What is your typical attendance of ASQ program meetings?

[Govind]

Getting a good attendance in ASQ program meetings are always challenging. Take example our section: We have been getting about 20 to 25 people/meeting for the last 2 years. This is about 7% of Members from our section.

During my visits to conference and other certification volunteer events, I talk to other section officers/volunteers. The % is about the same or even lesser. The advantage is bigger section with member volume of 1500 or 2000; Program attendance is in the order of 80 to 100 people. Although the attendance looks bigger the when compared to member volume of that section it is small proportion.

I thought why not take a poll among Covers?
How many of you actually attend ASQ Program meetings?
ASQ Member or Non Members does not matter. Do you attend?
If not why? Would you mind sharing for learning purposes?
Thanks,
Govind.

[Wes Bucey]

Originally Posted by Govind

Getting a good attendance in ASQ program meetings are always challenging. Take example our section: We have been getting about 20 to 25 people/meeting for the last 2 years. This is about 7% of Members from our section.

During my visits to conference and other certification volunteer events, I talk to other section officers/volunteers. The % is about the same or even lesser. The advantage is bigger section with member volume of 1500 or 2000; Program attendance is in the order of 80 to 100 people. Although the attendance looks bigger the when compared to member volume of that section it is small proportion.

I thought why not take a poll among Covers?
How many of you actually attend ASQ Program meetings?
ASQ Member or Non Members does not matter. Do you attend?
If not why? Would you mind sharing for learning purposes?
Thanks,
Govind.

I try to make anywhere from 25% to 50% of meetings. I belong to two sections, one very large (Chicago) and one medium size (Northeast Illinois.) I would love to attend ALL of the presentation programs. Alas, life is full of conflicts and each month I must choose priorities.

I can say this truthfully: I never decided NOT to attend because of the program. The programs in my sections are ALWAYS top-notch. Some have been so extraordinary, I find myself using references from them two and three years later.

When I was much younger and still had children living at home, family events always came first.

I don't bemoan the low attendance (percentage-wise) at Section meetings. As I see it, there are legitimate conflicts which have higher priority than attending a section meeting to witness a presentation which may have no immediate value in your work life. Most folks who are currently Quality Managers or aspire to become Quality Managers have more incentive to witness the large variety of presentations for some kernel or nugget of information to put with the storehouse of other nuggets to be hauled out and strung together to make a chain or necklace which will make a process run more efficiently, whether it is product-related or personnel-related (tips for subordinates to work toward certifications?)

Frankly, not every member can benefit from every meeting. Folks with certifications should take advantage of the easy recertification units available for attending meetings and for being involved at the section level.

Folks who are considering getting certifications can benefit from networking with members who have that certification and, in many cases, have been consultants on the makeup of the exam.

Folks who have been RIFFED (reduction in force) should stay in the loop and make their circumstances known to get first dibs on job offerings which come through the Section long before they get placed as paid ads in newspapers and websites.

If a member is eager to make public presentations to build a personal reputation, a great source of bookings can come from volunteering to do a presentation for the Section (if the presentation is worthwhile.)

If the presentation needs fine tuning, the fellow Section members are a great source for feedback on improving the content or style of presentation.

[Govind]

Very detailed feedback Wes. Exactly Correct. You have reflected the thoughts that we we collected during our brainstorming session. By the Way 25% to 50% is good attendance record.I fall under that zone as well. Now being a Chair I may have to attend more (probably all) if required.
I also think family appointments, social events are the main reasons. However if we have good incentive for attending programs like

Good Speakers
Topic that can be useful to profession
Accessible location
Useful Networking opportunities, etc

We can attract reasonable % of members. We actually incur loss by running programs. But we have to maintain this member benefit. We did a brainstorming to collect ideas.

Regards,
Govind.

