Let's be honest: just thinking about changing membership system can be daunting. It can look like a lot of work, and many are naturally sceptical. Problems can arise during such a transition, and it can be labour-intensive and expensive. Many think it will be difficult to learn a lot of new things and that it requires a lot of training. Frustration with an inefficient old system is often what motivates the change, but perhaps you should think even more about how much you can actually gain from a modern and efficient system?
These are the five most important things to consider when changing membership system:
1. How great are the benefits of switching to a new and modern membership system?
There may be many arguments against change and for holding on to the old membership system, but let's be honest again: there can be a great many disadvantages to doing that too.
The first thing you should do is therefore to assess whether the benefits of a new and modern membership system outweigh the disadvantages.
- What are the disadvantages of the membership system you have?
- What can you achieve by switching to a modern system with more options and features? (Perhaps it is much more than you think?)
Members are the most important thing for every association, large and small. Treating members well and communicating well with them is absolutely crucial for all kinds of associations. That is why few things are as important as the membership system, yet many do not use it well enough, and quite a few see the system mostly as a necessary evil.
Many associations, clubs and teams have existed for a long time, and the membership systems out there can be old and cumbersome with limited possibilities.
Even so, many continue with the old system that should have been scrapped long ago. It is common for the system to have its shortcomings and irritations, but better the devil you know.
Overall, a great many associations need a more modern system. You now have that opportunity, and if you are going to switch, you should go for something that adds real value. Technology has developed at a furious pace in recent years, and employees and members in most associations have been given a powerful digital push by the pandemic. Older systems may still keep track of members' names and contact details and are useful for payment follow-up and invoicing – but perhaps not much more.
Many associations actually use a number of different systems. These may include closed Facebook groups for internal communication, Google Calendar for events and e-mail when communicating with all members. You may use Excel documents or spreadsheets for match schedules and have separate chat groups for leaders and so on. Perhaps you have an internal website with login, an intranet and so on. All this in addition to the membership system itself, which may only be used for invoicing and reports.
For employees, volunteers and members, this means a range of platforms and forms of communication to get to grips with. It can all become both confusing and time-consuming, and not infrequently cause many errors and poor communication.
Modern membership systems can offer so much more than an invoicing system. A system like Rubic has messaging systems, systems for allocating resources, easy access to your own team or group, an activity calendar, registration for events, sign-up for volunteer work (dugnad) and much more in one and the same system.
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Rubic is really an operating system for the whole association.
And everything is centred around a single app that all members have access to on their phone. Coaches, group leaders, team managers, conductors, local branch leaders and so on also have access to everything they need to do their job directly in the app. Older membership systems are often not particularly mobile-friendly and often lack a truly functional app. There may be an app with some limited features, but since the app was developed afterwards, it is often not fully compatible with the system. Quite a few membership systems also have no app at all.
We believe that is something you simply must have!
Rubic was developed as a mobile app from the start, which means the system is adapted to mobile phones and to users' reality and needs.
If you feel that a modern system that everyone in the association can use, for everything and in one and the same solution, is what you need – there is reason to believe that the benefits of changing membership system will far outweigh the disadvantages for you.
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2. How do you make sure the switch to a new membership system is painless?
Changing membership system is still a big leap.
You will need training and support, and someone who can help quickly when needed. You need someone who can answer questions from group leaders, those responsible for invoicing, parents and others.
There are big advantages to choosing a large, professional supplier with experience of associations changing systems.
Rubic has long experience, with around 1,000 small and large associations as customers, and has encountered most issues before. All in all, Rubic has over 200,000 registered users.
A wide range of associations use Rubic's membership system, from Norges Skytterforbund with 35,000 members and very advanced needs to small associations with 50-60 members. The system has been developed in Norway in close collaboration with customers, which means Rubic's employees understand the everyday reality of Norway's diverse world of associations.
The need for support and good training is of course greatest during the transition from one membership system to another, and Rubic has therefore streamlined this process based on experience and feedback from everyone who has switched membership system to Rubic.
Many associations manage for a long time with Rubic's standard solutions, and then the process can be quick. You have one or more meetings where you go through the association's needs. Based on this review, you receive a concrete offer. If you accept it, you send over the member list, Rubic makes sure it is imported, and then training and testing begin.
3. Make sure the new membership system has what you need
Here it is important that you do a thorough job of mapping the association's needs. That in itself can be demanding, but with its experience, Rubic can also help you with this.
The following are part of Rubic's standard solutions:
- Membership system with login to “My Page” for all members
- Ways to communicate with all members or groups of members directly from the membership system by e-mail, SMS or push notifications in the app.
- Automatic integration with several other systems, including Norges Idrettsforbund's member registration and Fotballdata.
