Attendance - what should you expect from your IPC members?

When people join a club, it’s reasonable to assume that they want to participate in activities that the club presents, become better informed about the club’s topic, and to meet people with the same interests. But, in the online world, it’s easy to join a group and walk away from it or watch it from a distance, becoming a ‘lurker.’ In the context of group membership though, lurkers are takers, not givers. They’re not interested in contributing to the group and helping it evolve. They very occasionally watch it from the virtual sidelines. If you’re new to an online group, lurking is usually acceptable at first, because it’s assumed that you’re catching up with the group’s conversations. However, it also comes with the promise that as a good member, they’ll start posting intelligent and insightful questions or comments in ongoing threads to encourage more conversation and idea-sharing.

But in a face-to-face club such as an IPC, the lurker’s role is more than just passively observing from the sidelines. They’re a factor that can be fatal to its success. Lurkers contribute to membership bloat. Bloat represents inflated membership numbers.  Bloat deceives new participants into thinking that the group more active than it really is. It fools the group managers into thinking if they do something novel, they can get those members to participate. The truth is:  they’re deadwood, and they’re not going to show up, no matter what you do.

What do you reasonably expect from members to participate in the club? How do you encourage participation?

Reasonable expectations

Assuming you are defining the minimum membership guidelines for your IPC (refer to “Finding the right members for your IPC”), start with reflecting on the purpose of your IPC (refer to “Why create an informal private club”). Invariably, part of the reason for your IPC is to encourage people with the same interest to associate. It’s reasonable to expect members to get out and associate. If a member isn’t participating, they’re not contributing to the club.

Granted, you don’t know folk’s schedules, so thinking that members are going to go to every club function is unreasonable. As an IPC leader, you offer opportunities. Every member should have the opportunity to join an activity. So, what is a reasonable attendance rate? I personally have considered using a 25% marker. If I’m offering 32 events during the year, I think it’s reasonable to ask members to attend at least eight of those events. This way, if some programming is not interesting, members can fall back on other suitable activities within the club, and not be in danger of running afoul of the club’s guidelines.

Set up the expectation that members don’t have to attend all events, but that they can pick and choose what they want to attend. Use empathy and be alert. There might be good reason that a member cannot hit the minimum number of events (new parenthood for instance). On the other hand, the problem may not be the members, but with what you’re offering. Both of these scenarios need you to use judgment on how to proceed.

Encouraging participation

You should consider a variety of events that are suitable for your IPC. When you’re first starting out, pick out at least three different event types. I suggest starting out with a casual meet (refer to “Adding aCasual Meet to your IPC”), and branching out from there, guiding on the needs of your IPC. If you’re finding that people are not enthused about what you’re offering, be open to member suggestions, and be very willing to act on them if they are reasonable. Also, surveys are great to see where your member’s interests are now. Be cautious that you use surveys sparingly, maybe no more than once every other month, and no more than ten questions. Also, if you act on someone’s idea, it gives them a sense of ownership in the club.

Being an enthusiastic leader and event host also helps. People thrive off excitement and a positive atmosphere, so set yourself up for success. Talk to people, make introductions, and be part of the event. Don’t nervously buzz around like a busy body, or overly structure your event. Allow for some organic flow and progression around your event. This helps to make your events memorable, and sets up the desire for repeat attendance.

Conclusion

Be reasonable with your members. You’ll need to create some structure and set expectations, but keep the bar low enough to where participation is fun and not an overbearing hassle. Use good judgement if members run into participation obstacles, or if your events are not as appealing as they should be.