Are you ready to support a changing mix of onsite and remote workers? Here’s how modern association management software can help.
A few months ago, most associations made the move to a remote workforce. This required adapting their technology and related processes for remote access, collaboration, and security.
Now it’s time to face another challenge: As offices begin to re-open, associations must support a combination of onsite and remote workers. So, how can your association prepare for this next paradigm?
Here are four tips to consider as your association’s offices begin to re-open.
Prepare to feel unprepared.
How do you prepare when you don’t know what you’re preparing for? Seems impossible. However, one thing that can give some peace of mind is ensuring your tech stack, especially your association management software (AMS), provides the latest capabilities and can adapt to your changing needs.
Here’s a case in point from a Nimble AMS customer: International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) was able to adapt during this challenging time.
Get ready to do more with less.
Your whole team, especially IT, is making unplanned changes, likely with the same (or reduced) budget. Additionally, you may have had a shift in staffing. Together, these factors mean your entire organization needs to be able to do more with fewer resources, and that isn’t always easy.
Empower your staff to do things like build their own reports and dashboards so they don’t have to turn to IT for day-to-day tasks. And, give staff easy-to-use process automation tools so they can automate manual tasks and free up time to tackle other unexpected challenges.
For example, American Society for Surgery of the Hand automates many of their processes using Nimble AMS:
Now is a great time to explore your technology solutions to see what automation options or other creative solutions your staff can take advantage of right now.
Embrace change.
What worked yesterday might not be the best approach today, and what works today may not be relevant tomorrow. While uncomfortable, your changing employee work situation is an ideal opportunity to assess your business processes and the technology that supports them. For example, think about things like:
Your technology performance and security – Are your organization’s current tools and practices adequate to protect your data and systems?
Your AMS’s ability to help your organization work efficiently – Does your AMS provide an easy-to-use interface and the ability to set up automated processes so staff can stay focused on what’s important without being distracted by cumbersome manual tasks?
Your association’s ability to adapt – Could your organization be more resilient to changing circumstances (today and down the road) by moving to a more modern systems and processes?
The cloud is key.
Giving your staff the ability to access key systems and data when they’re outside of the office was already important to working efficiently. It was essential as your employees began working from home. As you re-open your offices, it’s just as important.
Just think: Today, your staff might be working from home. Tomorrow, some might be in the office. At other times, some might be working from the road. A cloud-based AMS system that provides mobile access gives you the ability to adapt to any work situation, allowing your staff to collaborate and access the information they need no matter where they are.
Because Nimble AMS is a cloud-based AMS, it allows your employees to access important member data and processes remotely. It also allows members to engage with your organization – doing things like paying dues and updating their member profile from their mobile devices. And, by virtue of being built on the Salesforce platform, which offers the highest levels of security, your association’s data remains safe.
