Serving Global Members Online.

Reaching out to members and prospects beyond U.S. borders has never been so crucial--or so simple, thanks to the Internet.

MANY BUSINESSES TODAY RECOGNfZE the benefits of expanding their customer base overseas. It likewise makes sense for associations to bolster their global presence, and a key tool in this effort is the Internet. By harnessing its power, small-staff associations as well as large ones can communicate on a grand scale in a timely, cost-effective manner.

Reasons to adopt a global mind-set are clear. Even if your association doesn't currently have members overseas, if it provides information, networking, and professional development opportunities via the Web, your association can attract an international audience. Doing so can further the interests of your association within the worldwide community of your profession or industry.

Then, too, the global economy is no longer an idea. It's here. Many more U.S. businesses are expanding their markets throughout the world, contributing to a growing globalization of professions and industries. One implication for associations is that members today are more likely to understand or need to know about the business and professional practices of other countries. So extending the international knowledge base of your association might also fortify it against current or future competitors--at home and abroad--that want to offer your members the information and services they need.

Leading the globalization curve

Globalization is evident in the human resources field, which in recent years has experienced rapid growth not only in the United States but also worldwide. As the largest human resources association in the world, the Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, Virginia, views this global awareness of the profession as more than an opportunity--it's an obligation to help serve human resources professionals around the world and to strengthen their international community. In response, the association launched SHRM Global Forum, an online membership program targeted, to members outside the United States. (SHRM Global Forum is also a resource for domestic members who have a professional interest in international aspects of human resources.)

Prior to launching the program in 1998, SHRM bad two levels of membership: professional and student. In creating SHRM Global Forum, the association created a third category: global internet member. SHRM leaders voted to change the association's bylaws to reflect the new category, which includes strict requirements about who qualifies: those with residency outside the United States and who hold membership in a local human resources association if the member is eligible and if such a group exists in the country or location of that member.

SHRM also decided it would serve overseas members online only, as a primary goal was to reduce the association's mailing costs while enhancing its responsiveness by giving full and immediate access to information and services. (Previously, with the expense of printing and postage alone, SHRM's cost to send the association's routine monthly mailings to members outside the United States far exceeded what the association collected from them in member dues.) Currently SHRM has 600 global Internet members in 70 countries who access all their services from SHRM's Global Forum Web site: www.shrmglobal.org.

Making partnerships a priority

In addition to targeting individual members, SHRM developed a marketing strategy of partnering with other human resources associations around the world to provide SHRM membership as a value-added benefit to their members. One caution for associations that adopt a similar strategy: It's important to make sure these other groups understand that what you're doing is in good faith and with their interests--not only your own--in mind. Your goal is not to compete with these other associations but to partner with them. This intention was, in fact, what fueled SHRM's requirement that global Internet members belong to their local groups as well.

Although SHRM's current global Internet membership of 600 represents a 200 percent increase since last year, this number may seem slight to many in comparison to SHRM's domestic membership of 145,000. And yet, the reality is that it takes time to develop and cultivate relationships. More than two years after our launch of SHRM Global Forum, we are finally seeing our hard work pay off. Instead of members joining one at a time, our membership is now growing in bunches, with as many as 90 members signing up at one time through our partnering associations.

Maximizing the volunteer leader's role

Because strong relationships are critical to the success of a global membership program, a major role for volunteer leaders is helping to cultivate these relationships and promote the program. More than anything else, SHRM relies on its volunteers to spread the word to human resources associations around the world about the benefit of SHRM membership. Currently, SHRM is in the initial stages of outlining more specific involvement for its global advisory committee, a group of five human resources representatives from different regions of the world formed to complement the SHRM Global Forum board of directors.

One thing SHRM's advisory committee members will bring to the table is regional and national perspectives and country-specific insights that we don't have in the United States. In doing so, committee members will play an integral role in helping the association understand how best to meet the needs of various human resources communities around the world through SHRM products and services. In turn, this will help us better market SHRM global Internet membership. Committee members will also advise SHRM about worldwide trends they see occurring in the profession and where, from an operational standpoint, SHRM would do well to set its sights.

Understanding key challenges for staff

In addition to the direct role volunteer leaders can take in promoting the efforts of their association to serve global members, a number of key questions remain for association staff.

Content. The key reasons why most people join an association include access to information, networking, and professional development opportunities. One question staff members must ask is how the association will provide these things at the same level of quality if the service is available online only. At the same time, it's important to think through the kinds of information and services it makes most sense to offer.

With SHRM Global Forum, we've noticed a demand for two types of information. Some people want information about U.S. human resources practices to use as a benchmark, as in the case of a start-up association in another country or region. We already have ample access to this information, so it's a matter of simply making it available online. The second group is of a more multinational mindset and wants country-specific human resources practices or country-by-country comparisons. Here is where we've begun partnering with content providers throughout the world to provide and update country-specific information with regard to employment and immigration laws and other human resources topics, including employment benefits and compensation standards.

Language. An important issue related to content is language. While SHRM initially envisioned providing a translation service for its Global Forum Web site, many potential glitches remain with trying to ensure that content is correctly translated. The last thing we want is to take SHRM's highly esteemed HR Magazine, for instance, and have it poorly represented by inadequate translation. We continue holding the pluses and minuses of translation in tension, but meanwhile we are partnering with groups from other countries to provide content in other languages.

Advertising. Another content-related question an association may face is deciding whether to include advertising on its site. We decided from the start that we did not want SHRM Global Forum to appear as a commercial venture. Our rule of no advertising holds true for all content on the Web site, including the online version of HR Magazine. For six months prior to the debut of SHRM Global Forum, we struggled with whether this decision might adversely affect the advertising revenue for the printed version of the magazine, which is mailed to all domestic members. Every few months since the launch we have revisited this concern. To date, we've noticed no repercussions and are convinced that it's because we have a strong firewall to ensure that only our global Internet members can access the no-ad version.

Technology. It almost goes without saying that using the Internet to attract and serve overseas members can greatly reduce costs while enhancing your responsiveness as an association. Another reason it makes sense to serve overseas members online: Technology has become not only a legitimate vehicle for doing business today but actually the preferred mode of transaction. In parts of Europe, Scandinavia, and the Pacific Rim, for instance, telephony is more advanced and more widespread than in the United States. Yet at the same time that more people from many countries have access to high-end technologies, not all members or prospective members have the kind of high-speed Internet access to which those living within the United States are accustomed. At SHRM, we recognized from the start that we had to build a site that would essentially meet the lowest common denominator of modem speed. Another issue is the expense of going online. In some countries, people still pay a lot for Internet connection and may not hav e unlimited hours of access. This further makes the case for creating content that uploads and downloads quickly so that members won't pay more in phone bills than actual dues.

Education. Another demanding task is educating staff about the needs of your overseas members and ensuring that staff members are equipped to serve them. Our global Internet members still pay dues, for instance, which requires that someone enter their member records or process their orders or fulfill other routine member requests. While the linguistic challenges and the technological difficulties may be more pronounced for serving global members, ultimately your entire staff must learn to think globally about membership. Steps we've taken in this direction at SHRM include a recent minicourse for all staff about working across cultures.

Each of these challenges represents the need for an overall thrust by leaders and key staff to encourage a global member mind-set throughout the association. With the convergence of a real global economy and virtual communication technologies, it makes sense for many more associations today to explore at what level a global Internet membership might work.

Brian J. Glade is vice president, international programs, and Dave Patel is manager, global online services, for the Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, Virginia. E-mail: [e-mail] and [e-mail]. This article is an expansion of an article that ran in the Summer 2000 issue of ASAE's International Forum.