By Dan Johnson, Director of New Members

Earlier this year ATDChi surveyed 122 chapter members who were new to the chapter (those who had been a member of ATDChi a total of 4 to 11 months).  An electronic survey was emailed to all 122 new members via SurveyMonkey. Board members and chapter volunteers then followed up with these same new members by making 109 phone calls, reaching out to each new member who included a phone number in his or her ATDChi member profile.  The goal of the survey was to gauge new member participation and satisfaction with ATDChi.  

A total of 36 survey responses were received, with 14 new members responding to the online survey and 22 responding by telephone. Below are some highlights from the New Member Survey.

New Member Participation and Access to ATDChi Benefits:

• 51% of those responding to the survey had attended at least one evening program
  
• 46% participated in the ATDChi member orientation webinar
  
• 38% reported having networked or made a connection with one or more ATDChi members
  
• 30% had searched job opportunities on ATDChi’s Career Center
  
• 16% had already volunteered at least once for the chapter
  

New Member Satisfaction:

• 59% of those surveyed were satisfied or highly satisfied with their membership in ATDChi 
  
• 41% stated they were “neutral” on their member satisfaction (many stating they had not been a member long enough to gauge their satisfaction)
  
• 0% were dissatisfied with their membership
  

In general, survey respondents most appreciated the opportunities for networking, meeting colleagues, making connections, and feeling like part of a community.  The most challenging aspect of the membership experience was attending programs that were held in an area of Chicagoland that was not close to where the new member lived or worked.  This feedback will be helpful as the chapter plans programming for 2019.  

Based on survey feedback, one change the chapter is undertaking is to upload a recording of the Member Orientation to the chapter’s website, making it accessible to new members “on demand”.  To keep the information current, the uploaded Member Orientation will be updated periodically.  The chapter will continue to hold regularly scheduled “live” Member Orientation/Q&A sessions.