BEST MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT DURING COVID-19 (UNDER 800 MEMBERS)
Association of British Insurers – ABI Membership & Associate Membership Programme
The Association of British Insurers is the voice of the UK’s world leading insurance and long-term savings industry. We have over 300 members, associate members and partners, which represent over 90% of the UK insurance market. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been committed to support our members and have developed our membership benefits and services to increase engagement and value.
This year, the ABI has worked with members and the wider insurance industry to develop a reputation roadmap for the sector. Through our political, media and regulatory networks, the ABI is uniquely placed to act as the voice of the industry, and to tell a complete story of how the industry acts as a force for good through the products it provides and the economic contribution it makes to the UK during a time of recovery.
We have also been instrumental in leading on industry-wide co-operation in other key Covid-19 areas. In 2020, the ABI team saw a 715% increase in MP caseload and helped to coordinate and launch the Covid-19 Support Fund, which aims to provide immediate relief to charities affected by the pandemic. This fund has reach over £100 million in donations.
British Pest Control Association – COVID-19 Membership Support Initiative
BPCA approached the membership support we provided during the Covid-19 pandemic with three goals in mind:
– We wanted to give clarity to members on their ability to operate and their key worker status
– We wanted to help provide members with financial security
– We wanted to give members all the tools and guidance they needed to carry out their jobs safely and legally.
Our lobbying work paid off. On 13 April, pest management was confirmed as an essential sector by George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). During all this we kept our website updated with Covid-19 news, created FAQs, issued position statements, mental health advice, toolkits and guidance documents for carrying out pest management work while adhering to government guidelines. We also carried out a survey to find out how pest management companies, both members and non-members, were affected by the pandemic and to assess how we could help.
By combining our public relations, technical pest control & health and safety expertise, and our public affairs functions, we created a multi-faceted support campaign that captured the attention of our members, the UK government and the general public.
Builders Merchants Federation – Getting Merchants Back to Business
In the immediate aftermath of the initial Covid-19 lockdown measures, BMF members faced their worst crisis in living memory as 73% temporarily shut their branches. The BMF’s response was based on helping them re-open quickly and safely.
Our members had many questions, but prime amongst them: Was construction deemed “essential work”? Were merchants allowed to remain open? How could they keep staff and customers safe?
With a small BMF team working from home, we adapted our own operations to be available 24/7 in order respond to members, to represent their interests with Government and provide the information and advice they needed to safeguard their staff, their customers and their business.
Our over-arching goal was help members to maintain their operations, protect their businesses, and ultimately save thousands of jobs in the building materials industry. Our approach also raised the profile and significance of the building materials sector with Government, which will have long term benefits.
As a result of our pro-active response, within 6 weeks of the start of lockdown 92% of merchants and 100% of supplier members had resumed operations and had the information they needed to take decisions to protect their business and take it forward.
European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance – COVID-19 Resource Hub
To support its members and sports and active nutrition consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Association (ESSNA) created a COVID-19 Resource Hub. The Hub was posted publicly on ESSNA’s website to positively influence the sports nutrition sector and contained resources such as guides on sports nutrition at home, a regularly updated guide on exercise restrictions across Europe, a guide on crisis communications, webinars on the future of sports nutrition in light of COVID-19 and ESSNA’s statement on non-compliant products during the pandemic.
Independent Healthcare Providers Network – COVID-19 response
IHPN led the independent health sector’s response to covid19, most notably in brokering, in just a matter of days, the historic agreement whereby the entire capacity of the independent hospital sector – 8,000 beds, 1200 ventilators, and 20,000 staff (as well as 33 scanners and 300 radiographers and clinical staff of the independent diagnostics sector) – have been made available to the NHS on a not-for-profit basis. To ensure the NHS and independent sector could work side by side and deliver seamless patient care, IHPN led on an ambitious programme of work, setting up an independent sector Hospital Taskforce to look at all aspects of the partnership with dedicated workstreams set up to look at clinical, operational, workforce, legal/regulatory, supply chain, commercial and communications issues relating to the contract and help providers navigate through this new world. IHPN’s tireless efforts to support members during the pandemic have not only enabled hundreds of thousands of patients to get the treatment they need but will also have a lasting legacy and ensure a cultural change so that the two sectors – often seen as having competing interests – can work together in the best interests of patients and the country.
Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television – Membership Support During COVID-19
From the outset of the pandemic, we knew that Pact’s effectiveness in dealing with the challenges it presented would prove vital to the survival of the UK production sector, and that a two-way communications strategy would be essential. We quickly established a weekly webinar briefing + Q&A for members and sent e-mail updates when key developments occurred.
