By Wendy Sweet, CLM
The Greater LA Chapter’s first member satisfaction survey was launched at the end of 2005. One hundred and twelve current and past members participated in the 135 question survey that covered membership issues, the chapter’s educational and social functions, the Certified Legal Manager program, our monthly magazine, Leadership Exchange, our web site, board elections, community challenge items, and vendor relations.
According to the terms of the survey, one $750 scholarship to the 2006 Regional Conference and five free chapter luncheons were awarded per 100 responses. A random drawing was held at the April Board of Directors meeting and the lucky winner of the conference scholarship is recent Hawaii resident, Michael Steiner, CLM, of Carlsmith Ball. The first alternate winner, in the event Michael is not able to attend the conference, is Jeannine Martinez of Morgan Lewis & Bockius. As for the luncheon winners, these have been awarded to Dora Barrantes of Greenberg & Bass, Karleen Rogers of Jenkens & Gilcrest, Patsy Hinojosa of Best Best & Krieger, David Quam of Christie Parker & Hale, and Gloria Wilcox of Bird Marlla Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks. Congratulations to all the lucky winners!
A great deal of valuable information was gleaned from the survey responses. Highlights are included here. If you are interested in seeing a full version of the survey results, go to www.glaala.org.
Membership
Over 50% of the respondents have been involved in ALA and the GLA Chapter for over seven years and experience a high satisfaction level with the organization and chapter. When asked for ways the chapter might improve, more education was a popular response with 42% in favor of additional programs. The two key chapter benefits are a solid network of peers (53%) and convenient and affordable education (39%). The $55 membership fee was perceived to be an excellent value to all 112 respondents, but 63% said they would be amenable to an increased membership fee for reduced activities costs. Finally, it looks like the implementation of some type of mentoring program or member “pairing” would be well received and beneficial to our new members.
Chapter Luncheons
With respect to our monthly chapter luncheons, 83% of survey participants regularly attended the luncheons and three quarters were satisfied with them. As for venue, 53% prefer downtown, 33% prefer the west side, and 5% have no preference. Seventy perfect were in favor of lunch time meetings and 46% prefer the luncheons be scheduled on the same day of the month, with Tuesday being the favored day. Three quarters of those surveyed were not interested in having more networking prior to the luncheons. Location was the number one factor when members decide whether to attend a luncheon, and the speaker was the next important deciding factor.
Educational Seminars
The Chapter put on three seminars last year (Labor Law Update, Sexual Harassment Training, and Marketing 101). Sixty-two percent of respondents attended one or more of these. Most prefer lunch programs (41%), with breakfast and dinner not too far behind (25% and 21%, respectively). Again, downtown was the preferred venue (52% as opposed to 32% for west side). The fees for the luncheons and seminars were paid by the majority of our members’ firms.
CLMSM Programs
Over a quarter of those surveyed have an interest in becoming a Certified Legal Manager and participating in a study group. About a third of the respondents felt achieving this designation has or would improve their standing in the legal community, and/or improve their chances of being hired. Responses varied widely with respect to the type of learning environment desired and the meeting schedule.
Section Meetings
Respondents mainly belong to the following sections: Human Resources, Small Firm, Finance, Information Technology and Multi-Office. On average, they attended 1-2 meetings over the last year. Lunch is the best time and over half prefer Downtown locations.
Chapter Social Events
Last year the Chapter introduced Member/Vendor mixers and 42% of respondents attended them. The other social events, our first annual golf tournament and a wine tasting bus tour through Temecula, were not as widely attended; however, all respondents stated they were very pleased with the events and felt the costs of same were reasonable (a good thing too because 72% of their firms did not cover the costs of these events). Additionally, more than half felt the inclusion of vendors and non-members enhanced the experience.
It appears we’re a pretty social group and events that our members are interested in include wine tasting (42%), hiking and bowling (both 32%), playing cards (29%) and golf (22%). Other events which received interest include a multi-chapter picnic/BBQ and a weekend ski trip.
Monthly Magazine
Almost all respondents regularly read our Chapter’s magazine, Leadership Exchange. The sections found to be most valuable include educational articles (64%), HR Challenges (63%), Technology Tips (52%), and Motivational Articles (44%). Over three quarters of those polled said they would consider calling or accepting a call from a Leadership Exchange advertiser relating to the services they provide. The majority prefers a hard copy of the magazine as opposed to an on-line version and they also would choose to continue with a monthly publication schedule.
Web Site
Only 30% of those surveyed said they regularly visit our Chapter’s web site. So, for those of you who do not, I encourage you to do so. We have a whole new look and a lot more functionality. The calendar, job bank, education section and member services were the sections felt to have the most value. Additionally, close to half said they regularly used the on-line RSVP feature to sign up for Chapter events.
Communication with Members
Eight-five percent of respondents said they prefer to be contacted through e-mail and 69% want several weeks’ notice of upcoming events.
Community Challenge Weekend
Only 35% of those polled said they had participated in the Chapter’s CCW events over the last three years. The majority of those who did had volunteered either time or dollars to the charities involved.
Vendor Relations
Sixty-three percent of respondents feel the relationship between the GLA and its vendor partners is terrific and they like the information and interaction that relationship provides. Of the 76% who said they had received solicitations from GLA vendors, 66% responded to them. E-mail won out as the best avenue by which to communicate with GLA members. With respect to the prizes vendors supply at Chapter events, 35% don’t feel they are necessary and 39% have no preference at all. In fact, 87% don’t feel prizes are important compared to the 27% who do.
Demographics
Our respondent Chapter members had a variety of backgrounds with 28% in HR, 24% as principal administrators, 21% as directors of administration, 13% as branch managers, 11% as executive directors, 8% in facilities, and the balance in other areas of management. The majority of respondents have 6-75 attorneys in their offices and 1-50 attorneys firm-wide (only 20% have 76+ attorneys in their offices and 31% have 200+ attorneys in their firms).
So, what does all this mean? Well, the 2006-2007 Board of Directors is evaluating all the responses and will take this information into consideration when planning out this year’s and future Board year activities and Chapter offerings. We truly appreciate those who took the time to participate. This initial survey needed to be comprehensive, since it was our first, but future surveys will be much more cursory in nature. We hope you’ll choose to participate because your feedback is an important part of our success. This is your chapter…and you can help to make it what you want.