- E-invoicing, OCR, Vipps, card payments and direct debit invoicing
- Mobile app with full access to “My Page” for all members, with a digital membership card, chat, registrations, payment status and an overview of all relevant activities in their own groups, teams and departments.
- Rubic's activity calendar, which has a registration system for all types of activities, including with payment. The solution allows registration both by members and by others, for example for courses, talks, meets and trips that are open to both members and non-members. The activity calendar can also be integrated with other solutions.
- Rubic has its own very practical feature for volunteers, with sign-up for volunteer work (dugnad), accreditation of volunteers and a range of other useful features.
- The resource calendar (often called the pitch allocation feature), but it can be used for much more: it can be used to allocate any kind of resource.
- And more
Most associations will find most of what they need as part of the standard solutions, and Rubic is also built in a way that makes the system easy to adapt and tailor.
Once you take on the job of changing system, the most important thing is that you get a system that meets the association's needs in a simple and intuitive way, and that you get everything in one place.
4. How do you ensure a motivating system?
Management, administration, volunteers, members and parents all have busy days. Few people got involved in the association to do administration in time-consuming solutions.
Having systems that are simple, powerful and fun to work with can help increase activity and motivation in the association. Simple communication can help ensure that active members get immediate and quick responses. You can easily send messages to groups of members and get feedback. Members can chat with each other. Registration for a summer school can be published directly in the app. For many, seeing an immediate response to their work will be satisfying.
It is easy for the volunteer coordinator to see who has signed up and who has not – you can send a direct message and get an answer immediately. With a couple of taps, volunteers can see which shifts are unfilled and sign up. They can also communicate with those they will share a shift with and make arrangements. Volunteer work (dugnad) becomes smoother and easier to carry out for everyone.
The key to success is that everyone uses the app – there are of course people who do not have a smartphone, but not many. This group will require separate measures anyway.
The big advantage of the app is that members only need that one app, and they get all the information they need there. Members do not need to use more than one system, they do not need to be on Facebook, have access to Wi-Fi or log in to a website or an e-mail account. They simply get everything they need right on their phone and can communicate efficiently and directly from the same phone.
We know this has given many associations a new lease of life. They report a new everyday reality, with more people signing up for activities and a lot of time saved through simpler administration for leaders and volunteers. Many say that communicating has become so simple and efficient that it has become fun.
The time freed up can be spent on the association's purpose, which will be motivating for the vast majority.
5. How do you make sure the system is cost-effective?
Rubic is affordable in relation to what you get for your money, and the prices are listed in the price list. Having many customers and users makes the software affordable for each individual association.
Rubic's goal is to offer affordable standard solutions that are easy to adapt.
Rubic is not free – but you get a lot for your money.
The association's old system may also be cheap – but if it takes up a lot of the administration's or the volunteers' time, it comes at a high cost, either financially or through loss of motivation, perhaps loss of members and lower income. Poor communication can lead to fewer registrations for events, lower willingness to pay for activities, fewer people turning up for volunteer work (dugnad), talented young people dropping out because their parents cannot face following up, and so on.
Many associations also lose income because of many non-paying members, which is often due to inadequate member overviews and poor communication.
Another important thing is to make it easy to become a member. Rubic makes it super easy to join and pay the membership fee straight away with Vipps or online banking. You avoid having to send reminders, and many have reported lots of new paying members after switching to Rubic.
Rubic also gives a good overview of what members may owe, making it easier to send reminders and collect outstanding fees, membership fees and personal contributions.
The feedback is also very good for event registration. Many associations report a big increase in registrations and that direct payment has led to higher turnover and less work.
So when you assess the costs of a new system, it is important to assess the costs of the system you have today. What does it really cost? Equally important, however, is looking at the opportunities to increase income and motivation among employees, members and volunteers.
Is it worth taking the leap?
If you want a user-friendly system, Rubic can deliver it. User-friendliness is everything at Rubic. At Rubic, we listen to our users. We release updates every two weeks, and Rubic is always evolving. If someone asks for a feature or something that can make their job easier, we do our best to solve it.
Rubic is easy for everyone to use and requires minimal training. It is built to be intuitive.
The system is also set up to be tailored to the different roles in the association. Each person gets access to exactly what he or she needs. If your job is to allocate training times, you have no need for access to the finance features, and you don't get it either. Whether you log in as general manager, coach, volunteer coordinator or board member, you will get access to the features you need to do your particular job.
If good communication with all members in the right way at the right time is important to you, Rubic gives you a system with an overview of members, volunteers, activities and resources in one and the same system, and with Rubic you can keep the overview and communicate with many people, with a group, or one-to-one directly in the system.
Will you take the leap?
Not quite sure?
Book a free, no-obligation trial and you have taken a small step.