I’ve been involved in enough organisations to know how hard it is to get feedback from new members. New members are often reluctant to provide negative feedback, and by the time a trust relationship has been built they’ve forgotten the challenges of being a new member. In the rare case that a member does provide feedback, they may not be willing to share a potential solution or they may not know how things could be improved. With this in mind, I’ve decided to write a little article about the challenges I’ve faced in my first year of being a “motoring enthusiast”.
Before I get started I’d like to state that very few of these issues are specific to motoring clubs. The combination of all of these issues is likely to be relatively unique though. Initially I thought I’d write this anonymously, but instead I’d rather open a conversation, I’ve included my LinkedIn and email address at the end of this article, please feel free to reach out if I’ve triggered any thoughts for you. Also, I don’t want any club to feel I’m picking on them; if I’m a member of your club, please rest assured that not one single item in this article is unique to any one club.
I’ve tried to work out how to make this a really positive article, but unless I provide some detail about the negatives I feel it will just be a list of best practices. I’ll make my suggestions at the start of each item, and then go on to justify why it’s important.
# Event Times
Let’s start with publishing times as well as dates for events; not just start times, but expected duration too.
My first club meeting I wasn’t sure if I should arrive early or turn up right on start time. I didn’t know how long the meeting was likely to last, perhaps the norm is a rapid-fire 15 minutes, but it could be a 3 hour epic. I couldn’t tell if the doors would close straight after the meeting or did the event continue to the wee hours.
It turns out every club is different. Some clubs will open their doors hours early, socialise, have the meeting and disappear. Other clubs will open just prior to the meeting, but will continue talking until many hours after the meeting. Some will have a short period before and after the meeting, but will save most of the socialising for dedicated social events. No two clubs are the same, so it’s important to keep your members (especially new ones) informed.
It isn’t just club meetings. Some events will publish a start time but no end time, some of them may only publish a public entry time and not a time for display vehicles. Even after a year of attending motoring events with a display vehicle I still never know if I should turn up an hour before the start time or if the start-time is for the vehicle arrival; and I certainly don’t know if I’m in for a few hours or leaving at sunset.
# Attendance Registers
Keep your attendance register in a prominent position near the main entry, and ensure it is clearly labelled. Also, make sure it is clear what the columns mean, and remember to remind people to fill it in.
Some clubs keep attendance records, some don’t. A new member or visitor won’t know if you do or don’t, and if you do they certainly won’t know that it’s under the tray of biscuits next to the kettle. Several clubs I’ve joined have missed out on logging my attendance simply because I didn’t know there was a register. I’m sure I’ve filled out some of them incorrectly as well because I didn’t know what the columns meant.
If you’re running an event, whether that be a club meeting, rally or race day; if you’re keeping attendance records make sure to remind people to fill it in. If you always do this, it’s a great reminder for longer-term members, but it also helps new members to know about the processes.
Some organisations have a logbook for members to keep; I’ve experienced this with both AASA and Motorsport Australia. This adds another layer of complexity for the newbie. You need to ensure people know who needs to sign the log book; what the official name and status of the event is; and in some cases, what their role is for logging purposes.
# Acronyms and Definitions
In every publication make sure you define the acronym on first use; if you’re talking to people avoid acronyms unless you’re 100% certain they know what they mean. This goes for chat based communications and event registrations as well. Also, remember that terminology varies between clubs and you may need to offer descriptions without being asked.
Thankfully I’ve had an interest in cars and motorsport for long enough that I know a decent amount of the acronyms, but despite that I’ve encountered new ones in every single club I’ve become involved with. In many cases I’ve managed to work them out, but some of them took a lot of thought. Even worse, some of the acronyms have different definitions to the ones I’m used to.
It’s not just acronyms that are challenging. The terminology used can have different meanings across different clubs. The most obvious of these is the differing membership levels. Chances are you definition of “full member”, “associate member”, “family membership” and even “social member” is different to many other clubs out there. Ensure your new and potential members know what each one means. And that’s just membership types. You can imagine my surprise when I turned up to my first rally and found out it was a bunch of cars parked on an oval and not a timed stage event with full race gear and dirt roads. Okay, so this didn’t actually happen, but it easily could.
