Strategic & Financial Planning for 1999

David A. Dye, IPMAAC 1999 President

It is hard to believe that a new year for IPMAAC is just around the corner. It seems like only yesterday that the membership was enjoying the educational and social benefits of our 1998 conference in Chicago. While my term does not officially begin until January, as you might expect, planning for next year begins with a great deal of upfront preparation and coordination. Let's call it the 3 P's - planning, people, and … money (OK, two p's and one m).

Planning

In my experience, and as research in our field has demonstrated, one of the most important factors of successful organizations is for the leadership to have a strategic plan in place. At the annual business meeting in Chicago, I outlined a series of five guiding priorities that comprise our 1999 strategic plan and that will guide us toward the future. Our 1999 priorities are designed to be consistent with achieving the mission, goals, and objectives of IPMA, our parent organization. They have been prepared based on discussions with current and past IPMAAC Board and committee members, and from a review of membership needs and concerns, as addressed by the results of our 1997 IPMAAC Membership Survey

Our 1999 guiding priorities are:

I. Enhance professional development programs and opportunities for the membership.

II. Foster networks and relationships within the Assessment Council and with public and private sector professional assessment organizations.

III. Provide timely communication and information exchange on important assessment-related issues.

IV. Promote sound and innovative practices in personnel assessment.

V. Recognize contributions and added value of assessment professionals within our organizations.

Each of these priorities have corresponding objectives and will be achieved through a set of specific activities. The entire draft strategic plan, which appears on the IPMAAC website (www.ipmaac.org) has been shared with the 1999 Board members and committee chairs. It is now your turn to provide review and comment, suggestions, additions... I strongly encourage your input and ideas!

People

IPMAAC has always succeeded because its people have been dedicated to the organization. Fortunately, 1999 is no exception. In addition to the elected Board, the following individuals have graciously agreed to serve as committee chairs for 1999:

Assessment Council News - Beverly Waldron

Bemis Award Nominating - Bill Rowe

Bemis Board & Selection - T.R. Lin

NEW: Innovations in Assessment Award - Ilene Gast

Conference Host - Beverly Waldron

Conference Program - David Hamill and Déonda Scott

Continuity Committee - Kristine Smith

Nominations & Bylaws - Jeff Feuquay

Marketing/Publicity - Mike Aamodt and Jean Tozer

Professional/Scientific Affairs - Martin Anderson

Electronics Communication Network - Bill Waldron & Co.

Training/Workshop - Mike Willihnganz

University Liaison/Student Paper - Lee Friedman and Kenneth Shultz

Each of these individuals is responsible for coordinating a great deal of efforts that make IPMAAC successful. As many of you may know, our committees are truly the grass roots level effort to keep IPMAAC successful throughout the year. All of these individuals have specific ideas and activities to carry out the strategic plan, but they can use your help. I encourage you to contact them directly to provide your ideas and support. I especially encourage those of you who have never served on a committee to give them a call.

Money

In addition to having a solid plan and dedicated people, IPMAAC must have a solid financial picture as well. Fortunately, we do. Our 1999 budget call for operating expenses of $115,850, an increase of $5,150 over 1998. This year, we have incurred a $5,000 increase in salary expenses for our IPMA staff - an expense that we have known about for several years and for which we have been preparing. To help offset this expense, we have decided to take the following actions:

We will hold our conference social activity on-site at the hotel, which is consistent with the membership's preferences to increase networking activities
We will increase our conference registration fee by $20
We will aggressively recruit sponsorship from our regional associations for speaker and social activities at the conference
We will reduce our audio/visual expenses at the conference through creative and coordinated efforts that still respond to speaker needs

On a final note, I would like to congratulate Jeff Feuquay and his entire leadership team for a very productive and rewarding year. I suppose hard acts to follow are a good thing.

As you can see, we are well on our way to making 1999 a successful year. I encourage you to get involved and active!