Background
A medical professional organization of nearly 10,000 surgeons wanted to take a closer look at member perspectives on education following the results of a recent Member Needs Assessment. Education, a strong driver of the relationship for this organization, was key to improving the client’s bottom line. A small team of staff focused on developing, reviewing, and achieving accreditation for surgical education partnered with Loyalty Research on this effort.
Approach
A targeted educational needs study was developed to address three specific areas: preferred educational formats, topic importance and interest, and idea generation for innovative education in the future. The assessment was distributed to all members, regardless of completion of the larger member study. Critical education segments were developed based on format preference and content interest, and subsequently profiled to make identifying members in the segments easier.
Results
The client’s membership was evenly divided into two unique segments. One was comprised of members who were more tenured both professionally and within the organization, and this group preferred in-person education with more traditional topics. The second group was a mix of younger professionals and newer to the organization members, who were more interested in digital or hybrid learning focused on new and creative content.
Respondents also provided a significant list of ideas they considered innovative for the industry, which included a branded mobile app for education, specialized content for stages of career, and mentorship programming.
Impact
The research effort kicked off a collaborative strategic planning process for the organization. Loyalty Research facilitated several discussions on the approach and timeline for the educational committee’s work in futureproofing the educational resources provided by the organization.
Over the course of several months, the partnership developed strategic improvement matrices, a cohesive topic/content library, a webinar about the importance of strategic educational plans, and a weekend planning session for the committee, facilitated by Loyalty Research. Ideas were then set into motion to improve the organization and increase Engagement.