About Us
Women in Standards is an enthusiastic network of standards professionals who provide support, resources, and mentoring to promote business and personal growth.
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Members and friends,
Welcome to another issue of the Women in Standards monthly E-Newsletter. Each month we pick a theme and explore ways that our members can transition from good to great.
This month we’re exploring association member engagement, how you can reinvigorate your committee participants, and different ways that you can connect with your members. We encourage you to try different approaches and see what works for you. If you find a successful strategy, consider presenting during an upcoming Women in Standards event or developing an article for the next newsletter.
Looking to have a little fun? Register for the Women in Standards happy hour, scheduled for July 9, 2020 at 5:30pm.
Looking to give back? Women in Standards has partnered with the Society for Standards Professionals – SES to survey the standardization community and develop a collection of resources and libraries of skills, education, and capabilities identified as needed to perform as a standards professional or contributor. We are looking for volunteers to send us past and current job descriptions, what they look for in new applicants, committee member skillset requirements, and their insights on what makes a good standards expert. For more information, click here
Warm wishes,
Karin Athanas
Executive Officer
Women in Standards
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Focusing on Member Retention
Ensuring your current customer is your long-term customer
Member retention is the act of ensuring that the member you have today is the member you’ll have tomorrow. Current members have a wealth of knowledge they’ve developed overtime and each loss of a current member, will create a significant setback to standards development.
Over-time, members collect a wealth of information on how the committee functions, how and why  decisions were made, who was involved in previous revisions of a standard, and their technical experience and skill in a discipline just adds to their value. Additionally, current members can be an organization’s biggest asset. Members can invite colleagues and friends to join the organization, attract visibility to your project, and speak convincingly to the value your organization. And their feedback can help you further improve the services you offer to help attract new members.
Keep members from losing interest by engaging often with them. Give them a call to check in, send them an email, and invite them to events and activities. If a member hasn’t heard from you in a while, they may forget why they were excited to join in the first place. Reaching out and checking in will help remind them of all they’re missing and the value your organization brings to their lives.
 Checking in is also a great way to ensure that they are getting the support they need. Use of virtual platforms, online tools, and multimedia can make it difficult for members to keep up and keep connected. Your members may need more support that you realize and through your discussions with them, you’ll gain valuable feedback on training and mentoring that you can offer to help them be more successful as a member.
Remember to recognize and reward members. Even small contributions can bring big rewards and receiving praise and thanks can make all the different in ensuring their happiness as a member. Did they provide compelling and valuable feedback during a recent meeting? Email or call to thank them for their contributions. Did they post online about an upcoming event? Let them know you appreciate their support. These little acts of kindness are a great way to let them know you noticed and are thankful and offer you with great opportunities to connect with your members.
Did you try something new with your members that had a positive outcome? Share your story with Women in Standards by emailing admin@womeninstandards.org and your story may be featured in a future publication.
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Member Engagement Tips and Suggestions
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Training Your Members to be Magnifiers
Your membership can be an untapped source of marketing, promotion, and support for your organization. Members  come from diverse backgrounds and their connections, experience, and skill sets can create a set of tools for your organization’s toolbox that you didn’t realize you had.
Read the full article here
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Women in Standards Board News
The Women in Standards Board will hold it’s third quarter virtual meeting in July and balloting will soon close for the Women in Standards Member representative on the Board. If you have not yet submitted your ballot, click here.
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Announcing an SES and Women in Standards Partnership
The Women in Standards has partnered with the Society for Standards Professionals (SES) to undertake an  initiative to create a competency framework for standardization professionals and contributors.
We are seeking to obtain sample job descriptions and calls for committee members for all different levels of positions and different functions within the standardization ecosystem.
Click here to learn more, or here to download our informative flyer.
Have a position you'd like to advertise? Scroll down to our Career section for more information.
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Contribute to Women in Standards
Interested in participating in a webinar or future panel discussion? Women in Standards is seeking speakers to discuss the following topics. Email admin@womeninstandards.org to volunteer.
