Club Retention Chairperson’s Guide
“How Are Your Ratings?” is an outstanding annual evaluation tool for clubs. its
comprehensive nature allows a variety of potential problems to be uncovered and addressed.
Making Your Members Lions
There’s more to being a Lion that simply being inducted into a club. That puts your
name on the membership roster, which is an important first step, but that doesn’t
automatically make someone a Lion. Becoming a Lion involves developing a vested
interest in the club and, in turn, feeling like an important part of the club.
Developing that vested interest in the club takes time and the active involvement of the
members’ sponsor, the club leadership and the entire membership.
It is essentially a three-step process of lNDUCT, ORIENT and INVOLVE.
INDUCT: The first step is a meaningful induction ceremony. Holding a meaningful
induction ceremony helps the new member feel that membership in the club is important
and valued. Induct new members promptly and be sure your ceremony is special.
ORIENT: Next, new members need to thoroughly understand what it means to be a
Lion. Brief them on the responsibilities and benefits of membership, club projects and
goals, the association as a whole, etc. Give new members ample opportunities to ask
questions and provide them with printed resource materials they can keep on hand as a
reference.
(It is always a good idea to refer them to the Lions Clubs International official Website for helpful background information.)
INVOLVE: The last step is to involve them in the club. There are several ways to
involve your members. Members need to be involved is on a social level with the other
members of your club. Make sure that your current members are friendly and
welcoming to new members and ask that the sponsor help facilitate members’ entry into
the club. identify the new members’ skills and interests and assign responsibilities to
him/her that make the best use of his/her specific talents.
Effectively guiding new members through these steps will help them make the transition
from new recruit to active Lion. However, your job doesn’t end there. Lions - both new
and long-standing - need nurture and care throughout their tenure. Keep kindling their
vested interest and involvement in your” club by continually showing them that you care
about their welfare and satisfaction with being a Lion. The result? A club filled with
active, satisfied members dedicated to serving your community and interested in
sharing their positive experience with potential new members.
Learn More! Meaningful New Member Inductions (ME-22) contains all the
information needed to plan an appropriate induction ceremony. The Orientation
Guide (ME-13) and Orientation Refresher Series (ME-13b-f) are perfect for helping
your members, both new and old, gain essential knowledge about Lions Clubs
International.
ABC’s of Retention
