As part of my role on the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) board of directors, I accepted an assignment to Chair a Membership Task Force, in partnership with Mary Ressler – IFMA Director of Components and Membership, to analyze membership retention and growth trends. While the association had approximately 20-years of membership data, there were some anomalies due to technology platform transitions over time. We may have been able to muddle our way through mining the membership data, but that would have taken more time and resources than we had available. In order to quickly expose data insights to the Task Force and follow a proven quality improvement methodology, I suggested we bring in Jay Arthur to perform the initial data analysis and facilitate a Root Cause Analysis process with the Task Force team. Jay and I (Dean Stanberry) have been acquainted for a number of years. I have long admired his work to simplify Quality Improvement processes and have used his QIMacros Excel Add-In for data analysis in various positions I have held. Jay was able to normalize the available data to produce statistically sound insights into member retention rates, chapter, and event participation trends. Using this data, along with recent member survey feedback, he led the Task Force through a Root Cause Analysis exercise that developed a number of process and operational countermeasures aimed at increasing member retention. Those countermeasures are in the process of being implemented, so we do not yet have measurable results. However, we were able to move this geographically diverse Task Force through the analysis process in a very timely manner. This would not have been possible without the services of an experienced facilitator using proven processes that gave us confidence in the resulting data insights. Dean Stanberry Director, IFMA Board of Directors Mary Ressler IFMA - Director, Components and Membership