Thank you to all those club members who completed our membership survey in February. We had a brilliant response, with nearly 200 of you offering us your feedback.
The survey working group has spent the last month analysing the results and has shared a series of recommendations with the club committee. This email explains the key findings from the survey and our proposed next steps.
Key findings
When asked to rate how likely they would be to recommend the club, on a scale of 1 to 10, the average score from those that completed the survey was 7.3
Key strengths of the club were identified as:
Opportunities to compete
Quality of coaches and volunteers
Provision of training sessions
Key areas for development were identified as:
Opportunities to socialise
Facilities - notably the condition of the track and gym
In addition, members told us that they prefer email and WhatsApp as communication channels. Many people also highlighted that they wanted to hear more about the successes of everyone across the club, including coaches, volunteers and athletes.
It was evident that you also want to be better informed on our club committee activity and initiatives.
Recommendations
In response to the feedback, the proposed next steps include:
Making improvements to the track and mobilising a group of volunteers to tidy the shed/gym area at Whitehall. (This is in progress, and the current track closure for deep cleaning and repairs is part of this work.)
Setting up a dedicated volunteer ‘Social Team’ with responsibility for organising regular social events.
Implementing an informal buddy system for new members, to help people navigate the club. This should enable new members to more quickly find the training sessions that are right for them, whilst ensuring they have a friendly face to turn to with questions on anything from socials to competition.
Improving communication with the return of a clubwide newsletter, to be run by a team of volunteers that is representative of the different areas and disciplines within the club.
Bringing together our individual WhatsApp groups into a WhatsApp ‘Community’ which allows people to choose to join topic-based groups. This will also mean that important messages can be shared with all members efficiently via a new ‘announcements’ channel.
Drafting and sharing a series of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ in response to some of the recurring queries raised in the survey.
Watch this space
Over the next few weeks we’ll be putting these recommendations into action. If you have questions in the meantime, then please do get in touch. We’d especially love to hear from you if you have energy around volunteering in support of one of the recommendations.
We plan to make the survey an annual event, so that we’ll be able to track feedback and progress.
Thanks again for taking the time to provide your feedback.
PS If completing the survey and reading this email has made you eager to get involved in making positive change in the club, then remember that our AGM is coming up at the end of April. All members have an opportunity to stand for positions, and with 10 roles currently vacant we would love to hear from you!