One of the associations to which I belong (who we’ll refer to as Association X or Ass-X for short) has a very high membership turnover. Guess whose fault that is? Well if you were to ask Ass-X, it’s the fault of the economy, the industry, and anything external that is willing to accept the pointing finger of blame. Just don’t blame Ass-X.
Ass-X is staffed by a number of 20, 30 and 40-something individuals. They are salaried, with most of the staff members having minimal formal education and most making less than $50,000 per year. The reason that I point out their salaries is because the employees of Ass-X tend to laugh (in an almost condescending manner) at the members of the association – many of whom have worked very hard to get where they are, and as such – have an education/income that reflects their efforts.
It’s kind of like the fast food employee who treats a PhD like she’s an idiot for asking questions about the menu items: “Ma’am – I doesn’t know what kind of oil we use to make da french fries. What a stupid question. Besides, they made in France. Go ask them!”
Many of the newer members of Ass-X who call into the headquarters with questions, often get the feeling that they are being talked down to – like a parent (a bad parent) talking down to a young child. While I’m a firm believer that no one can make anyone else “feel” a certain way (only you can allow yourself to be made to feel a certain way), there are in fact – circumstances in which fellow human beings go out of their way to “reduce” other human beings as a way of expressing their clear “superiority.” Ass-X’s staff are guilty of this crime, just as are many of us.
If you know me (Dr. Marc), then you know that I have little to no respect for “years on the job.” In other words, just because someone’s been doing something for a while DOES NOT mean that they are great at what they do. Experience does not necessarily equate to knowledge, and knowledge does not necessarily equate to experience. Unfortunately, society serves as an enabler – helping those who’ve been doing something for a long time – declare their superiority in a given field.
Having said that, and he reason that I make the point about “years on the job,” is because the staff at Ass-X are very quick to tell members of the association how smart they are: “I’ve been doing this for __ number of years, and I know with 100 percent certainty that you is dumb and I is smart.” In other words, if I were to bring up a suggestion (as many members have), the response would have been, “We’ve heard that idea before, and I can tell you that – having dealt with you members for 25 years, it just won’t work. Have a nice day.”
Ass-X staff’s attitude has created an internal culture that, like an infectious disease, has been transmitted to A LOT of the membership. There is a clear boundary between the members of Ass-X with years under their belts and the folks who are just getting their feet wet. In fact, at one recent convention, I sat and watched the old-timers gather together in their little corner and the new members wander around – looking for someplace to anchor their ship (so-to-speak).
Meanwhile, the staff of Ass-X, along with the “experienced” members, frequently encourage new membership. It’s almost like watching public television: Every time you turn it on, there always seems to be a membership drive/telethon. The reason for Ass-X’s ongoing campaign is TURNOVER. They encourage folks to become members, and then – when a new member joins, what they get is a nice welcome packet followed by…NOTHING (oh yeah – except for a lot of disrespect).
As I stated at the outset of this post, Ass-X’s turnover is very high. New members are treated like crap, and pathways to success reach a cliff at the edge of a river to which their is no bridge to the other side. The other side is where lies the City of Gold (good fortune).
To attack the problem, we have to focus on the staff.
They must be fired.
Notice that I didn’t say “removed” or “replaced.” They must be fired and they must know WHY they were fired.
Why do they need to know?
If these folks don’t understand why they were fired, then they will transmit this “disease” elsewhere. They will look for other avenues to claim superiority (i.e. the equivalent a strip mall manicurist who knows how to solve all the problems in the Middle East and believes that the whole “Trans Fat” thing is just a bunch of rubbish). In short, without having it drilled into their head WHY they were fired, these former Ass-X employees will go on to hurt more people. We can’t have that.
“But Dr. Marc, what they really need is a little mental retraining.”
Yes, you are correct. But the bridge is already burned at Ass-X. Let them get retrained on their own dime and then find employment elsewhere.
You cannot retrain a former Ass-X employee to be respectful of ALL members of that organization. I don’t care what any “transformational guru” tells you. They are wrong. The Ass-X employees have learned to only kiss the butts of the big hitters, and at the same time, have learned to belittle the new members. The big hitters know it, and more importantly, so do the new members. Therefore, the Ass-X employees MUST GO!
Many organizations have high membership turnover, and many small businesses have high customer turnover – both of which can clearly be traced back to the staff. The staff will be the first to speak up and tell you how “stupid” the members can be (or how “stupid” the customers can be). Because they are unified in their adversarial attitude, the “herd” – which represents the staff, believes that it cannot be wrong in its appraisal of the situation.
In some cases, high turnover that’s clearly associated with the staff is just about one or two bad apples that are screwing up the bushel. But in other cases, there are so many bad apples that it’s sometimes necessary to throw out the entire lot and then go apple picking. That’s life.
Have A GREAT Day!
…Dr. Marc