The Institution has recently developed a toolkit that will really give volunteers a comprehensive yet easy to follow set of guidelines for running effective and successful events. The intention is for the toolkit to take the strain out of event organising, so that members can use precious time to recruit new, active volunteers; can improve or enhance their activities; or generally make a bigger splash as part of initiatives to recognise commitment and excellence by volunteers.
Paul Tabern, the Institution’s Industrial Liaison Executive, has been responsible for putting the guidelines together. He explained: “I put together the toolkit for a specific volunteer-led event that I'm looking to get the majority of our volunteer network committees running in some shape or form as part of their efforts to recruit new, active volunteers.”
“The event is a new members’ evening where a Region/Branch invites all new members and fellows in their area to a reception to celebrate the achievements of gaining Chartered, Incorporated or Engineering Technician status at either Member or Fellow level.”
The principal aim is to recognise the hard work, dedication and accomplishment of becoming a Corporate Member or Fellow of the Institution. The event also exists to introduce the various active volunteer networks in place to support members in their locality. A further aim is to highlight the range of resources and benefits available as a corporate Member or Fellow of the Institution.
New members evenings have been running around the 16 UK Regions since 2000. In the past, these member recognition evenings have formed part of a Presidential Visit or annual dinner while others have become multi-regional events, combining up to three Regions together in a single ceremony. One such example is the annual New Members Evening held for the Greater London, South Eastern and Eastern Regions which takes place at Institution’s headquarters, One Birdcage Walk.
Paul is clear about the benefits of a new members’ event: “Holding a new members’ evening can help a committee introduce and promote their activities to a captive audience. It provides an opportunity to recruit new members into vacant committee roles and offers a chance to generate some PR for the local area. The event can also increase links with industry by forging a relationship with a new member’s company.”
“At the heart of this event however, is the chance to introduce new members to the various benefits and support mechanisms available to them in their new grade, be these locally or Institution-wide.”
So, how will the toolkit help members? Paul explains: “A new members’ evening operates as a committee event and therefore the primary organisation should come from volunteer network resources. Support is always available from the Business Development Manager, Regional and International Operations team, Marketing and Communications team and the President’s Office at HQ to ensure the framework of the event is adhered to.”
“Increasingly, when members have very busy lives and limited quality time to devote to volunteering, we want to be able to give them all the tools they need to make the most effective use of the time available to them. What we have done with the toolkit is to put together all the literature templates and tools that members need to run a successful new members evening – taking the stress and strain out of organisation for our volunteers.”
The toolkit will form part of our document library, and will be available online to our volunteer committees from the end of July. In the meantime, volunteers can contact Paul Tabern directly for a copy of the toolkit, via email: p_tabern@imeche.org