# Unique Member Attributes
Allow members to become familiar with the club and how it runs for a few years before you pounce on them for more significant involvement.
Sometimes someone will join a club and they have some stand-out attributes. You want to take advantage of these attributes and get them more involved… STOP!!! Give them time, let them learn about the club, the processes and the value they can both give and receive.
Especially with clubs that are specific to historic cars, the membership base is aging (as are the cars). There is often a desire to get younger people heavily involved in the hope it helps attract more younger people. The same goes for people with specific skill sets; that new member who’s an accountant would make a great treasurer, that programmer could really help with the website, the advertising executive could whip up some amazing promotional posters. Rather than getting them too involved too soon, give them a chance to settle in, invite them to make suggestions and offer help, see if they’re interested in helping on a subcommittee or two.
When you’re asking these people to assist the club, make sure the questions are asked in a way that doesn’t imply responsibility. It isn’t “how can we attract more people like you to the club?” It’s “what attracted you to the club?” It isn’t “can you please design this poster for us?” It’s “do you have any suggestions for a poster to advertise the event?”
When you do finally ask this member to become more involved, ensure they understand what that level of involvement entails. Sure, the committee only meets once a month, but as a committee member they’re now expected to attend 5 events each month instead of being an option for the 4 events that occur each month.
# Inside Knowledge
Make a welcome pack that includes details to help the person with club involvement.
If your club has a probationary period, what does that mean for the new member? I’m a probationary member of several clubs now and I still don’t know what it means (other than they haven’t asked me to pay a membership fee yet).
If they want to volunteer for or partake in an event that’s away from their primary location, does the club provide subsidised accommodation and how do they sign up for this (also, how is it paid for)? I’ve spent a fair bit more on accommodation than I’ve needed too, and I’ve even looked at buying camping equipment to reduce the cost.
What catering is at events and do you allow for dietary requirements? I’ve been to events that have said they are catered and I’ve been disappointed with the quantity relevant to the meal that was implied. I’ve been to others where I’ve been blown away by the generosity of the serving size and quality of the food. Unfortunately I’ve also been to some where dietary restrictions have not been accounted for; from those who don’t drink alcohol to vegans to celiacs to nut allergies, please be clear about the catering and if possible ask people in advance for their restrictions.
# Be Welcoming
There’s a challenge to being welcoming but not overbearing. Work hard to find that balance or the new members won’t last long.
Over the last year I’ve joined a few clubs. Some have been amazing, they’ve made me feel welcomed, included me in discussions and conversations and made it feel natural to be there. Some have been dismissive and despite having been to several meetings or events I still find myself standing aside and wondering what the secret handshake is to get involved. Some have been overbearingly inclusive, from introductions to almost everyone present (and I still don’t know any of their names or anything about them), to trying to include me in too many things at once, or dragging me all around the clubrooms to show me stuff.
If you have assigned or semi-assigned seating, make sure the new member or visitor is seated next to someone who will be welcoming. A story was relayed to me the other day about someone who turned up to a club meeting and was directed to a seat next to someone who had forgotten their hearing aid; needless to say, this person didn’t go to a second meeting.
# Conclusion
We’re all been the newest member in a club before, and it doesn’t take long to forget the challenges we faced. For some people joining is easy, they’re natural extroverts and just magically fit in anywhere; others are introverts and even attending a club meeting takes a huge amount of energy. We need to cater for everyone and help them feel included.
If we want our amazing ecosystem of car clubs to continue to thrive we need to make it easy for people to join, get involved and stay members. We need to be open to new methods of communication, we need to share information that we may think is obvious, we need to answer their questions before they’re asked. Finally, we need to make sure they continue to see their involvement as a positive aspect in their life. We need to be willing to change and adapt, just because it’s worked in the past doesn’t mean it will continue to work; just because it’s obvious to the existing members or to your generation doesn’t mean it’s obvious to others.
This article was originally published in AOMC News - November 2024.