FEI Membership Value Research

JRQ Research, May 20071

FEI Membership Value Research

Quantitative Phase: Spring 2007


Objectives

The main objective of this research is to determine how to increase the value of FEI membership (Boston Chapter) and active participation

Also to explore the appeal of initiatives identified in a qualitative phase of research including:

– Forming special interest groups within the chapter– Varying the time and location of events


Methodology

This report is based on an online survey of FEI Boston Chapter members:

– The initial list (provided by FEI) contained 1109 names and there were 93 “bounce backs” (total mailed = 1,016)

– JRQ Research sent the initial broadcast and two reminder mailings

– There were 220 completed interviews for a (good) 22% response rate


Executive Summary (1)

Many members are unaware of some FEI National services. They may derive more value from their membership by taking advantage of these services.

Usage and awareness of FEI Boston Services is high. Satisfaction with FEI Boston services is also high.

The most common reason for attending a professional development (p-d) session is interest in the topic. There is most interest in attending p-d sessions on financial issues followed by management, technology, treasury, and human resource issues.

Early morning and after work are the most popular times for p-d sessions. At both of these times Waltham/128, Newton/Needham, and Burlington/128 generate the highest interest as locations. There is also substantial interest for an early morning session in the Financial District and lunchtime Webinars.



Attendance at dinner meetings is high in this sample. Frequent attendance is higher among long term members. The greatest barrier to attendance (other than work/family conflict) is the location of meetings

More members favor a dinner meeting after work than at other times and there is most support for Newton/Needham, Waltham/128, and Burlington/128. However, there are more members who are likely to have a “much higher” attendance if the meetings are in Boston (especially the Financial District)



Members put educational content just ahead of entertaining content/presentation in judging the appeal of a dinner speaker

Many members are satisfied with the current format of dinner meetings. There is substantial support for having dinners with “tables sometimes divided by industry/role” and “peer contacts assigned to make introductions for new members”

Nearly two-thirds of members are interested in joining a smaller group within Boston FEI that would allow them to build a knowledge sharing network. There sub-groups with the most support are “private companies”, “high tech”, “public companies”, and “start ups”

More recent members are more interested in joining a sub-group than longer term members. This could change with different suggestions for sub-groups (e.g., retired members). Most would like to meet before work.



Based on this survey it is recommended that the following issues be explored:

– Forming sub-groups of special interests– Including new locations for dinner meetings– Considering new formats for dinner meetings– Including new locations for professional development

sessions, having some after work, and instituting lunchtime Webinars

– Educating members about the benefits of FEI National


Respondent Profile

Job titles are CFO (37%), Controller (11%), VP of Finance (8%), retired/in transition (8%), Treasurer (6%), consultant (5%). Other positions (2-3%) are CEO, Partner, President, and academic/educator

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the respondents have been members of FEI Boston for 5 years or more

92% of members intend to continue their membership to FEI. Reasons for discontinuing are high costs and limited benefits/participation.


Respondent’s Company Profile

70% work for private and 30% for public companies Most work in the technology (24%), manufacturing (16%), financial

services (11%) and business/professional/consulting services (10%) sectors.

How would you describe your company sector (N=220)?

24%

16%

11% 10%8% 8%

0%5%

10%15%

20%25%30%

Technology Manufacturing FinancialServices

Other services Healthcare Non-Profit

% o

f res

pond

ents


Committee Membership

Over a third (36%) have served on an FEI Boston Committee and 3% have served on an FEI National committee

14% of respondents (31) have not served on an FEI Boston Committee but would like to do so.


FEI Dues

Two-thirds (66%) of respondents (N=220) have annual dues paid by their company (31% by self)

Over half (56%) of respondents have professional development meetings paid for by their company (32% by self)

Just under a half (48%) of respondents have dinner meetings paid for by their company (45% by self)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Paid by Co.

Paid by Self

N/A


Awareness/Usage of FEI National Services (1)

Usage is highest for Financial Executive magazine (91%), followed by Career Services (44%), FERF Online Library (25%), and FERF FELIX Online Discussion (19%)

Awareness of National Conferences and Summits is high (79%/84%) but attendance is relatively low (18%/13%)



Usage/Awareness of FEI National Services (N=220)

0102030405060708090

100

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Have used

Aware but not used

Not aware



More than 50% are aware but less than 10% have used:– Board resources– Government relations

More than 50% are unaware and less than 10% have used:– CPE credits for reading Financial Executive magazine– Online CPE testing/record keeping– FERF on demand staff research– Online financial toolkits




0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Board Resources Gov. Relations CPE Credits forFE Mag.

