Refreshing….October 30, 2013

Downtown Hotel, Dawson City, Yukon

THANK YOU…

Outcomes

• Klondike Business Community values DCCC.

• Gold Show is crown jewel of DCCC assets.

• Members expect news, events, networking, etc.

• Be at the table.

• LOCAL BUY and DAWSON DOLLARS

YET…

• Feel disconnected

• Don’t know what’s going on

• Renewals at 40% retention

• Why do we keep Strategic Planning?

• Think DCCC is important but waning

• Note apathy by members to reinvest and to help LEAD

Specifically

• Stop the cycle – Stabilize the organization with consistent

HR, an engaged full complement at the Board table and

effective yet basic operational policies

• Have a SMART Strategic plan that addresses strengths and

weaknesses

• Keep doing what is working, evaluate and adjust what’s

important but needs improvement, lose what’s not ‘valuable’

How did we get there?

Agenda

Introductions

Chamber Proposal

The Approach

SCAN/SWOT

Key Themes

Your Turn

Next Steps

Questions

Introductions

• 23 years in Yukon – originally of NS

• 6 years running WCC

• 6 years running TIA Yukon

• 2006 National Valedictorian – CAE

• 5 years Management Consulting

• Strategy, Management, Feasibility, Research, Training for

NGO’s, Tourism, Cultural and Resource industries, community

relations

• 2013 EQAT™ with the Canadian Tourism Commission

• Aspire to slow down…

Chamber Proposal

• Recommended by YCC in Spring 2013

• Met Board members in April

• Asked to assess and propose help for low Board numbers, apathy of members, no staff, important and historically significant business org for the Klondike and Chair running on empty

• Proposal submitted to YG Ec Dev and DCCC Board

• Approved early July

• Got started a few times but staff turn-over impacted momentum

• Working with Diego Martin and local community navigator, contractor and colleague Vera Holmes

Approach

• Need to learn from members what’s going on – through interviews and online surveys

• Need to look at the past activity to today including most recent strategic plan of ‘07, implementation plan of ‘08, state of Bylaws, operational and governance policies, financials, Board composition, etc.

• Need to understand if Klondike Region values a Chamber of Commerce and to define that value

• Need to reach out to other community and industry associations to gauge their role and perceptions of values, challenges and opportunities

Starting point…

• DCCC 100 yrs +

• Founded during Gold Rush – only Trade Org representing interests of Gold Rush era entrepreneurs – and likely some law enforcement org’s

• An important facilitator for business

• Today – very different operating environment

• Environment, Tourism, Culture, Arts, Mining, Agriculture, Transportation, Technology, Governments – all new landscape

• Evolution of ‘facilitator for business’ – BIG CHANGES

SCAN

• Yukon has many Trade or Business Organizations

(DCCC, KVA, KDO, YCC, TIAY, KPMA, DCOF, YCM, YITI

S, YWIM, etc.)

• Economy in Yukon is projected for marginal growth.

• Natural Gas exploration and search for energy continues in the

Yukon and with LNG.

• KR business overall – slowing down

• KR community spirit high yet volunteers suffer burn-out

• Youth voice in business has small representation

SCAN…cont’d

• Mining has been strong for past 3-5 and slows down for 2014

• Tourism is up 10% in Yukon but indicators range greatly by

community

• DC now has HAL connected by Air

• SOVA, KIAC and Yukon College add great quality of life to

community

• DC rich with

innovators, manufacturers, exporters, artists, entrepreneurs and

more

• DC is only community with a Destination Marketing Org for

Tourism

• Labour and Housing are consistent challenges to DC as they

are to YT

SWOT

• Strengths – 2nd largest Chamber in Territory, historically significant to Yukon and Region, members loved the lunches with speakers, has history of great networking, great Gold Show event, good information sharing, Dawson Dollars program, now have ¾ time motivated Office Manager

• Weaknesses – high turn-over and apathy from membership to join Board or renew membership, perception in biz community that 90% of start-ups fail, don’t know what Chamber does and thinks Chamber runs independent of membership accountability, membership is shrinking and operating funding is vulnerable, Board has had no structure, little role clarity that may have fed ‘confusion’ or ‘relationship stress’ between Board, staff and/ or members

SWOT …cont’d

• Opportunities – stablize, bring back the energy that DCCC

once boasted, get a full Board complement again, reinvent the

Dawson Dollars program, have great GR Strategy, build great

partnerships in business and community organization

network, lead promotion of DC as amazing place to live, work

and do business

• Threats – perception is reality - members need to feel engaged

and reality is that this Board-driven organization is running on

low fumes, other NGO’s have great traction and are leading

economic and business development stories

THEMES – preliminary buckets

A. Government Relations – DCCC needs to have relationships and contacts with key players in Government at all levels – making DCCC top of mind and a voice for its members – staff retention and recruitment, DC voice at YG and Fed levels, zoning bylaws, costs of doing business, etc.

B. Gold Show – a major Chamber asset – has had some great experiences to learn from – reach out to community, find out what’s great and what’s not and build event as consistent and stable revenue generator

C. Promote Doing Business in DC – Dawson Dollars, promote local, help bolster local wealth staying locally

D. Organization Stability and Development – Bylaws from Jan. 2012, Job Description of Board and Staff, clarity of how to implement StratPlan, roles and PKI’s, basic Operational and Governance policies

‘Sleeves Up’ Time – 5 minutes

• Four themes – one per color

• Your priorities not in four themes – make a new Theme and title the page…

• Pick your top two

• Print clearly

Answer the following questions:

1. Why is it important – impact to business, Chamber or community

2. What does success look like

3. What needs to improve

4. Volunteer interest…?

The CATCH

Next Steps

• Elect a full Board complement – they can determine officers

• Board will work with PBMC to review AGM input and other

data

• Board will finalize plan with Office Manager and PBMC

• Announce it out to the Membership before Christmas

• Get to work!

Thank you for helping your

Chamber of Commerce!

Patti Balsillie, CAE, EQAT

Management Consulting

E – pattib@northwestel.net

C - (867)334-2522

W - pattibalsillie.com