Rogers-Lowell Area News

Chamber Embarks on Envisioning the Future

Considering the world’s dramatic and accelerating pace of change, what lies ahead for members, boards and staffs of business-led organizations? How will the Chamber adapt and evolve over the next five years, and how will we ensure our best days are yet to come? What will Chamber 3.0 look like when we celebrate our 100th year in 2022? The quest for answers and a context for predicting our future was part of the recent Board Retreat hosted by Mercy Northwest Arkansas, and continues onward in 2018 as we facilitate conversations with members who represent a diverse mix of generations, from Baby Boomers to Generation X, and Millennials (Generation Y) to Generation Z.

Shifting Generational Demographics

In addition to conducting regular business with the Board, guest speaker Judith Tavano, Founder of TRAINIQUE, INC., shared insights about the workforce and marketplace of today and the future. She explored shifting generational demographics and how they are signaling the need for all of us to look at how we do business, how we attract and retain employees and customers, and how we communicate to and with all stakeholders.

Roadmap to 2022 | Chamber 3.0

Chambers of the future must not only sell transactional memberships (delivering direct value for dues), but also nurture commitments to support community advancement and advocacy.

“Millennials want to have a great impact on their community and their world, work with a team, get things done,” says John Zogby, Founder of the Zogby Poll. “Engage them in issues, let them choose the issue, and watch them work.”

Soon, Chambers may not identify members the way most do today. They will have customers, clients, investors, and partners, some of which will identify as “members.” ROI for investors, and satisfaction for customers and clients will drive the success of chambers rather than the act of joining and attending, especially for the newest generations.

Chamber 3.0 is an intentional evolution to become more proactive, personalized, and realtime. It’s all about intuitive, self-service behavior, integrating business processes, high relevancy of information, competitive advantage through differentiation, extending the Chamber’s reach beyond boundaries and accepting a more open, less secure environment.

Millennials will make up most of the workforce by 2025. Your Chamber has started on its journey to get there as the most relevant Voice of Business, ready to continue its leadership growing business and building community.