Association CEO Index 2024 - Flipbook - Page 55
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Association CEO Index 2024
Sector challenges
Economic pressures dominate the concerns of association CEOs, with
significant focus on revenue diversification, talent acquisition and
member engagement.
Concerns of association CEOs, 2024
% Concerning / Very Concerning
62%
42%
41%
31%
Economic
pressures
30%
28%
Talent
Revenue
Membership
Member
Advocacy
acquisition diversification
growth
engagement / effectiveness
and
retention
management
Economic pressures, including the rising costs of
business and the impact of the cost of living on
membership, are the most significant challenges,
with 62% of CEOs rating these issues as
concerning or very concerning. This is particularly
acute among hybrid associations, where 72% of
CEOs identify the current economic environment as
a key issue, compared to 53% in industry
associations.
Revenue diversification, especially through nonmembership income such as event attendance and
professional development offerings, is another
prominent challenge, highlighted by 41% of CEOs.
This concern is particularly strong among those
with less than two years in the sector, with 58%
indicating that long-serving leaders are acutely
aware of the need to broaden income streams.
In a tight labour market, and often working with
limited budgets that constrain their ability to offer
competitive salaries, talent acquisition and
management, including finding skilled staff and
26%
26%
Technology
Diverse
member
expectations
24%
Membership
models
21%
Governance
retaining them, is a concern for 42% of CEOs. Of
interest, more professional associations (49%) and
larger associations with over 5000 members (50%)
identify staff issues as a concern to them.
Unsurprisingly, member engagement and retention
also weigh on the minds of association CEOs.
Overall, 31% are concerned about their ability to
grow their membership base, while a similar
proportion are either concerned or very concerned
about membership engagement and retention. Just
over a quarter (26%) of association CEOs indicated
a degree of concern about meeting the needs of a
diverse membership base.
Other notable challenges include a concern across
segments about the impact of new technologies
and AI, with 26% of CEOs highlighting this as a
challenge.
Governance issues, including board strength and
diversity, and adapting membership models to
current trends, are on the radar for some CEOs,
though to a lesser extent than other issues.
Q. Thinking about the challenges managing your association over the next 12 months, please rate your level of
concern about the following:
