How to hack it? Many associations struggle to retain students after they graduate from school. At the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, one contributing factor was surprisingly mundane.

“One of the reasons why we lost students after graduation was because they used their university emails with us,” says SPSP’s Chad Rummel, CAE. “Then, after graduation, they switched to another email.”

To remedy this situation, SPSP now asks students to provide their intended graduation date on the membership application. When graduation nears, the team checks in with each student by email, encouraging them to update their member profile and contact information. They also extend a free membership upgrade that advances students to the early-career category at no additional cost.

Why does it work? In a word: simplicity. “They just have to reply to the email, and we make the switch to their membership account,” Rummel says. “That also ensures that future communications are relevant.”

What’s the bonus? SPSP also routinely delivers content tailored to career-stage needs. For members transitioning from school to work, an early-career resources portal helps prepare them for the profession.

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