PEMAC Volunteer Services Program Celebrates the present to inform the future
During National Volunteer Week (NVW), PEMAC celebrates the launch of its member-informed Volunteer Services Program in June 2022. This member-informed program is structured on the ongoing cycle of member feedback and continuous improvement; using this approach PEMAC proudly offers a responsive and custom-tailored Volunteer Program that directly reflects our member’s stated wishes and needs.
Celebrating the First Year:
After member consultations, research and development, the structure of the program was developed and initiated its first volunteer in August 2022. Between August 2022-March 2023, 125 Volunteer Engagements were documented!
Purpose of the Volunteer Program:
The Volunteer Program supports-, tracks- and reports-on the membership’s voluntary activity in the advancement of PEMAC’s Strategic Goals and Objectives. The Volunteer Program systematically tracks the number of volunteer engagements on PEMAC initiatives (Strategic Objective C4), the number of volunteer hours completed outside of PEMAC education (Strategic Objective D2), as well as reporting-on work being done by volunteers that advance various Strategic goals and objectives on volunteer assignments.
Purpose of the Volunteer Program Evaluation:
PEMAC uses member feedback to create a program that directly reflects our members' wishes and needs to support ongoing member engagement to advance PEMACs Strategic Goals and Objectives. PEMAC is grateful to every member who provided feedback, so we can create a program tailored directly to the members' stated needs.
Usage
Shared in this report are highlights from PEMAC members in the 2023 PEMAC Member survey. A full-report will be submitted to PEMAC’s Board of Directors for review and feedback on how the Volunteer Program will proceed in the July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 fiscal year.
Understanding the present: Details on Member Engagement
The member feedback was clear and consistent throughout the 2023 Member Survey in relation to volunteer engagement. The responses pointed to a significant number of members who want to contribute to advance PEMAC’s mission, but work needs to be done to move members to engagement.
Where is PEMAC in relation to Member Engagement?
Respondents expressed a significant desire to become engaged with 86% agreeing that they are interested in contributing to PEMAC’s work. Of the 86% who indicated an interest in engaging, half agreed it is likely or possible that they will engage within the year; however, 80% of total respondents fell into the ‘possible’ or ‘unlikely’ to engage this year categories which may indicate that many are in a stage of pre-engagement contemplation.
Motivations and Engagement:
Member feedback reflected consistency across categories in terms of what was valued about their membership and why they are motivated to contribute; this was consistent with other previously gathered member feedback which increases the probability that values and motivations could apply generally across the association. In order of popularity, the top-3 motivations, goals, and reasons to recommend PEMAC were,
- Knowledge development & dissemination
- Networking
- Professional Development
Engagement Considerations:
The members identified several considerations and needs that relate to their likelihood to engage, including,
Availability: Availability was the top factor in members’ consideration to engage.
Convenience: Some members indicated that the location of the volunteer role was a consideration to engagement.
Identification of goals for engagement:
A high number of respondents indicated that they were not clear on their goals for engagement.
Broadening the Range of Volunteer Opportunities: The data showed that respondents would like to contribute to projects that allow them to share their “real-world experience” as a critical factor relating to their engagement.
Supporting those newer to Reliability, Maintenance, and Asset Management: The responses evidenced that some members simply feel they don’t know if they have the skills and experience to make a meaningful contribution at PEMAC.
Professional Development/CPD Hours: Professional development was one of the primary motivations for all respondents, but more was wanted.
Looking to the Future:
The data showed that many members were aware of the Volunteer Program, and would consider engagement. They also cited a range of factors and needs that related to their ability to engage in the “Engagement Considerations” noted on the previous page. The factors and needs cited by members give direction to the development of the Volunteer Program moving forward.
Direction #1: Enhance engagement avenues and support for member engagement
By refining our tools and methods of engagement based on member feedback, we continue to develop a responsive and tailor-made program that responds directly to member needs that include making engagement convenient and accessible, supporting member goal-setting, and supporting broadening the range of opportunities available.
Direction #2: Strengthen and consolidate service delivery
When the new methods and tools are developed, the volunteer program could strengthen its foundation by incorporating new tools and methods into its structure.
Direction #3: Enhance engagement of specific PEMAC groups
After researching and developing new methods to enhance engagement (see Direction #1), the Volunteer Department can apply these methods along with the information relating to motivations and goals to strategically target and support engagement.
Concluding thoughts:
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, PEMAC established a basic, member-informed program for volunteer engagement and is ready to move forward based on member feedback in the 2023 PEMAC Member Survey.
The feedback directly reflects members' stated wishes and needs in relation to engagement. These wishes and needs to shape the future directions of PEMAC’s Volunteer Program and its ability to support member engagement in the advancement of PEMAC’s Strategic Goals and Objectives.
Looking forward, a strategy to achieve Strategic Priorities C4 and D2 includes:
- Refining engagement tools and methods;
- Consolidating volunteer administration and service delivery, and,
- Developing and implementing an engagement strategy.
PEMAC is a member-driven organization and we rely almost entirely on the engagement of our members to ensure the association remains a Canadian Leader in Asset Management.
We hope, that by creating a program that directly responds to the stated needs and insights of members, that together we can meet and exceed PEMAC’s mission in Canada and the world. We could not do what we do at PEMAC without the contributions of members from diverse experience levels, backgrounds, sectors and industries, so let’s look forward to working together to further excellence in Reliability, Maintenance and Asset Management!
Want to make your contribution to PEMAC and the global world of maintenance and asset management?
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