December Rotaract Article - How Can We Attract and Retain Rotaract Members

How Can We Attract and Retain Rotaract Members?

Much has changed since Rotary began over 100 years ago.  As you all know Interact and Rotaract have both been formed in order to promote and develop the values that Rotary enshrines across multiple generations.  As many of you are also aware, the attraction of members to Rotaract has been a challenge over the past number of years.  I cannot think of the number of instances of casual conversation where someone has asked “So, what have you been up to?”  Naturally, I start to discuss work, relationships, travel, and my involvement in Rotaract.  9 times out of 10, the person responds with a blank stare and a retort similar to “what is Rotaract?”  If I am lucky enough that the person has heard of Rotaract, it is rare that they understand what it is about and most people do not know that it is associated with Rotary.  Why are so many of our peers unaware of Rotaract?  More importantly, how can we change this and how do we attract more members?  Thankfully, I believe that if we can be more proactive in attracting new members and engaging our current members, we can grow our clubs. Rotary International President, Sakuji Tanaka, is well aware of this dilemma and recognizes the need to build and develop skills in young adults and youth who will be the future leaders of Rotary.

How do we attract new members to Rotaract and encourage existing members to stay in Rotaract?  If you are reading this article, you are probably aware of the many reasons why an individual would join a Rotary club and the many reasons why a member would stay, such as building a sense of community, serving others, and having fun.  But how can we help to attract new members?  A large obstacle in our way is spreading the word about Rotary.  This challenge is magnified for Rotaract since it is a smaller scaled group and the members are more transient. One of the best tools is word of mouth.  None of us should be shy to talk to our friends and colleagues about what Rotaract is and why we are proud to be a part of it.  As a Rotaract member, we have begun to spread the word about Rotaract and we have encouraged people to search it on the internet to help us determine the best ways to communicate with our fellow peers.  The next obstacle is to make sure that our club websites are up to date and that they contain pertinent information.  The website is a useful tool to attract new members to Rotaract and should highlight our purpose and showcase some of the club’s recent successes and events.  There are other ways to market ourselves which do not have to be expensive.  We can use flyers, posters, and other printed materials to target specific groups in addition to University students, such as young business professionals. We can continue to utilize social media through Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ to reach mass audiences and raise awareness of our efforts.

What can we do to ensure that we retain Rotaract members?  The key lies in engagement.  This word means a lot of things and is different for everyone.  In order to engage our members we first need to find out why they joined Rotaract and what their expectations are from Rotaract. The word “expectation” is crucial.  Every Rotaract member has joined for at least one reason or purpose. At the first District 5040 Rotaract Training Seminar held in November, 2012, Penny Offer spoke about the need to customize involvement. To ensure that clubs focus on engagement Penny outlined several techniques such as: asking about expectations, recording and reporting this information, reviewing it on an ongoing basis, putting a plan into action, and monitoring goals to ensure that members are actively engaged. It is our job to make sure that we communicate our expectations and are crystal clear about the expectations of our fellow members.  These efforts will aid in creating a stronger bond for the club, retaining existing members, and attracting new members.   Another great way to engage members is to incentivise them.  This can mean many things.  Make them feel special by having an induction ceremony for new members, award accomplishments with recognition, and consider team building events to encourage group cohesion.

It is important to note that our efforts to attract and engage our members should not be undertaken by one person or even a committee.  In order to grow as a club and as an organization, each individual needs to take ownership of these efforts. We all need to ensure that we manage our own expectations and speak up if there is an issue or if we feel that our needs are not being fulfilled by the club. We all need to promote Rotaract by sharing our personal stories and making the Rotaract experience meaningful for others.

Written by Andrew Masse - Rotaract Club of Yaletown