We offered 6-months free membership to members and any other eligible companies. This put £1m back into the pockets of our existing members, and meant we opened up our services and support to nearly 600 new members.
We ran over 175 online events focusing on key issues facing producers, including safety on set and generating new revenue streams.
We launched a dedicated Covid-19 section on the Pact website and made it open to the entire industry.
We worked closely with broadcasters and Government to draw up industry-wide production guidance to restart production safely and headed an industry taskforce to lobby Government on insurance, leading to the £500m Production Restart Scheme. These key interventions have meant that many of our members’ businesses have remained viable, and film and television has been able to continue its vital role of informing, educating and entertaining the nation.
Railway Industry Association – Coronavirus Response
RIA faced uncertainty about retaining member subscriptions at this extremely challenging time for businesses. The entire operation moved from a central office to staff homes overnight, and the whole team took a 20% temporary pay reduction; several team members had to go on furlough.
RIA’s continued focus on excellent event and information delivery, representing and leading the rail supply sector’s response, has safeguarded the interests of many rail businesses and jobs, and ensured that rail is positioned as one of the key sectors to help lead the UK economic recovery – a position that has been championed by politicians across parties.
RIA has seen a whopping 103% increase in event attendance, and renewed 90% of their existing memberships, also welcoming 50 new member companies, and surpassing financial goals. The number of members saying they were ‘really happy’ with membership hit a high of 52%, with 84% really or quite happy.
‘RIA was one of the standout trade associations in 2020, thanks to your regular updates for members and political access. You are tackling the virtual world better than most. RIA’s ministerial and Network Rail contact was very strong, and highlighted your DfT, BEIS and RSG connections.’ Darren James, CEO Keltbray
The Association of Real Estate Funds – Overall support of our members during COVID-19
The Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) is the member association that represents real estate fund managers (landlords of UK commercial property), affiliated firms that advise and support the fund managers, and the end-customers who invest in the funds. Our fund members represent over £70bn invested in UK commercial property, all on behalf of pension funds, charities and individual savers.
Essentially, AREF exists to: promote ‘best practice’ within the industry; bring all stakeholders together to discuss and debate issues, resolve challenges and try to optimise the operational environment; act as the collective voice of our industry with policy makers, regulators and other official bodies and; to provide clear and transparent benchmarking data of the property funds industry.
Like most industries, the outbreak of the pandemic brought on myriad challenges, many of which were completely unprecedented. AREF quickly recognised the urgent need for all stakeholders to come together, to seek sound solutions and ensure clear communication and understanding of the many issues being faced.
We set up a range of new initiatives for our members during the pandemic, including: The AREF Crisis Forum Series; Weekly Fund Manager Drop-in Calls; Investor Member drop-ins; The Pub-chat Podcast Series; AREF Connect and FutureGen Connect.
The Manufacturing Technologies Association
The MTA has pro-actively taken on the task of dealing with the administrative burden of the pandemic; leaving our members better able to focus on their core business activities and support the economy. Through a raft of resources and guidance, regularly updated in response to the changing environment, we have helped find solutions which fit the unique challenges the pandemic has posed for our members both as individuals and as a sector.
We have enabled new systems and virtual events to create business opportunities and keep our members from feeling out-of-touch with developments in the industry.
Despite the ever-changing landscape we have constantly upheld the values of the Association- Integrity, Helpfulness, Dynamism, Respect, Competence and Growth in service of our members and our industry.
Wood Recyclers’ Association – COVID-19 – Member Support
The Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA) is a small trade association with just over 100 members, representing more than 90% of the UK’s waste wood processing sector.
When the UK was put into lockdown in March 2020, waste wood processors experienced an abrupt halt to their main source of raw waste wood material, due to the overnight closure of Household Waste Recycling Centres and the stopping of all construction and demolition work.
The impact was immediate significant financial stress for WRA members and an inability to fulfil crucial contracts for their manufactured products including biomass fuel.
Biomass companies themselves, many of which are WRA members, faced the prospect of shutting down their plants for an interim period due to lack of supply of product from wood recyclers, potentially affecting the UK’s renewable energy supply.
In response, the WRA set up an Executive Team who took on the role of campaigning to get HWRCs safely reopened as soon as was practicably possible, and of increasing communications with their members in order to respond swiftly to issues they were facing. The result was HWRCs were reopened sooner than might have otherwise been the case and the impact on the sector was minimised.
