The 2022 Rotary International All-Member Survey report has just been published and the results are clear – the number one driver of member satisfaction is ‘club experience’.

Article by Jessie Harman, Rotary International Director 2021-23, published in Rotary Down Under March 2023, issue 658.

The annual survey conducted by Rotary International’s Research and Evaluation team goes to all Rotarians and Rotaractors. In 2022, just over 78,000 members responded to the online survey.

The key finding of the 2022 survey is that club experience is the most important driver of member satisfaction. The particular factors of club experience that matter most are also clear – ‘meeting enjoyment’ and ‘confidence to club leadership’, followed closely by ‘satisfaction with club service’, ‘satisfaction with finding friends’ and ‘comfort with other club members’. The survey findings also confirm the obvious – members with higher satisfaction levels are more likely to be retained in rotary; perhaps less obvious, they also attract more new members to our clubs.

Club experience is also directly linked to the reasons why people have considered terminating their membership in the past twelve months. For members who are dissatisfied, there are two main reasons – ‘the club’s lack of community engagement’ and the belief that ‘the club does not represent my values’. ‘Conflict with other members’ is also significant.

The 2022 survey also yields important reasons why members join and stay in Rotary. New members join for a multitude of reasons – community service, friendship, international service, and professional connections. However, they stay for two main reasons – community service and friendship. And while most new members reported a positive on-boarding and induction process, a sizeable group (20 per cent) indicated that they received only ‘a little’ information about the time and financial commitments associated with Rotary, suggesting they may not be adequately prepared.

At a practical level, the 2022 All-Member Survey highlights the importance of improving the club experience for members and suggests strategies that may prove most effective. These include:

• Taking time to understand individual members’ needs and expectations, and delivering an experience that meets those needs.
• Ensuring members are actively involved and engaged in service, making friends and, where appropriate, professional connections.
• Improving the meeting experience through more effective time management, better speakers, and more interesting opportunities for club members to learn.
• Creating a club culture that is welcoming and inclusive.
• Addressing conflicts between members proactively and quickly.

In the end delivering an exceptional club experience is the key to engaging and retaining members and attracting new members into our organisation. It is also the key to creating great brand ambassadors for Rotary.

I encourage everyone to make member satisfaction and improving the member experience a priority in our clubs. Using Rotary’s 'Membership Assessment Tools' at rotary.org, would be a great place to start.