Online CPE testing

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Have used

Aware but not used

Not aware




0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

FERF StaffResearch

OnlineSOX/COSO toolkit

Online SEC toolkit Online WhitePaper toolkit

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Have used

Aware but not used

Not aware


Awareness/Usage of FEI Boston Services (1)

Awareness of dinner meetings, career services, and professional development sessions is very high (>97%)

Attendance at/usage of dinner meetings is highest (81%) followed by professional development sessions/seminars (57%) and career services (53%)

40% have used the discounted rate for professional dev. seminar plus dinner meeting, but 14% are unaware

13% have used the director’s connection to obtain board seats, but 34% are unaware.


Awareness/Usage of FEI Boston Services (2)

Usage/Awareness of FEI Boston Services (N=220)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Dinnermeetings

Prof. dev.pm

Prof. dev.am

Careerservices

Discount forprof. dev +

dinner

Director'sconnection

(Board)

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Have used

Aware but not used

Not aware


Satisfaction with FEI Boston Services (1)

Users of services rated them on a satisfaction scale (of 1-5 where “1” is “not at all satisfied” and “5” is “very satisfied”

All services (dinner meetings, career, prof. dev., discounted rates for prof. dev + dinner) have high satisfaction ratings with means of 4-4.1

Career services has the highest percentage of “very satisfied” users (42%) and prof. dev. sessions have the lowest (26% for am and 30% for pm sessions)


Satisfaction with FEI Boston Services (2)

Satisfaction with Boston FEI Services

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Dinner Meetings(N=180)

Career Services(N=118)

Prof. Dev. AM(N=126)

Prof. Dev. PM(N=128)

% o

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spo

nd

en

ts

Rated 1

Rated 2

Rated 3

Rated 4

Rated 5

Satisfaction is rated on a 1-5 scale where “1” is “not at all satisfied” and “5” is “very satisfied”. Graph shows satisfied respondents (rating 4 and 5)


Professional Development: Current Attendance

Over three-fourths of respondents (76%) attend professional development sessions, and most attend occasionally (59%)

In general, how often do you attend FEI professional development sessions? (N=220)

010203040506070

Never Occasionally (1-2 timesper year)

Sometimes (3-5 timesper year)

Frequently (6+ times peryear)

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts


Professional Development: Reasons to Attend

The most common reason for attending is interest in the topic (91%), followed by the speaker (47%), networking (46%), and CPE credits (30%)

What are your main reasons for attending professional development? (N=168)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Interest in the topic Speaker Networking CPE credits

% o

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spo

nd

en

ts


Professional Development: Issues

Respondents are most interested in Financial Issues (86% interested), followed by Management (70%), Technology (68%), Treasury (50%), and Human Resource (31%) issues.

If the chapter were to conduct quality professional development programs on the following issues, which would you be most interested in attending? (N=220)

020406080

100

Financial Management Technology Treasury Humanresource

Issues for Professional Dev.

% o

f res

pond

ents

% of respondentsrating interest 4-5on a 5 point scale


Professional Development: Location and Timing (1)

More respondents favor p-d after work (75%) and early morning (72%) rather than afternoon (60%) or lunch time (49%).

Favored locations after work (N=164) are Newton/Needham (54%), Waltham/Route 128 (52%), and Burlington/Route 128 (38%). These locations are also favored for afternoon sessions.

Favored locations for early morning (N=158) are Waltham/Route 128 (52%), Newton/Needham (49%), and Burlington/Route 128 (36%) and the Financial District (29%)

There is substantial support for a Webinar format, especially at lunchtime (44%, N=108) and in the afternoon (39%, N=131)



Which locations/formats and times for professional development sessions are most convenient for you? (N=220)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Early am (N=158) Lunchtime (N=108) Afternoon (N=131) After work (N=164)

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Financial District

Back Bay

Seaport

Newton/Needham

Waltham/128

Burlington 128

North Shore

South Shore

Webinar



If p-d sessions were held at the respondents’ preferred locations/ formats/times, over half of respondents (53%) would have slightly higher and over a third (34%) would have much higher attendance.

