Those of you who know me are aware that I have been blessed to work with associations and professional societies for over 20 years. As you might expect, I am a promoter of and advocate for them, and need no convincing that associations and professional societies are powerful, effective, and valuable to society.
There is evidence of this purely by looking at the numbers. Were you aware that the percentage of the adult working population that belongs to at least one association or professional society is nearly three times higher today than what it was in the early 1970s?
Clearly, associations and professional societies are providing value or people would not be joining them at these rates.
Let’s pretend for a moment that I wasn’t a lifelong association professional and practitioner. Let’s also pretend that I wasn’t interim Executive Director for an impactful and wonderful professional society, full of amazing volunteers, leaders, and staff.
What Data Could We Use to Test the Effectiveness of the Association and Professional Society Model?
Fortunately, not long ago the William E. Smith Institute for Association Research did this very thing. Using national survey data, the study, conducted by Arthur C. Brooks, Ph.D., examines the relationship between membership in a professional society and income, job satisfaction, and many aspects of people’s professional lives. What did he find?
Good news: Brooks found that people who are members of a professional society association are more successful, on average, than people who are not members of a professional society.
According to his analysis of data from the 2004 General Social Survey – a large national survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center – they earn more, they like their jobs better, and data shows they are even happier people.
The study also supports the theory that professional societies also create value for today’s employers. Employee attrition is a major cost for virtually all companies, particularly among highly educated and younger employees. The data shows that exposing these employees to the positive “winning” atmosphere of a professional society will encourage higher morale, which of course leads to lower attrition. Clearly, it is in the interest of employers to encourage employees to participate in their professional society.
How Does This Apply to CASSS?
This is all good news for professional societies, but it is particularly terrific news for CASSS. Many professional societies have in-person meetings and conferences, all the better to surround employees and attendees with the positive “winning” atmosphere noted in the Smith Institute study.
CASSS has tripled down on this opportunity, offering 17 opportunities (and counting) in 2023 alone to rub elbows and learn from friends, colleagues, and fellow professionals in a face-to-face and. at times, virtual environment. Maybe this increased frequency of meetings, as well as the carefully-crafted content, lead to the amazing reviews I see from attendees and exhibitors alike.
"Great learning opportunity and value-added content to bring back to company."
– CMC North America 2023 Attendee
"WCBP is the most informative conference in our industry, and it is a privilege to go and to learn from the industry veterans and agencies."
– WCBP 2023 Attendee
"Great forum for networking and for exchange of ideas, questions, and best practices between industry and regulators."
– Bioassays 2023 Attendee
Whether it’s the frequency, the location, the people, or the content – or, most likely, a combination of all of these things, I encourage you to join us at a CASSS meeting this year and take advantage of the power of our community, and the winning atmosphere of an amazing professional society at its peak. See you there!