levels.
To which the Member replied “so what’s the big deal?”
The big deal is: an Association program, committed to initially by a Foundation group of Members, led by one of our smaller companies, as well as a number of the larger players, to address the legislative requirements of the Model WHS legislation, in a co-operative cost saving ( for Members!) initiative.
The program now has 25 Member companies involved ( 25% of our Membership), it has the financial support of our Platinum Partner OAMPS Insurance Brokers and our Bronze Supporter WorkPro as well as the intellectual and practical support of the FCB WHS team.
With 412 clients, 4950+ sites and 5,011 contractors in the iSafe Network it’s an amazing coverage of sites and systems in some of the largest Government, corporate and commercial organisations in Australia.
But it is the broader outcome that makes it, in my mind, an industry success story.
The outcomes of the systems and site assessments are reviewed quarterly by ITCRA and FCB and Practice Improvement initiatives are put in place for the benefit of all contract and recruitment organisations as trends are mapped and areas of poor risk management identified. All ITCRA Members and the broader recruitment sector benefit from this knowledge as resources are developed and education of clients, contractors and Members continues. As well Working Groups to address more topical issues are established with outcomes for the whole of industry as an end goal.
And, as an additional bonus, the program is a great market indicator: when a multitude of clients and/or sites hit the system for assessments to be scheduled – we know the market’s picking up!
Going forward the program is now broader than ICT clients: we have accounting, banking and finance recruiters subscribing to be part of one of the most powerful Association driven programs that I have been part of and, what’s even more important, it contributes, in a collaborative manner, to the workplace health and safety of thousands of individuals across Australia – and educates and informs an even wider audience – now that is a BIG deal!
So did the Member renew? That would be telling!
Read the latest iSafe News in detail here
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