The William E. Smith Institute Report Reveals Association Members Earn Higher
Salaries, Like Their Jobs More and Are Happier Than Non-Members
CHICAGO, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The William E. Smith Institute for
Association Research, established by SmithBucklin, the world's largest
association management and professional services company, today released the
Institute's third research project report -- Where the Winners Meet: Why
Happier, More Successful People Gravitate Toward Associations. The report
reveals that, on average, association members earn higher salaries, like their
jobs more and are happier people than those who do not join associations.
Rather than suggesting that association membership itself leads to success,
the report concludes that success in one's profession increases the likelihood
of joining an association.
The report was led by Dr. Arthur C. Brooks, the Institute's director and
the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse
University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Whitman
School of Management.
Using data on association membership from the 2004 General Social Survey
(GSS) -- a random, anonymous sample of approximately 1,200 American adults --
the study reviewed the relationship between association membership and member
income and job satisfaction. The study used a common statistical technique to
examine the connection between membership and income in isolation from other
factors that can affect income -- such as job category, education level, age,
gender, family circumstances, race, religious attendance and political view.
With all these factors held constant, Dr. Brooks drew the following
conclusions:
-- Association members earn, on average, $10,000 more per year than
non-members, even if they have the same education levels and job types.
-- Association members are 19 percentage points more likely to say they
are "very satisfied" with their jobs than are non-members.
In addition, using the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey from 2000
-- the largest scientific investigation of civic engagement ever conducted in
the United States -- Brooks concluded that 45 percent of association members
said they were "very happy" about their lives compared to only 36 percent of
non-members who gave this response. The survey asked respondents from 30,000
households about varying types of civic involvement -- including association
membership -- as well as subjective life satisfaction.
"The report's findings help associations leverage the fact that they are
the meeting grounds for successful people to come together within their
industries and professions to network and exchange ideas," Brooks said.
"Associations can use this insight to attract and retain high-value members
and then provide those members with opportunities and environments that
continue to enhance their success."
Providing the "Right" Benefits
Although the needs of high-value professionals vary by industry and the
characteristics of the members, the types of benefits they seek typically
include unique opportunities to access resources, network with their peers and
form mutually beneficial communities. Brooks suggests that associations should
regularly assess the benefits they offer through surveys or other methods, and
work to assure that their services meet members' needs and continue to attract
high-value employees.
Brooks suggests the services that associations should provide to attract
winners could include the following:
-- Career advantages: As an explicit career-enhancing benefit,
associations can act as conduits between senior executives and
ambitious young members.
-- Continuing education: Associations should focus on predicting what
their members need to learn and to offer appropriate educational
programs.
-- Community: Particularly in jobs that require frequent moves at the
beginning of an employee's career, a tangible industry or professional
community may be socially valuable to upwardly-mobile members.
-- Opportunities to serve: Motivated association members may desire
opportunities to serve both their associations and their related
charities.
-- Accountability: Entrepreneurial members are attuned to accountability
and measurable results in their lives and careers, and will expect
evidence that associations are accountable to members and the
industries or professions they represent.
Implications for Employers
The study also notes that, in 2002, 19 percent of working adults said they
had plans to quit their jobs in the coming year. That number jumps to 26
percent for college-educated workers and 34 percent among "Generation Y" (born
in 1976 or later) workers. Based on the fact that workforce researchers use 20
percent annual attrition as a common "chaos point" (in which the ratio of
veterans to new hires is so low that productivity plummets), Brooks suggested
that the findings certainly should concern employers.
Brooks said he believes that the report should help employers address the
attrition problem, especially concerning high-value employees, because the
positive winning atmosphere associations foster should logically encourage
higher morale -- including job satisfaction -- among members.
"Virtually everyone agrees that higher morale lowers attrition," Brooks
said. "The conclusion employers can reach from this research is that it is in
their best interest to encourage high-value employees to involve themselves in
associations and the positive environments they provide."
How to Access the Report
Copies of the final research report are available to all members of the
association community free of charge. Also available is the Institute's
January 2006 Generations and the Future of Association Participation report,
which focuses on how generations affect association participation, as well as
the Institute's March 2007 report, Investigation of Association Mergers, which
provides keys to association merger success. The reports, as well as
additional information on The William E. Smith Institute for Association
Research, can be found at http://www.smithbucklin.com/smithinstitute.
About The William E. Smith Institute for Association Research
Established by the SmithBucklin Corporation, the world's largest
association management and professional services company, the William E. Smith
Institute for Association Research funds new practice-based research that is
delivered to the association community free-of-charge. SmithBucklin provides
both human and financial resources to further the work of the Institute, which
reflects SmithBucklin's philosophy of giving back to the association
community, and provides a meaningful way to honor its founder, Bill Smith.
SOURCE SmithBucklin Corporation
Randy Labuzinski or David Schulte, both of Healy & Schulte, +1-312-440-3900,
rlabuzinski@healyandschulte.com, for SmithBucklin Corporation
