I had a chance Tuesday to speak with Debra Helwig (you may know her on Twitter as @dhelwig) to find out more about her organization’s operations. Debra is the marketing and communications manager at IGAF Worldwide, an accounting association with more than 130 member firms across the world.

What makes IGAF Worldwide unique — and why I was so interested in speaking with Debra — is that the organization’s staff works virtually all the time. The staff of six work across North America, and three members serve jointly as members and regional coordinators in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

None of the staffers live in the same town, and only two are within 45 minutes of the remote office location. IGAF Worldwide has been fully virtual since October 2005.

All data is Web-driven and can be accessed through a Web interface. IGAF Worldwide uses a Virtual PBX, so when you call a phone number and input an extension, a cell phone or landline can ring wherever it needs to. Debra said the IGAF Worldwide staffers communicate primarily through e-mail and Instant Messenger, and they haven’t had a face-to-face staff meeting in more than a year.

Debra said the IGAF Worldwide staff doesn’t use Skype, but they have used Second Life to collaborate.

One of the main benefits to working virtually, Debra says, is that a number of their member firms are international. It’s not uncommon for Debra to be on conference calls at 9 or 10 p.m., or have to answer an e-mail to a European member at 5 a.m.

The light at the end of the silo

Debra worked for a large-staff association for 10 years prior to joining IGAF Worldwide, and she says the biggest difference is the lack of silos in a small-staff. At a larger association, everyone has their own specialty and role, and that’s not the case at IGAF Worldwide and other small-staff organizations.

“Having your hand in the entire process helps you see where efficiencies are,” Debra said. “There’s little to no communication gap at a smaller association.”

Every day is different for Debra, and it’s not uncommon for her to have to spend a few hours occasionally stuffing envelopes!

The self-proclaimed “relationship and service queen” lives by the philosophy of Seth Godin’s “Tribes” – everyone who works for an association leads a tribe.

“It’s vital to have an intense interest in what your members do and what they need. At a small-staff, you have that ability,” Debra said.

Although Debra has limited knowledge of the accounting industry (we’re actually both proud UGA journalism school alumni!), she’s greatly invested in her member firms and says she has a good sense of who the people are, what they need and how to connect them with each other.

“We’re here to help. That’s it,” Debra said. “If we as a staff communicate better, we can help more people.”

Working virtually hasn’t hindered IGAF Worldwide’s ability to serve its members. Debra says all the staffers have a fantastic relationship with their “visionary” president, and that trust is the most important aspect of working virtually. She visits member firms often and attends business development sessions, and because IGAF Worldwide is a small-staff, they’re able to build great relationships with their members.

“We don’t have to have all the answers. We just have to have the ability to hook our members up with people who do have the answers.”

Read Debra’s blog or connect with her on Twitter. If you work for a small-staff association and would like to be profiled, please e-mail me at socialmedia@memberclicks.com.

Photo source

When Apple made its big iPad announcement, we started thinking … How could small-staff associations use the iPad to manage their business operations? We were intrigued, and we wanted to find out! So, we decided to give a few away and find out for ourselves!

CEO Steve Jobs promised it would be “magical” and give us an even bigger, better mobile device than the iPhone, but what does that really mean?

The day after Apple’s big announcement, I tried to sort through the hype and figure out what the iPad could mean for small-staff associations down the road. We’re increasingly moving toward a mobile society, and the iPad takes that a step further. I see a lot of potential for the iPad down the road, but we want to find out exactly how a small-staff association would use this awesome device.

So, today marks the official kick-off of the MemberClicks’ Great Small-Staff iPad Giveaway!

Here’s the deal: We’re giving away four 32GB iPads, equipped with wi-fi — one to a current MemberClicks customer, the other to a non-customer.

How to enter: E-mail me at socialmedia@memberclicks.com with a short essay explaining why your organization needs the iPad and how you hope to use it. Be creative and specific! Events, meetings, mobility, creating an app … anything goes here!

How will an iPad affect your small-staff organization’s operations and/or use of the MemberClicks solution?

We’ll select two grand prize winners exactly two weeks from today, on March 23. The iPad becomes available on April 3, and we’ll be pre-ordering them when that’s available.

But the fun doesn’t stop after that. We want to know how your organization is utilizing the iPad. So we’ll be checking in periodically with each winner to get the low-down on how your organization is using the device. And your organization will be featured right on this blog to keep our readers updated.

Sound like something your association is interested in? E-mail entries to socialmedia@memberclicks.com.

We can’t wait to read how the iPad can affect the daily lives of small-staff associations.