“Much higher” attendance is more likely in areas far from the current venue (see slides 23 and 24), especially in Boston.

If the seminars/sessions were held in your preferred locations/formats and at your preferred time(s), how would this affect your attendance? (N=220)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Same Slightly higher Much higher Don't know

% o

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ts



Locations/Formats for Breakfast Sessions by Attendance (N=220)

0

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30

40

50

60

70

% o

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pond

ents

Same

Slightly Higher

Much Higher



Locations/Formats for After Work P-D Sessions by Attendance (N=220)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

% o

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pond

ents

Same

Slightly Higher

Much Higher


Dinner Meetings: Current Attendance

Over three-fourths of respondents (76%) attend dinner meetings. Over a third attends (35%) “occasionally”, over a quarter (26%) attends “sometimes” , and the remainder (15%) attends “frequently”

In general, how often do you attend FEI dinner meetings? (N=220)

05

10152025303540

Never Occasionally (1-2 timesper year)

Sometimes (3-5 timesper year)

Frequently (6+ times peryear)

% o

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pond

ents


Dinner Meetings: Current Attendance

Nearly half (48/9%) of long term members (5+ years) (N=142) attend dinners sometimes/frequently compared to only a quarter (25%) of those who have been members for 1-4 years (N=56)

Attendance at Dinner Meetings by Length of Membership (N=220)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

I yr. or less (N=22) 1-4 yrs. (N=56) 5-9 yrs. (N=58) 10+ yrs. (N=84)

Res

pond

ents Frequently

Sometimes

Occasionally

Never


Dinner Meetings: Barriers to Attendance (1)

The greatest barriers to more frequent attendance are work (59%) and family (49%) conflict

Other important barriers are the location of meetings (31%, up from 22% in ‘01) and low interest in the speakers/topics (22%)

Other barriers include no friends/contacts planning to attend (11%, up from 5% in ‘01) and the day of the week (9%)

The time of the meetings is not a barrier for most respondents (6%). “Other” responses include cost (3%) and focus on sponsors (1%)


Dinner Meetings: Barriers to Attendance (2)

Which of the following reasons explains why you do not attend dinner meetings more frequently? (N=220)

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70

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Dinner Meetings: Location and Timing (1)

More respondents favor a “dinner meeting” after work (86%) rather than breakfast (59%) or lunch (44%).

Favored locations after work (N=190) are Newton/Needham (57%), Waltham/Route 128 (55%), and Burlington/Route 128 (42%).

Favored locations for breakfast (N=130) are Waltham/Route 128 (49%), Newton/Needham (47%), Burlington/Route 128 (35%), the Financial District (29%), and Back Bay (25%).

Favored locations for lunch (N=96) are Waltham/Route 128 (46%), Newton/Needham (41%), Burlington/Route 128 (35%), and the Financial District (27%).



Which locations and times for a "dinner style meeting" (networking, meal, and speaker) are most convenient for you? (N=220)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Breakfast (N=90) Lunch (N=124) Dinner (N=190)

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Financial District

Back Bay

Seaport

Newton/Needham

Waltham/128

Burlington 128

North Shore

South Shore



If dinner style meetings are held at the respondents’ preferred locations/times, over half of respondents (55%) would have slightly higher and just under one-fifth (19%) would have much higher attendance.

If the "dinner meetings" were held in your preferred locations and at your preferred time(s), how would this affect your attendance? (N=220)

0

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30

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60

Same Slightly higher Much higher

% o

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nts



After work dinner meetings in Boston (especially the Financial District, Seaport, and the North Shore) are more likely to have “much higher” attendance

Location and Timing of After Work Dinner Sessions by Attendance (N=220)

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70

% o

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nts

Same

Slightly Higher

Much Higher


Dinner Meetings: Speakers

Respondents rated the importance of educational content, entertaining content/presentation, and fame/notoriety to the

appeal of a dinner speaker (on a scale of 1-5): – Educational content is rated as most important (mean rating 4.1),

followed by entertaining content/presentation (3.8), and fame/notoriety (3.2)

Further guidelines for choosing speakers include:– Satisfaction with existing “mix”– More entrepreneurs/small company/speakers with passion – At least one big name a year


Dinner Meetings: Format

Respondents rated the appeal of different meeting formats on a 1-5 scale

The highest appeal is to “retain the current format for all meetings” (50% rated 4/5, mean rating 3.5), followed by “tables sometimes divided by industry/role” appealing (44% rated 4/5, mean 3.2)

The appeal of “peer contacts assigned to make introductions for new members” has a neutral response (36% rated 4/5, mean 3)

Most respondents do not find “occasional networking sessions with a buffet (no speaker)” (28% rated 4/5, mean 2.6) or “annual social dinner with spouses” (21% rated 4/5, mean 2.3) appealing.


