Association CEO Index 2024 - Flipbook - Page 41
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Association CEO Index 2024
A typical week of an association CEO
Administrative management, advocacy and board matters dominate
Australian and New Zealand association CEO activities.
Administrative, finance, and HR responsibilities are
the primary focus for most association leaders. Over
a quarter of CEO time (26.3%) is dedicated to
finance and administration, particularly within
professional associations where 30.5% of CEO time
is spent on these functions.
Advocacy to government is another key area,
especially among industry associations. On average,
15.8% of CEO time is dedicated to government
advocacy, indicating a strong focus on influencing
policy and regulations in these sectors. This rises to
19.3% for leaders of industry associations.
member retention activities, this increases to 14.3%
among industry association CEOs. This may reflect
member retention being particularly important for
this group given that they typically have fewer
members, who pay significantly larger fees to
belong, making each member’s retention crucial for
the association's financial sustainability and
influence.
Media and public relations activities generally take
up 10% of association CEOs time, as does engaging
with corporate partners and supporters (9%)
Only 6.7% of association executive time is
dedicated to new member acquisition. This may
reflect a strategic emphasis on retention, limited
member pools in niche markets, high loyalty among
existing members or resource constraints that
prioritise strengthening value for current members.
Highlighting the importance of governance and
strategic oversight, board matters also emerge as a
significant priority. Association CEOs spend
approximately 15.1% of their time on average
attending to board matters, although it is
significantly lower among industry association
CEOs, at 11.9%.
New product development and innovation, while
important, receive comparatively less attention, with
industry associations (9.6%) focusing on it the least.
Overall, the data suggests that while administrative
and board-related activities are central to all
association CEOs, the focus on advocacy, memberrelated activities, and innovation varies depending
on the type of association.
Member retention is another area of focus,
particularly in industry associations. While overall,
the CEOs spend an average of 11% of their time on
Managing an association, % of time spent
Total
Professional
Industry
Hybrid
124
40
41
36
Administration / Finance / HR
26.3
30.5
22.7
24.0
Advocacy to Government
15.8
14.4
19.3
14.5
Board Matters
15.1
17.2
11.9
16.0
New Products / Innovaton
11.7
12.8
9.6
12.8
Member Retention
11.0
9.7
14.3
9.3
Media / PR
10.3
9.2
10.9
11.4
Engaging with Corporate Partners /
Supporters
9.0
7.5
9.4
10.5
New Member Acquisition
6.7
5.4
6.8
8.2
Q. On average, how much of your time each week is spent on:
Significantly higher / lower than other groups at 95% CI
