Who’s Planning That Program?
As a volunteer, I recently participated in an association’s national conference program planning committee. While I was very excited to be asked to participate, it became clear very quickly that my participation as a volunteer was no more than a token invitation. There was one conference call that took place to “discuss” the program. While only two other committee members could attend, I assumed that we would have subsequent calls to design the conference”¦wishful thinking on my part. After one conference call with the conference chair (also a volunteer) and one other committee member, it turns out that that was it. No more communication regarding the program. I just received the conference program in the mail. The conference was ultimately planned by the organization’s staff and the conference chair.
This situation really begs an interesting question, why bother asking members to participate in a volunteer “committee” if you are not going to use their advice and input? Why not claim that it is what it is — a staff decision (in this case)?
I know that program planning isn’t the only place where volunteers are asked to provide input, only for that input to be “token”Â. As a member, I find this incredibly wasteful of my time. But I think it also speaks to a bigger issue, is the staff so well versed in the pressing business issues our members face that they feel comfortable planning content for our only annual event? I think numbers speak for themselves because only a small fraction of our members attend the national conference.
Food for thought ““ association staffers need to realize that program decision-making needs to be a collaborative process with practitioners from the field providing input. Volunteers need to realize that association staffers know how to plan the details of events. Each party needs to stay in their own area of expertise.
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