Audiology Australia’s Events Portfolio Making room in a crowded space Dr Tony Coles Chief Executive Officer
Overview ü Reliance on the National Conference ü A crowded space ü Mitigating risk ü Diversifying events ü Refreshing the National Conference ü Increasing member satisfaction… and growing income
Audiology Australia in brief Who are we? ü Masters qualified hearing health care professionals ü 2,700 members ü Self-regulating – golden handcuffs ü Members required to be an accredited audiologist with Audiology Australia to get Qualified Practitioner number from Govt. ü QP number provides access to Medicare, Hearing Services Program, DVA, NDIS, Private Health Insurance ü Accreditation: members must do 20 hours of CPD annually
Reliance on the National Conference What was the events portfolio like in 2015? ü Chapter events run locally ü No online CPD presence ü Endorsed external events ü Biennial National Conference run by PCO ü Strong focus on CPD points ü National Conference - major source of income
A Crowded Space CPD offered lucrative opportunities to other organisations ü Australian College of Audiology started up a National Conference ü Hearing Aid Audiology Society of Australia began CPD program ü Manufacturers ran in-house conferences and workshops ü HearNET Learning started up and ran online CPD ü Overseas opportunities for CPD through Audiology Online
A Crowded Space Audiology Australia took a protectionist approach ü Double CPD points for Audiology Australia National Conference ü Strict external endorsement criteria ü Starving members of local CPD ü Result was angry and frustrated members
Mitigating Risk Change of focus from points to professional development Key Board decisions: ü CPD changed to an annual cycle ü Removal of protectionist policies – level playing field ü Expand events portfolio and dilute reliance on National Conference Operationally this resulted in: ü Key staff employed to focus on events and CPD program ü Task: build events that members want to attend for professional development
Diversifying Events Giving members options and challenging the competition ü From mini-Conference to Sound Exchange: 80 pax to 600pax ü Chapter Events run by the National Office with an expansion of activities: roadshows, conferences, journal clubs, workshops, etc ü Online CPD program introduced ü National Conference re-branded and re-packaged to appeal to delegates and sponsors
Refreshing the National Conference Member and key stakeholder feedback ü Focus on practical application of research ü Professional development, not (only) points Bringing the National Conference in-house ü Sponsorship and exhibition – packaging and tailoring ü Marketing and branding ü Decision-making ü Emphasis on the unique aspects of conferencing, such as networking and wow-factor fun
Increasing member satisfaction … and growing income ü Building a CPD Program that offers members choice ü CPD at different price points ü Focus on professional development ü Suite of CPD builds a calendar of events ü Offering a range of activities with advance notice allows members to plan CPD ü Increased member engagement
… and growing income Total income from events Non-conference years ü 2015 $31K ü 2017 $247K ü 2019 $442K (projected) National Conference years ü 2016 $1.492M ü 2018 $1.635M
Thank you Questions tony.coles@audiology.asn.au
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