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Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of STC
January/February 2004

 

Chapter Activities: Member Survey
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Becky Rudeby Becky Rude
EBSTC President-Elect

 

 

In September 2003, the EBSTC council conducted a Web-based survey of its members. Essentially, we wanted hard data with which to make decisions affecting the chapter. Among other issues, we wanted to learn about preferences for program topics and dinner meeting costs, demographics, what keeps members away from meetings, and what motivates members to become involved in the chapter.

The survey was designed using the free services of Zoomerang. We received positive feedback that people enjoyed taking the survey because it was easy and fast. An invitation to complete the survey was sent to all emailable members. Hard copies were mailed to members without an email address.

View the complete survey results (PDF).

Everyone’s a Winner

We had a whopping 27% response rate. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey. You helped shape our chapter for the coming year. The lucky winner of our drawing of survey participants is Colleen Goya, whose prize is a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

What We’re Changing

Here are some of the immediate changes planned for the coming year:

  • New meeting facility—Although members seem to like meeting at the Crow Canyon Country Club, it is expensive. We’re looking for a different meeting facility that can offer less expensive meals.
  • Programs that you want—We are trying to find speakers for the following top-ranked programs for the remainder of the council’s term (February to June). (Note: There were several ties.)
      1. Trends in technical communication
      2. Project management
      3. Information mapping (this program was held in November 2003)
      4. Information architecture
      5. Online training
      6. Editing
      7. Proposal or grant writing
      8. Web design
      9. Magazine writing
  • Shorter meetings—Effective February 2004, meetings will be 30 minutes shorter. Networking occurs from 5:30 to 6:00 P.M., dinner starts at 6:15 P.M., and the meeting ends at 8:30 P.M.
  • Rides board—We’re starting a “rides board” to connect those members who need a ride with those who can drive them to meetings. Look on the Chapter web site for more information.

What We’re Doing Right

The survey showed that we’re doing many things right. Here are some examples:

  • 20% of the respondents said they attend 9 to 11 meetings a year. On the other hand, 24% never attend meetings because of time constraints or lack of interest; no matter what actions we take, we realize that we cannot change their attitudes.
  • 40% said their favorite meeting format is lectures, which is generally our meeting format.
  • 58% said they don’t volunteer due to time constraints. We’ve already begun to break our volunteer jobs into smaller duties to lessen the time needed to get involved.
  • Although members live and work all over the East Bay, 39% prefer that we hold chapter meetings in the Danville/Dublin/San Ramon area. This means we’re holding meetings in the correct location!

Who Are the EBSTC Members?

Here’s a quick snapshot of the members who completed the survey:

  • 51% are employed full time.
  • 18% are unemployed; 44% of those members have been unemployed for 4–6 months.
  • 44% hold a bachelor’s degree; 38% hold a master’s degree.
  • 62% have worked in the technical communication field for 11 or more years.
  • 72% are female.
  • 52% are over the age of 50.

Again, thank you to everyone who completed the survey.Top of page

 

  

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