Last week’s UnTech10 Un-Conference was an amazing, real-life case study of what can happen when volunteers, vendors and attendees put their minds together and start acting rather than just talking.

I loved the virtual nature of the event and think it opened up a lot of possibilities and gave other organizations new ideas. No matter how small your association, there’s always the possibility that technology can enhance the experience.

The un-conference opened with a fishbowl-style discussion about social media, content curation and how to reach members on any device they may be using.

Some of my key takeaways:

• Social media doesn’t have rules; it has religions. Everyone has different belief systems when it comes to how much to share online and how much to blend his or her personal and professional lives online.
• Organizations need official policies for staff social media involvement.
• Information needs to be device-agnostic. Members need to be able to get to it via whatever they’re using.
• Boards and staff must change their culture to allow for innovation. Embrace change.
• Fail, but fail fast so you can move onto something that works faster.
• Innovation is only valuable if it solves a member’s problem. Ask, what are your members’ problems, and then solve them.
• Stop making members jump through a million hoops to do transactions – use “one click to pay” as a model.
• If you don’t get out and participate, your brand is now being defined for you.

There was also a great discussion about free or low-cost tools associations can use to enhance their membership experience. Google Analytics and Crazy Egg jumped out as the two highlights. Each will give you better insight into the behind-the-scenes of your Web site. (And MemberClicks just happens to offer Google Analytics within our solution!)

I think the most important takeaway from Thursday is that your members are already conversing, so the organization should help facilitate their conversations. Of course, most small-staff association executives already have a lot on their plate, so it can be difficult to devote extra time and resources to this. Start slowly – if you aim small, you’ll miss small, and have the opportunity to move on more quickly.

To keep the UnTech10 conversation going, head over to the community and start talking, or check out the Twitter transcript here.

Photo credit: Flickr (Reggie Henry)

There’s been so much activity going on in the association world the last few days — ASAE’s Technology Conference and Expo was canceled and a group of people stranded in Washington, D.C. organized the UnTech Conference, the unofficial alternative to the canceled one.

We’ll be participating virtually, so look for MemberClicks team members Shannon Otto, Kevin Patrick, Hannae Berhanu, Nicole Hanks and others! Follow us at @MemberClicks on Twitter, and be sure to follow the #Untech10 hashtag for the latest updates from all attendees.

We’re definitely bummed the Technology Conference was canceled, but this is a great opportunity to participate virtually with other association executives and learn tons of new information.

Here’s a list of our previous posts about the Technology Conference and UnTech:

• Announcing we’ll be exhibiting at the Technology Conference
• Meet the Technology Conference Team: Hannae Berhanu
• Meet the Technology Conference Team: Duncan McCreery
• How to follow the Technology Conference online if you won’t be attending
• Reflections on ASAE’s decision, and the UnTech announcement
• Friday Top Five: UnTech10 and more
• UnTech Reflections: Day One
  

UnTech will be heavily virtual, so no matter where you are, go register! This is a fantastic opportunity for small-staff executives to learn about mobile tools, Web site options, social networking, and video!

Is your data in the cloud?

“Cloud computing” refers to using Web-based technology to manage information, data and documents. There is no software to install or hardware to keep up with, and you can access your information from any computer. Although Web software can be daunting for associations, especially those with fewer than 10 people on staff, there are several benefits to cloud computing. Since your data is available “in the cloud,” you can authorize as many administrators as you like.

To be sure, Microsoft Excel and Access are valuable pieces of software, but when you’re managing several hundred or thousand members, plus other things such as dues payment and event registration, those tools can become a bit outdated and cumbersome.

Cloud computing is gaining even more momentum as we head into this decade. The Obama administration’s budget for fiscal year 2011 includes this provision:

Adoption of a cloud computing model is a major part of the strategy to achieve efficient and effective IT. After evaluation in 2010, agencies will deploy cloud computing solutions across the Government to improve the delivery of IT services.

Federal spending on Information Technology will account for $79.4 billion of the budget, which is a 1.2 percent increase from 2010. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra has been a longtime advocate for cloud computing and believes it can improve data sharing and promote collaboration among federal, state and local governments.

Of course, the federal government moving to cloud computing is a much bigger — and expensive — undertaking than it would be for your small-staff organization.

However, I think this situation speaks to the larger issue of the world moving to cloud-based systems. It’s no longer practical to keep unwieldy databases on your hard drive and nowhere else (although I do recommend having a back-up in case of the very rare catastrophe). No matter how small your organization is, cloud computing can save money long-term and promote the sharing of data and information.

(Image credit: Flickr)