Associations looking to serve their industries can’t assume they know where their future workforce will come from. Research, both quantitative and qualitative, can help.
These are, to say the least, disruptive times. But when it comes to the U.S. workforce, the disruption has been going on for a while now—secondary education, the internet, AI, housing, the cost of living, and more have all played a role in what kinds of jobs people look for, when and where they look for them, and what industries appeal most to them.
One lesson I drew from working on the latest set of Associations Now Deep Dives on workforce and associations is that research is essential, both on the quantitative and qualitative levels. For instance, it was only by surveying its workforce that the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy learned that, since the pandemic, the students expressing interest in the field were getting younger.
Quantitative surveys around workforce issues are generally a good idea, but associations can also learn plenty by direct engagement with its members.
According to a 2022 survey, AAMFT found that 61 percent of people in the field under 40 pursued it while an undergraduate, unlike older practitioners who entered the field after college. That meant AAMFT had to change its approach to recruitment. As its internal report put it, “targeting those in undergraduate programs with information about the profession will be vital to continue its growth.”
That finding prompted AAMFT to pursue undergraduate students more aggressively, developing a Jobs of Tomorrow video series and promoting them heavily via social media. In this Instagram Reel, for instance, practitioners discuss how they effectively use telehealth:
Quantitative surveys around workforce issues are generally a good idea, but associations can also learn plenty by direct engagement with its members. Women in Trucking, for instance, has recognized that a variety of myths cling to the profession, which is why it puts a lot of energy into education campaigns, says CEO Jennifer Heidrick, CAE. Trucking involves more than just long-haul transportation, WIT likes to point out, and to help potential truckers understand that range of options, it has a dedicated trailer, nicknamed WITney, that it brings to events to educate visitors.
Hearing the interests of potential and current truckers alike is essential to the industry’s growth, Heidrick says, and sometimes those conversations can reveal that what seems like a small detail can actually matter quite a bit. “If you have a bad experience, if your employer isn’t communicating with you, if they’re not providing you resources, if you don’t feel safe out on the road,” Heidrick says. “You lose that pipeline if women are not satisfied, or they don’t feel safe, or they don’t have things like a uniform that fits them … they may seem like very small details, but they do matter, and that makes an impact.”
Every association will have to determine for itself what kinds of messages will be most persuasive to its industry workers, and those who are considering entering the field. But though the modalities might be different, the approach is the same—learn where workers in your industry are at, what they need, and what an association can do to fill in workforce gaps.
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