Boston FEI Sub-Groups (1)

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents are interested (rating 4/5 on a 5 point scale) in joining a smaller group within the FEI that would allow them to network

Of those interested (N=170), the most appealing sub-groups are Private Companies (66%), High Tech (39%), Public Companies (35%), and Start-Ups (29%)

There is also some interest in the Service Sector (24%), Medical/Biotech (22%), and Non-Profit (19%)

Other suggestions include Higher Ed., Financial Services, Healthcare, and Treasury.



More recent members are more interested* in joining sub-groups than longer term members.

*Interest rating on a scale of 1-5 where “1” is “not at all interested” and “5” is “very interested”

Interest in Sub-Groups by Length of Membership (N=220)

0

20

40

60

80

100

< 1 (N=22) 1-4 (N=56) 5-9 (N=58) 10+ (N=84)

Years of Membership

Re

spo

nd

en

ts 1/2 *

3 *

4/5 *

Unsure



Three-fourths (75%) of those interested in joining a sub-group (N=170) would like occasional breakfast meetings and just over half (54%) would like occasional after work meetings. There is less support for lunch meetings (40%) and minimal support for virtual meetings (via web conference 17%, chat room 15%) `

Those interested in joining a sub-group want an opportunity to build a knowledge sharing network.

“A higher level of personal contact and networking”

“To share experiences and challenges. To have sounding board opportunities. To both give and take”

“Stronger networking, discussion, brainstorm solutions to unique challenges and issues”

“More focus on content and less on vendors and people looking for jobs”


Other Ideas

Respondents were invited to make extra comments. They are as follows:

– Nothing more to say (27)– On benefits of interest groups and suggestions for a group for retired

members (9)– Congratulations on a strong chapter (8)– High cost (7)– Inconvenient location of meetings (7)– Improving networking/integration of new members (5)– Scheduling (including day of week) (4)– On the make-up of the membership and reducing presence of vendors (4)– On the format of meetings (3)– On the focus of the organization (3)– Other (4)


Conclusions (1)

Many members are unaware of some FEI National services. They may derive more value from their membership by taking advantage of these services.

Usage and awareness of FEI Boston Services is high. Satisfaction with FEI Boston services is also high.

The most common reason for attending a professional development (p-d) session is interest in the topic. There is most interest in attending p-d sessions on financial issues followed by management, technology, treasury, and human resource issues.

Early morning and after work are the most popular times for p-d sessions. At both of these times Waltham/128, Newton/Needham, and Burlington/128 generate the highest interest as locations. There is also substantial interest for an early morning session in the Financial District and lunchtime Webinars.


Conclusions (2)

Attendance at dinner meetings is high in this sample. Frequent attendance is higher among long term members. The greatest barrier to attendance (other than work/family conflict) is the location of meetings

More members favor a dinner meeting after work than at other times and there is most support for Newton/Needham, Waltham/128, and Burlington/128. However, there are more members who are likely to have a “much higher” attendance if the meetings are in Boston (especially the Financial District)


Conclusions (3)

Members put educational content just ahead of entertaining content/presentation in judging the appeal of a dinner speaker

Many members are satisfied with the current format of dinner meetings. There is substantial support for having dinners with “tables sometimes divided by industry/role” and “peer contacts assigned to make introductions for new members”

Nearly two-thirds of members are interested in joining a smaller group within Boston FEI that would allow them to build a knowledge sharing network. There sub-groups with the most support are “private companies”, “high tech”, “public companies”, and “start ups”

More recent members are more interested in joining a sub-group than longer term members. This could change with different suggestions for sub-groups (e.g., retired members). Most would like to meet before work.


Recommendations

Based on this survey it is recommended that the following issues be explored:

– Forming sub-groups of special interests– Including new locations for dinner meetings– Considering new formats for dinner meetings– Including new locations for professional development

sessions, having some after work, and instituting lunchtime Webinars

– Educating members about the benefits of FEI National

Documents

FEI Membership Value Research