[Wes Bucey]

Originally Posted by Govind

Very detailed feedback Wes. Exactly Correct. You have reflected the thoughts that we we collected during our brainstorming session. By the Way 25% to 50% is good attendance record.I fall under that zone as well. Now being a Chair I may have to attend more (probably all) if required.
I also think family appointments, social events are the main reasons. However if we have good incentive for attending programs like

Good Speakers
Topic that can be useful to profession
Accessible location
Useful Networking opportunities, etc

We can attract reasonable % of members. We actually incur loss by running programs. But we have to maintain this member benefit. We did a brainstorming to collect ideas.

Regards,
Govind.

Cost? Other than a free meal and a token gift, what are your program expenses? Sometimes an officer of the Section has a forgiving employer who allows company facilities and materials to print handouts, sometimes the section resorts to Kinkos (ASQ discount, remember!) Lately, there always seem to be PowerPoint projectors available. Many presenters bring EVERYTHING. One section owns its own PowerPoint projector which it rents out at $25.00/night to any member, presenters at meetings use it for free.

We pick up the dinner tab for unemployed members to encourage them to network within the section. We pick up the dinner tab for a new member's first meeting and make a big deal of welcoming him/her to the section. We have a door prize drawing at the end of the meeting (must be present to win) with a substantial prize to encourage attendees to stay the entire meeting. Any member may skip the meal and attend only one or both presentations for free. (almost always a before dinner and after dinner presentation.)

Everyone who attends gets recert unit. We try not to make attendance an economic burden for anyone. The one thing we can't help is travel time to attend because of traffic gridlock between 4 and 6 pm in a major metropolitan area.

[Steve Prevette]

I attend all the meetings, but only because I am chair. We have a 100 - 120 person section, and our typical attendance is about 6 to 12. Our peak was 30 for one session this year.

[Kevin H]

For the last two to three years, I've tried to attend as many as possible, which usually works out to more than 50%, but less than 75%. It's a bit of a stretch to do so, meetings are usually in downtown Pittsburgh, PA and commute in 1 direction is a minimum of 1 & 1/2 hours.

I'm doing so for a couple of reasons - often the topic is applicable to my current employment and it helps to see different approaches to a problem, a desire to pick up recertification units for my CQA, and a desire for networking with quality professionals. Attendance is usually in the neighbohood of 20 to 25. At one time, I was active in the ASM (American Society for Metals) chapter covering the same area - I suspect but do not know for sure that the section membership size is similar to that of the local ASQ section. When I was attending the ASM meetings, attendance was more on the order of 75 to 100. Not certain why the difference - though I am comparing apples to oranges to a certain extent as the time periods I'm comparing are current for ASQ and early 1980's for ASM.

I have noticed that many of the same people attend the ASQ meetings - with no major change in attendance depending on the speaker/topic.

[Craig H.]

As I have mentioned elsewhere, I don't attend, or at least have not attended a meeting in several years. The reason is the length of travel time - 1 1/2 hours both ways. So, I would have a minimum of 3 hours invested, for a program that, in the past, would last 1/2 hour to 45 minutes?

My time is better spent at the Cove, I am afraid.

[Govind]

Originally Posted by Wes Bucey

Cost? Other than a free meal and a token gift, what are your program expenses? Sometimes an officer of the Section has a forgiving employer who allows company facilities and materials to print handouts, sometimes the section resorts to Kinkos (ASQ discount, remember!) Lately, there always seem to be PowerPoint projectors available. Many presenters bring EVERYTHING. One section owns its own PowerPoint projector which it rents out at $25.00/night to any member, presenters at meetings use it for free......

We spend approx. CDN$ 380/program. The main expense is the room rent for 3 hours. Rest are Audio/Visual, keeping the bar open, snacks,refreshments, door prize, speaker honorarium,etc. Availability of beer (at member's own cost) seem to be interestingly an expectation during networking session. This practice has been around long before I joined the section.

We have municipal Library facilities available for mere $25 for 3 hours! But No bar access. I don't drink beer and/ or any alcohol. Most the the attendees do. I might gather more inputs from members to know how important is this bar accessibility? If not, this can us save a "bunch" of money.

Regards,
Govind.