Articles

ASAE's AMC Section Council Newsletter Transition Issues with a New Client

Building a Prioritized Transition Plan

By Robert E. McLean, CAE

Is there anything more fun, frustrating, tiring and exhilarating that bringing on a new client? At the beginning everyone is energized, there are lots of phone calls and dozens of emails and the enthusiasm is positively contagious. You're learning new things about a new service or business, getting to know the board and committee chairs, making short- and long-term plans.

It usually doesn't take long, however, to determine that perhaps the membership records or bank accounts are in quite the shape your new client suggested. Boxes of paper arrive with multiple copies of items that are nearly useless, while some critical incorporation documents are no where to be found.

You can minimize the problems and capitalize on the many opportunities you have during those early golden weeks—the honeymoon between client and AMC—by having a thorough written transition plan for many practical issues, and by having a good communication plan for developing a strong relationship with your new client.

In this first article of a two-part series, I look at the practical issues in your transition plan. In the second I'll focus on developing a strong relationship with your new client.

Most AMCs are good at tracking details, but a transition process calls for a higher level of organization displayed in a written transition plan document. You can divide the tasks into any number of categories; here are the ones we've found most important and key questions to ask about each.

Your Contract—This is the top priority. Who will finalize negotiations, review it and sign it—for both parties? Who will keep copies?

Public Relations—You only get one chance to say that you're “new,” so make the most of it by telling everyone, remembering that this news could be a great first step in boosting membership. What are the key trade pubs? Affiliated organizations? And is there a prospective member list?

Registration—Legal issues are part of many transition issues, and this is one to address early. If your association was incorporated in a state other than your own, do you need a certificate of authority? Any what reports are required if you remain incorporated elsewhere?

Telephone and Mail Service—These are tedious issues, yes, but getting the mail and phone calls is essential. Nothing is more unprofessional than a member who's unable to reach the new management company in its first week in that position. Is there a contract for that toll-free number? Will calls go to a generic line (answered “association headquarters”) or to a dedicated line? If dedicated, how many lines? How will handle rollovers? To know how to file a change of address notice, is postal mail currently sent to a board member, receiving agent or another management firm?

Printing—Whatever has an address on it will, eventually, be changed. What needs to be changed now? Who has the art files, letterhead and brochures? And are you required (either by preference or contract) to you use their printer, or can you use yours?

Website and Publications—There's more her than just changing the “contact us” information. You've got to learn about the password-setting process and transfer administrative rights to both the domain name and access to hosting data—quickly, because tomorrow someone may join and want immediate access to the Members Only website pages. Can you provide it?

Finances—From the accountant to the bank, you've got a lot of people to meet and forms to complete. The number of issues is determined by the degree of authority your contract indicates. Are you signing checks or just preparing them for the treasurer? Will you get account statements from the bank to reconcile, or from the treasurer who'll review them first? Or will you both receive copies simultaneously? What financial reports are required, on what schedule, beginning when? And when's the next 990 due?

Meeting Planning—Here, as with so many issues, contracts are everything. Find out fast what contracts exist, who's waiting on a signed one, and which ones must be prepared in the coming weeks. Do you need to worry about the attrition clause in a contract for an upcoming event? What negotiations are at a critical stage, where you might lose a preferred meeting site? And what's the new process for signing contracts?

Insurance—From D&O to E&O, from meeting cancellation to general liability, there are a lot of questions to ask and a lot of documents to find—and read. What's covered? What's up for renewal soon? Do you have actual policies or just a letter of renewal or a paid invoice? Who is the agent to call if you need to file a claim? And do you need to change your own policy because of valuable materials or equipment you may receive?

File Transfer—Those boxes of old papers are a pain. You've got to quickly decide what to keep and what to send to off-site storage. But don't be too quick to ship everything. Archives often contain helpful information in old minutes and letters, sometimes including a surprising amount of information about former management firms.

