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All Together Now
More and more professional organizations meet to offer what members need: education, education, education
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Business New Haven
2/22/1999
By: Sharon L. Cohen
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When larger professional firms want their personnel to receive additional training, they'll often hire an outside consultant, ask an in-house expert to lead the course or perhaps send employees to the organization's own training and development center.
But what about smaller businesses or sole proprietorships that don't have these resources on hand? Increasingly they are turning to professional associations for continuing education, training and certification.
Although many business people join organizations for networking opportunities as well as sharing horror and success stories with others in their own industries, it's the speakers, seminars and conferences on pertinent, up-to-date topics that attract large attendance numbers. The majority of organizations offer meetings each month, so they're always looking for speakers who will elicit a rush of RSVPs.
“Most professional associations recognize that to gain and maintain membership, they have to have good educational programs,” says Jaclyn Farnham, owner of Association Alternatives, a firm that manages five organizations in Connecticut: the Advertising Club of Connecticut, the International Association for Financial Planners, the Association for Long-Term Care Financial Managers, the Connecticut chapter of the American Marketing Association and Connecticut Association of Personnel Services.
The New Haven County Medical Association, for example, offers its 1,700 member physicians and their staffs educational seminars on human-resource issues, documentation and insurance guidelines, reimbursement updates and other practice-oriented information, as well as on professional development.
The reasons why educational presentations draw professionals vary. Farnham says that people are motivated to seek more information because of increasing competition and constant changes in their industries. “They realize you have to keep up with the times to remain competitive,” she says.
In addition, some practices are pressed to get additional training because the state mandates them to take a minimum number of CEUs (continuing education units) each year to renew their licenses. About a decade ago, for example, Connecticut legislated that all certified public accountants annually gain 40 hours of continuing education to retain their licenses.
Executive Director Chester Katzman says that his organization, the Connecticut Association of Professional Accountants (CAP), caters to the instructional needs of accountants who are sole proprietors or own small firms. Each year CAP offers its 300 members five eight-hour seminars covering topics such as updates on state and federal tax laws. In addition, the organization provides speakers on areas of personal and professional development including marketing, stress management, collections and running a successful accounting practice.
The benefits derived from these business presentations, Katzman adds, are immeasurable. “If an accountant comes away with just two or three new points, the course has paid for itself in helping build the practice.”
The continuing education/certification link is increasingly becoming important to professionals, even if not state-mandated. In the past, consumers had to recognize only a handful of designations - CPA, M.D., D.D.S., LPN, and the like. Now, many professions are adding their own certification initials to separate “them that do from them that don't.”
The American Institute of Architects (AIA), for example, has started a continuing education program with annual certification to distinguish its members as well as to face ongoing trends in state legislatures. Several years ago, AIA recognized that an increasing number of states (there are now 11, Connecticut not included) were beginning to mandate that architects amass CEUs for license renewals. AIA also realized that other states would soon follow, given the critical nature of building safety.
In 1994 AIA piloted a continuing education system, whereby all members must acquire 36 learning units a year to remain in good standing. Says the national association, “The training enables the architect to keep current, master new knowledge and skills, plan for the future, and responsibly meet the role society entrusts to a professional.” All certified members should proudly display AIA after their names, “which easily identifies them as the leaders in the profession.”
Eight of the 36 hours of the AIA annual certification are in health, safety and welfare, says Joanne Rees, program director of the AIA's Connecticut chapter. This year, for example, the chapter's 1,150 members will have the opportunity to learn about changes in the 1999 building code. Members are also invited to attend the Leadership Series held at the Yale School of Management, where faculty members lead seminars in such areas as negotiations and project management and delivery.
Philippe Campus, of Philippe Campus Architect, AIA, in Branford, chairs the chapter's education commission, which plans the instructional offerings for the year. AIA's certification program ensures the highest level of professionalism, he says.
Since few architects in the state have been trained through local colleges and universities, it's important to keep them current on changing Connecticut codes and regulations. Building, he adds, is very different from one geographical location to another - especially one state to the next.
Campus also says, “The industry is changing so fast that one has to rely on continuing education to remain up to date on the latest developments. Plus, there are always new disciplines taking off that may not have been covered in an architect's college courses.