- Member engagement
- Building consensus
- Stakeholder outreach strategies
- Using social media
- Meeting facilitation
- Or suggest a topic
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International Standardization
While in person meetings hosted by ISO and IEC have been cancelled, work continues virtually. Karin Athanas, Women in Standards Executive Officer and Board President, will attend her first JSAG (ISO/IEC JSAG on Gender Responsive Standards) meeting in July. The JSAG will create tools to ensure standards are gender responsive; taking into account the ISO Gender Action Plan, the IEC Council Board Diversity initiative and the UNECE gender responsive standards initiative. To support work on this initiative, the Women in Standards is seeking member volunteers to participate on a committee to explore inclusiveness in standards in the United States, including coordination of panel discussions, webinars, and development of white papers and other content. If you’d like to volunteer, email admin@womeninstandards.org.
Additionally, Karin and Karen Reczek, Women in Standards Vice President, will be attending a virtual meetings of the ISO/TC 272, technical committee for the development of forensic science standards. (There are 9 three-hour meetings scheduled that aim to accomplish the work we would have done in one week of in-person meetings!)
Are you active in international standards development? Share your story and updates by emailing admin@womeninstandards.org.
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Participate in an educational presentation and voice your thoughts on standards development.
Submit an article for publication in the WiS E-news.
Follow the Women in Standards on LinkedIn and Facebook and get up-to-date information on new standards activities - events, committees, and federal programs.
Participate in online chats on issues of standards and raising the voice and participation of women in standards.
Gain life-long friends, champions, and mentors within the standards community.
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Outreach to Members
Making the Call
One-on-one calls with members are critical to ensuring alignment within your committee. Through a call you can discuss your thoughts and gain valuable insights on what is important to them and how you can better incorporate their views into the committee’s work. Strategic planning, building consensus, and building interest are all great times to reach out and connect with members.
Committees can be huge, exceeding hundreds of participants, and so this process may take a great deal of time. But regardless of size, reaching out and speaking to your members is going to provide the insights you need to make successful recommendations for the group. Is your committee heavily driven by the Chair and vice chair? Include them on calls. Not only will you help the Chairs get to know their members better, the conversations will help better align both your Chair and member on what is the best direction for the committee.
Whenever you chose to call, you’ll be interrupting. It’s something salespeople learn early into their careers. There is no ‘golden hour’ other than you should pick a time when you are least likely to have distractions. Practicing what you’d like to say is also helpful. Still nervous about calling? Reach out by email first and propose a day and time or let them know you’ll be calling in a few days and why. Members are typically very receptive to your call when they see the topic will benefit them and help them better engage on the committee.
Your call might be a welcome surprise for many members. Work, life, and other distractions can make volunteer work on a committee an often-forgotten task. Emails about upcoming meetings and reminders to review documents, easily overlooked. A quick call from you to check in, see if a member needs more support, and to remind them of how important they are to the organization can be just what they needed.
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Members get distracted, they have a lot on their plates, reaching out to them will remind them of how important their role on the committee is and what they can and should be doing to help out. Have you noticed a member starting to drop off on calls or not showing up every few meetings? This is a great time to reach out get to know them better. Ask them how they think the work is going, if they saw that last email or if they’re planning to attend the upcoming meeting. An added bonus, while you’re speaking you might get new ideas for articles or presentations that member could provide on behalf of your organization.
In summary, remember to reach out to your members in person and by phone to check in and connect. Time your calls around strategic planning, consensus building, and engagement to help focus the discussions and provide value to your member, and remember that there’s never a good time, so just call.
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The Top Questions to Ask Your Members
Asking the right questions when calling and engaging with members will help you better understand them and what motivates their participation in your organization. Member surveys are great, but also remember to reach out in person and by phone. Whatever your strategy, take notes and if you make a promise to provide or do something, follow through and let them know when you’ve completed the promised task.
Read the full article here (members only)
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Open Standardization Positions
- ANSI, Program Administrator, ISO Team, New York, NY
- ISNA, Fund Development Coordinator, Plainfield, Indiana
- IMT, Manager, City Solutions, Washington, DC
- AAMI, Several openings in Arlington, VA
- June Calls for Members to support standards development:
- AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics)
- AMCA (Air Movement and Control Association)
- ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
- ASSP (ASC A10) (American Society of Safety Professionals)
- EOS/ESD (ESD Association, Inc.)
- HI (Hydraulic Institute)
- NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association)
- NENA (National Emergency Number Association)
- NSF (NSF International)
Did you know...
Women in Standards SDO members can post jobs and calls for committee members through the Women in Standards members-only portal, by clicking here:
Not an SDO member? Click here to join or notify Women in Standards of your position or committee opening by emailing admin@womeninstandards.org
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