Open Forum Report June 2007

Open Forum Report June 07
Report on the First Open Forum

The first ARP Open Forum took place during May at TASIS The American School in England.
 
Here at the ARP we are looking at ways to bring added value, further professional links to HR and closer ties to our individual members.  To assist us in this project, we really need to hear the views of our members, so we have scheduled a series of Open Forum meetings throughout the UK during 2007, so that we can find out from you, what we should be focussing on on your behalf.
 
There will be two further Open Forums; In the Midlands, on Monday 25th June at Edgbaston Priory (click here for details) and in the South West, on Friday 29th June at The Compass Inn, Tormegarton, near Badminton (click here for details.)
 
The first Open Forum, at TASIS in Surrey, gave us a clear insight into the first steps we need to take, to be more proactive for our members. 
 
Members felt that the training programme and the EARP certification system need to be clearer.  Up to date information about training being delivered across Europe, and about the programme itself is available both on the ARP website and the EARP website at www.earp.eu.com.  Members also asked that we extend the programme to non-relocation related topics.  We will be working on this over the coming year.
 
One comment was that ARP networking events are expensive.  It is important to note that we work very hard at keeping the costs of our networking events as low as possible, but there is a Catch 22 at work here.  With scale, comes economy.  If our networking events were very well attended, then the costs could be significantly reduced.  Our last major event, the ARP 20th anniversary conference, did not make a profit, as we had only 130 delegates.  Had we had 250 delegates, we would have been able to halve the cost for the same outlay.  We were also asked to provide more networking events, and we will be working on a series of after work, networking events, throughout the year. 
 
Communication with our members is key; it is those members who use the office as a resource, who get the most from their membership.  One way we hope to encourage member participation is through the new Point2Point newsletter.  If you have anything you would like to contribute, then just let us know.  And remember that the administration and office of the ARP is a valuable resource.  If we can’t help, the chances are, we know someone who can.  We’re only a phone call, or an email away.
 
Marketing of the ARP is also a key area of securing the position of our members in the marketplace.  We are very proactive at getting new members into the association, mostly as a result of our highly successful “Fundamentals of Relocation Programme”.  We actively support any new member.  But how do we best market the benefits of being part of a professional body to non-members and HR?  As a result of this challenge, we are working on a new marketing and PR initiative, to make the ARP the central point of expertise and contact for the HR community.
 
Please use us a resource.  We publish the Guide to the UK, the new edition of which is available to members for as little as £1.50 per copy.  There are valuable local area guides within the book which can be extremely useful for transferees.  Use our Business Helpline when you need advice, and take advantage of the very competitive, relocation specific insurance schemes we offer.  Get involved in the training – work towards the Legal Tenancy Certificate, or the CERP qualification. And most of all, keep in touch.  We can’t help if we don’t know!