Campus notes that areas such as recycling building parts and minimizing environmental impact are new arrivals since his university days. Many of these new disciplines become code requirements as well.
A large number of the 400 member firms of AIA Connecticut are either small practices or sole practitioners. Glenn Barnhard, owner of a one-person architectural firm in Fairfield and also AIA-certified, says he would like the association to gear more of its programs toward these smaller firms. As a result, he's been running a roundtable for members who fall into this size category.
About nine times a year, a group of architects gather to share ideas, get feedback from one another and discuss issues of concern. In some cases, an invited speaker - often another professional as an attorney or accountant - covers an area of interest.
“We're usually a small, intimate group of about six or eight who want to discuss a particular problem. Since many of us are on our own, we need to get together and learn from each other,” explains Barnhard, who's in favor of any educational opportunities for association members. “The AIA seminars are invaluable. They changed the way I run my practice.”
Larger professional firms that send their personnel to association meetings recognize the educational advantages as well. Petra Construction Corp. in North Haven is a member of the Wethersfield-based Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Connecticut.
This organization has a membership of 290 firms, including 90 percent of the largest contractors in the state. Education and training through AGC covers everything from pre-apprenticeships for the trades to business development for senior management and owners.
Says Petra Vice President Terry Wooding: “The association's training is a valuable tool, especially since AGC is most likely the first to be aware of any changes in codes, documents, OSHA regulations, safety issues and the like. It's also the best resource for seminars on new areas facing our industry.”
The rise in seminars has opened up additional marketing opportunities for firms that have been education providers, as well as for organizations that are finding a new niche in training and development. Velux-America Inc., based in Greenwood, S.C., manufactures roof windows and skylights. Two years ago, Gary Hyman, director of marketing for the firm, developed an educational program, “Enlightened Spaces,” for the AIA's continuing-education certification. The course offers up to nine CEUs for a three-hour in-depth look at residential day lighting, along with a take-home exercise. As in all AIA seminars, no marketing hype is allowed - only solid information.
“Our primary objective in developing Enlightened Spaces was to elevate our existing presentation for designers, which in earlier years had been treated as product information updates by the sales force,” explains Hyman. The program is used as an entrée into firms that in the past would not entertain manufacturer presentations, as well as to build a strong database of professionals to target for ongoing, channel-specific marketing programs. Seminar leaders - members of the sales force - follow a comprehensive presentation guidebook so they feel comfortable in this more educational milieu.
Velux is already reaping the benefits from its exposure to a new audience. “Since the summer of 1997, when the program launched, we have presented the program to more than 5,000 residential architects, which has resulted in a substantial direct-mail database of architects and designers for Velux,” notes Hyman.
In this fast-paced information age, professionals must get their education from more sources than just monthly meetings and seminars. As in the past, many members still read and reread their monthly newsletters that include educational articles as well as association news. Now, however, these newsletters can sometimes be found on the Web as well.
Jaclyn Farnham of Association Alternatives says that more and more members are turning to non-traditional vehicles to get information. The national International Association for Financial Planners (IAFP), for example, has a number of video and audiotapes that members can use for CEUs; participants have to take an exam on the material. Some organizations also offer Internet courses.
Teleconferencing is another technology becoming increasingly popular. It reduces travel expenses, saves time and allows people to take advantage of presentations in other parts of the country and the world. Recently, for example, IAFP members from across the state met at a central Connecticut location to participate in a teleconference of a seminar originating in Atlanta.
The demand by professionals for continuing education will surely mount as competition increases, the pace of change quickens and certification is required by more states and associations. The educational requirements for Christopher Beale, president of the Connecticut chapter of IAFP and owner of New England Capital Associates in Wallingford, offer a good example.
As a certified financial planner, he must earn 30 CEUs every two years from IAFP; as an insurance agent, he has to amass another 30 CEUs every two years for a license renewal from the state's Department of Insurance; as a broker, he must take an annual exam from the National Association of Security Dealers; and as a registered investment advisor, which is licensed by the Connecticut Department of Banking, he had an initial examination, but no continuing education requirements.
Yet.
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