Can you spend 30 minutes every day going through a few folders? You'll gain a load of institutional memory in just a couple of weeks.

For each item on your plan, indicate whether the task is assigned to the AMC, the association, or both. And be sure to put a due date and status for each item. Such deadlines will help you, and show the board just how much you'll accomplish in the important first few weeks. That's how you begin developing a solid relationship, and we'll explore other ways in the next article.

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Transition Issues with a New Client, Part 2

Don't Type; Talk

By Robert E. McLean, CAE

In the first article of this two-part series, I reviewed the major categories of transition issues to include in your written plan. In this second part I suggest ways of ensuring that, beyond transferring files and phone lines, you develop a strong, personal relationship during the first weeks of transition—the best time to do so.

There is simply nothing more important in the first few weeks of a new client relationship that talking with the client—and I don't mean an exchange of emails. With PDA fever spreading like some new flu, it's tempting to resort to emails too often. Sure, emails can help cover some of the smaller, more routine issues, such as finding the latest version of the bylaws or budget. But real conversations are irreplaceable when it comes to solving problems, which is essential to developing relationships.

The conversations that matter most are those you'll have with the leadership—executive committee, board members, and sometimes committee chairmen. Given everything else you have to worry about in a transition, it can be difficult to schedule all these calls. Make the time, because their benefits are just impossible to overstate:

You'll learn whose engaged and whose just filling a seat, often just by the length and depth of the conversation.

You'll understand what's important, both short-term and long-term.

You'll find out more about why they really decided to hire a management firm, or change to a different one.

You'll understand what you must do, but also what you must avoid doing, to succeed.

You'll find out who you can call on in the future when you need more information, help on a special project, or information such as whether the association has tried something in the past they you've been encouraged to do now (and whether it failed or succeeded).

There's another extremely important reason for scheduling these conversations, which can last from 5 to 30 minutes. At some point when you were pitching this new client, you promised them more and better customer service than anyone else. Did you really mean it? Well, here's how you can deliver it—by calling and listening.

You're not going to talk about wonderful you and your wonderful firm. You're going to ask questions—and then listen to some incredibly important information:

What's the most important short-term issue for us to manage? Long-term?

What's our biggest opportunity to help the association in the next 12 months?

A year from now, how will you determine whether we've been a success or failure in managing the association or society?

Be prepared to ask other, follow-up questions, prompted by someone's concerns, complaints, suggestions, or warnings.

Even though you may have asked some of these questions during the search process, you may not have asked everyone. As important, the answers often will be different during the transition, because you're different. You're no longer a candidate; you're one of them. This is why these calls are a unique, one-time opportunity to experience a great deal of candor.

Take very good notes, prepare a brief summary, and make the board chairman your last phone call. He or she will want to know what the other directors said—and whether you heard any complaints about the chairman's leadership. (It's OK to tactfully report them, but respect the confidentiality of your earlier conversations.)

Once you've met with the board and other leaders, how will you keep this dialogue going? By preparing monthly status reports, sent by email and showing how you're spending your time and your client's money, are essential.

Of course, only some directors will read them, no matter how concise and informative they may be. So during that all-important first year be sure to occasionally pick up the phone and talk. Monthly or quarterly calls with the board chairman are essential, but remember also to focus some attention on future leaders.

When that next chairman is elected, you should already developed a comfortable working relationship. Transitions fir AMCs are ongoing, and your long-term success depends as much on managing the transition of leaders as much as managing those first-year practical issues. And your ability to be a good listener will do more to keep clients than your speed at typing on a PDA.

Robert E. McLean, CAE, is president of REM Association Services, an association management company located in Arlington, VA (near the nation's Capitol). He is a former member of the leadership of the AMC Institute and is currently in a leadership role with the American Society of Association Executives. McLean is a registered lobbyist who trains more than 5,000 grassroots lobbyists annually. REM manages numerous nonprofits, including national associations, societies, and foundations. The AMC also has several consulting clients, frequently facilitating strategic planning programs.