Organizational performance is a key metric that allows leadership to access a strategy and change tactics. In the case of AAPG, two key metrics are membership and financial performance. As organizations grow and business environment changes, they are often faced with rules or bylaws that, while appropriate when created, with time and changes in technology become barriers to progress. Governance for any organization is critical, but governance at the expense of innovation and growth creates an organizational vortex that defeats the purpose for which it was originally created.
As I have continued to learn more about AAPG and how it functions, it is apparent to me and many others that some of our current bylaws are perceived as barriers to the growth of the organization and in some instances help contribute to the decline in membership. The American Geophysical Union research on geoscience education shows that AAPG and petroleum geoscience only represent about 4 percent of the college graduate population. The other 96 percent enter fields such as engineering, mining and environmental geoscience disciplines. With the U.S. annual geoscience graduation being around 3,400 students, petroleum geoscience is chasing roughly 150 candidates (see accompanying figure). If we accept these statistics at face value, the annual number of potential early-career AAPG members cannot sustain or grow our membership.
‘Easy Buttons’ We Should Add
The question is, what should we do? If we want to grow the membership, we need to find ways to engage with a larger number of geoscientists. The digital world we live in today is full of “easy buttons.” You might recall the Office Depot advertising campaign slogan, “That was easy.” I would like to find new ways to have an “easy button” for many of our processes.
For example, joining AAPG – it should be simple and easily done on a smartphone. Many AAPG members are also members of local geoscience societies. Joining both requires two applications. My question is, how can we partner with these societies and have an “easy button” for people to join both at the same time? This would give us greater visibility in local geoscience communities and a more grass roots connection across the world. It could also provide smaller geoscience groups exposure to a global network of experience.
In a recent trip to MEOS GEO I encountered several students and early career professionals who knew very little about AAPG and were interested in learning more. A simple QR code and digital membership option would have likely added to our membership on the spot. However, our current bylaws have strict guidelines regarding membership. I believe we should begin a dialogue with our membership and the House of Delegates to find a system of governance that encourages membership with an inclusive value proposition, rather than an organization with an approval process that takes months and in some instances approval by the Executive Committee.
Another barrier to membership is international financial transactions – it is very difficult for a person outside the United States to pay in U.S. dollars for their membership, which is something we must fix. It is our internal processes and procedures that have become a barrier for people outside the US.
We all would certainly agree that we need recurring renewal of dues rather than a set date for all members to renew every year. A 21st-century organization should not be calling hundreds of its members to remind them to pay their dues. I am sure many in the House of Delegates (HoD) who spent hours on the phone calling members would welcome this change.
Impediments to Student Recruitment
Student membership and student chapters have dropped dramatically in the last 10 years and there is only a 10-15-percent conversion from student to full-time membership. One reason for this is annual requirement and the process of documentation for every student chapter. Student chapters must submit a detailed annual report on their activities, yet as a society we have little communication with most chapters. Many student chapters are unaware of the reasons for these requirements and thus interaction with the AAPG staff appears more like policing than support. These requirements were written when there was little or no online communication, universities had robust geoscience departments and industry was recruiting across the world. This is not the situation of the industry today. While these guidelines are not part of the bylaws, this is an example of the kind of current governance we can easily fix.
So, what do we do?
In the next month I will be working with the executive director and the staff to find “easy buttons” for many of the processes we currently have in place. This will take time, but I believe leadership is about removing barriers, not creating them. I will also begin meeting regularly with the HoD to bring short 10-minute updates regarding Executive Committee progress and what proposed actions we will bring before the HoD and membership.
Streamlining any organization’s process takes time. This is why we have started with the three-year strategy. Please take time to review the article in this issue regarding the vision, strategy and plan we have laid out for AAPG. It serves as a roadmap for future leadership, member benefits with transparency and accountability to the membership. I am looking forward to everyone’s feedback as we begin this process to grow, revitalize and improve AAPG.