I am both a supporter and a constructive critic of the CIPD and have been for a few years. I’ve done volunteer work through and for them and carried out a small piece of paid work too. In 2013, I decided to join the CIPD to see what being a member felt like. Then, in December 2013 the CIPD invited me to take part in a consultation survey about the future for members. Note: the grammatical errors in the text below are exactly as they appeared in the original invitation.
As a valued CIPD Affiliate member, Id like to get your help and views about some changes we want to make to how we structure CIPD membership and the services we offer to members. We want to ensure were evolving membership to meet the changing needs of the profession. So, through this important consultation survey, wed like to understand the specific professional and personal needs which led you to become an Affiliate Member of CIPD.
I completed the survey, one of the clunkiest and leading (as in leading you towards a conclusion we’ve already reached) pieces of consultation I’ve ever participated in, and subsequently blogged about a few ways the CIPD could cocreate better value for its members. Usually when I take part in a survey I expect to see some results published publicly, or at least shared with the participants. In this case, none were forthcoming and after waiting and feeding back my disappointment with the absence of feedback, I forgot about my participation – until news of a reshaped membership and fee structure became public.
Student membership fees are being reduced, and I may be wrong but I think every other level of membership is being increased. The membership fee at my level (Affiliate), is going up this year from £138 to £225, an increase of 63% (wouldn’t it be fascinating to see the results of the earlier consultation to see how they correlate with this action?). £225 is not a huge amount of money to me, and I was already sure the fee was going to rise, loads of questions in the survey I mentioned earlier were about putting fees up (hey – just call me Sherlock). Nevertheless, 63% is a big hike, and this prompted me to stop and think, ‘How, if at all, have things changed for me, since becoming a member of the CIPD?’
I’ve been wrestling with the question for a while, and honestly, I’m struggling to come up with an answer. Yes, I now get a monthly magazine in the post, which I confess I always read, and often enjoy, but a lot of other benefits the institute offers, just don’t attract me. On reflection, I’m not surprised, for although my work is all about people, I’m not in HR.
When I look at the CIPD Profession Map, what interests me is most of the behavioural stuff around the edge of the circle, plus two or three of the professional areas. These things are not the preserve of HR, far from it – and to be fair to the CIPD I don’t think they seem themselves as being the sole custodians and guardians of this stuff either. But the point is, I don’t need to be a member to sharpen my own practice in these things.
If you’d like to play with the map and see how it could work for you – click on the picture and you’ll be taken to the CIPD website interactive version.
I can see value for people in the profession and for people interested in pursuing and retaining professional qualifications, but for me in particular, and for Affiliates in general, I think it’s far less clear what the value proposition is. So – I’m calling a halt to my experiment. I will continue to provide support and constructive criticism as I have done since I became aware of the CIPD, but I will no longer be doing this as a member.
Instead of renewing my own membership, I’d like to offer to pay for two student membership renewals at the new rate of £90. That feels like a much more useful, and potentially valuable course of action to me. Are you a student member of the CIPD, and would you like one of these renewal offers? If you would, then please contact me so we can work out a way to get the money to you. First come – first served.