With COVID-19 still prevalent, HIMSS has selected two vendors to verify all attendees are vaccinated for its upcoming conference. A look at how the organization set up its verification process and advice for other groups considering adding a vaccine requirement. When the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society decided to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for its conference attendees, one thing it had to figure out was how to verify their vaccination status. For its HIMSS21 Global Conference [...]

The tight labor market and high number of employees looking for new jobs has made news recently. For associations that don’t have the ability to offer high salaries to compete, embracing remote work, focusing on core values, and expressing gratitude can boost retention and attract new hires. If you read any news about the job market, the clear consensus is it’s a tough one. Not only is it hard to find qualified people, but current employees also are [...]

After more than a year of virtual meetings, it’s going to be a little tough for people to readjust to in-person events—even those who identify as extroverts. Read on for some planning tips that can make the transition easier. The in-person meeting has traditionally been seen as the realm of the extrovert. Between the happy hours, the hobnobbing on the expo hall floor, and the spontaneous gatherings, it seems designed to let extroverts thrive. But after a year [...]

Rather than reinventing the wheel every time you send a message to a member, consider using a text-expansion tool that can save you time with the help of a template. Find that you’re repeating yourself in your inbox a lot? Or perhaps you always start your letters the same way? If so, why are you writing out the same basic message, or copying and pasting what you previously wrote, over and over? It can be frustrating—and a waste [...]

Without a clear plan, a content audit can become a complicated, arduous task. Use these tips to lead an audit that works. Before you can give your website a redesign, cleanup, or total overhaul, you need to know what content you have. Enter the content audit: a systematic, strategic analysis of what your website already holds, so that you can determine what you’re missing, where you’re being duplicative, and what your baseline is before you make your website [...]

Assessing your communication skills—as well as knowing how to navigate situations in which you can maximize those skills—will help build your effectiveness as a leader. One of the secrets to good leadership is communication—but no two leaders communicate in the same way. All leaders have areas where they shine and where they struggle, but those strengths and weaknesses aren’t exactly something you want to be figuring out when it matters most. So how can you get a handle [...]

As we move past the pandemic, many experts are predicting a wave of voluntary employee departures and resignations that is leaving many employers worried. A look at what associations must consider doing now to retain employees. Q:  I keep reading that a lot of employees are considering quitting their jobs in the next few months. Some of this seems related to unknowns and concerns about the post-COVID workplace, but no matter the reason, I think we should be preparing [...]

Operating digital-first is not optional, say the authors of the new edition of "Race for Relevance." Mindset, resources, and board buy-in are critical parts of the formula for embracing digital and the technology that enables it. Build all three into your digital-future thinking. Association teams—especially boards—must ensure that the digital experience provided their customers is nurtured as an asset, according to Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE, coauthors of the new 10th-anniversary edition of Race for Relevance: 5 Radical [...]

At some point in the future, your association’s employees will hit the road again—but it’s important to understand the financial considerations and risk that come with that. The pandemic might have kept business travelers out of the airport for an extended period of time, but that’s already beginning to change—which is, of course, good news for associations. But the post-lockdown transition creates questions for associations about how to manage travel policies amid a gradual transition back to the [...]

Many associations seek to advance DEI in their industries with good intentions, but even well-intentioned initiatives require careful implementation. Keep antitrust risks in mind when designing initiatives that help members promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Energized by the Black Lives Matter movement and the #MeToo movement before it, businesses and nonprofit organizations have increasingly committed—often publicly—to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), both internally and in their outside activities. DEI initiatives should be planned and implemented thoughtfully to [...]