Keeping the Flywheel Humming AlongResults of scribe and membership surveys

July 2013

Purposes served by our website

CoordinationAnnouncements of meetings, how to get involved. (The Flywheel)

Solidarity, connection, a “sense of belonging”Recognitions, Happy & Sad Dollars”, pictures, etc. (The Flywheel)

Housekeeping & LogisticsMeeting times & places, members’ contact information, paying dues, etc. (website as a whole)

A concern that can become a problemA strong majority of active members routinely visit the Flywheel,but only a small minority are involved in producing it (about 7, yearly)

Results•Scribing can be burdensome. Scribes may burn-out, quit.•Difficult to attract or retain new scribes.•Resentment builds. Unreliable, uneven service.

Does the data support this?

Flywheel Scribe Survey 6 members, all scribes Anonymous

Membership Survey 32 members Anonymous

Flywheel Scribe SurveyJuly 2013

6 scribes Mark Howe

Don LauDavid KeystoneLynn MartinJosh SurowitzTom Waller

1. Which of the following best describes your feelings about scribing?

Very few people read The Flywheel so sometimes I feel my work is a waste of time.

It’s a chore I'd rather not have but The Flywheel is useful to the Club so I don't mind doing it.

It isn't difficult, and I like contributing to the solidarity of Richmond Rotary with my communication skills.

Other (“Few volunteer because it’s a burden, few members read it, those who do read it are least likely to scribe.”)

1 (16.7%)

3 (50.0%)

1 (16.7%)

1 (16.7%)

2. On average, how much time do you spend writing the Flywheel notes each week?

30 minutes – 1 hour

1 hour - 1.5 hours

1.5 hours - 2 hours

More than 2 hours

1 (16.7%)

2 (33.3%)

2 (33.3%)

1 (16.7%)

3. About how much of that time is spent writing just the Program notes (summary of speaker's presentation)

15 - 30 minutes

30 minutes - 1 hour

1 hour – 1.5 hours

More than 1.5 hours

2 (33.3%)

3 (50.0%)

1 (16.7%)

0 (0.0%)

4. Which, if any, of these options for revising The Flywheel do you find most appealing?

Limit the the Program notes to a synopsis of about 100 words

Drop the Program notes entirely, replacing it with a 1 or 2 sentence blurb.

Replace the Program notes with a full transcript of presentation generated by speech-to-text conversion software.

No change. Keep it as it is. (We recommend that scribes observe a 300 word limit.)

Recruit more scribes.

Other (summarized on next screen)

1 (16.7%)

0 (0.0%)

0 (0.0%)

0 (0.0%)

1 (16.7%)

4 (66.7%)

Highlights of “Other” comments, 1

“…recruit more members, but easier said than done! …people who feel they can write, and are willing to make the time, need to keep doing so or start doing so. It is hard to scribe …can be a real drag when you are behind at work…”

“…a combination of several of the above:

1.Ask those who read the Flywheel to contribute to it by scribing themselves;

2.Digitally record the meeting and post the recording;

3.Have a 1 or 2 sentence synopsis of the program;

4.Stagger the scribing duties so that no one scribe does 4 or 5 meetings in a row (many of us cannot). …scribing is an incredible burden for those with young families…it falls disproportionately on a few people”

Highlights of “Other” comments, 2

1. “Recruit more scribes

2. Consider new rotation scheme

3. Avoid scribe duty on multiple back-to-back Fridays

4. Get broad agreement on a "buddy system" whereby each Friday's scribe commits to ensuring that next week's scribe is on-deck or has a designated a ready-to-go substitute.”

Membership Survey

July 2013 32 members. Anonymous

1. How many of the last four Richmond Rotary meetings did you attend?

1

2

3

4

7 (24.1%)

10 (34.5%)

3 (20.7%)

4 (20.7%)

Survey bias note These numbers represent only those 32 members who visited the Flywheel and took the survey, not all our active members (63). Therefore, we can’t extrapolate from these numbers and say that 34.5% of our membership attend 2 meetings per week. Clearly, the actual number is smaller than that.We do know how many of our active members did visit the website during this period? 414 visits between July 11 and Aug. 11, or about 104 visits/week.

2. How many of the last four issues of the Flywheel did you look at?

1

2

3

4

3 (9.4%)

1 (3.1%)

6 (18.8%)

22 (68.8%)

3. Are you more likely or less likely to read the Flywheel in the week following a meeting you attended?

More likely

Less likely

17 (63.0%)

10(37.0%)

4. A web traffic analysis program tells us that, on average,

visitors spend 1 minute and 45 seconds on the Flywheel page.

Do you spend about that much time, less time, or more time on the Flywheel page?

About that much time

Usually less

Usually more

19 (59.4%)

10(6.3%)

11(34.4%)

Nearly 2/3 of the Flywheel visitors ( 59.4% + 6.3% = 62.7%) spend about 1 minute and 45 seconds or less on that page.

Given that, can we focus, limit and/or streamline our content to make it easier for our members to read the entire Flywheel?

5. Please rate the following sections of the Flywheel by the amount of attention you give to each.

Always read Usually read Quick scan Often ignore

Next Meeting description

Upcoming Programs

Welcome, visitors and guests

Happy & Sad Dollars

Announcements

Norm's Nonsense

Program Summary

58.1% (18) 22.6% (7) 16.1% (5) 3.2% (1)

35.5% (11) 29.0% (9) 29.0% (9) 6.5% (2)

50.0% (16) 21.9% (7) 25.0% (8) 3.1% (1)

59.4% (19) 15.6% (5) 21.9% (7) 3.1% (1)

62.5% (20) 21.9% (7) 15.6% (5) 0.0% (0)

51.6% (16) 22.6% (7) 12.9% (4) 12.9% (4)

53.1% (17) 12.5% (4) 31.3% (10) 3.1% (1)

Ranking and emphasis of sections based on amount of attention visitors give them.

Always read Usually read Quick scan Often ignore

3. Next Meeting description

6. Upcoming Programs

5a. Welcome, visitors and guests

2. Happy & Sad Dollars

1. Announcements

5b. Norm's Nonsense

4. Program Summary

58.1% (18) 22.6% (7) 16.1% (5) 3.2% (1)

35.5% (11) 29.0% (9) 29.0% (9) 6.5% (2)

50.0% (16) 21.9% (7) 25.0% (8) 3.1% (1)

59.4% (19) 15.6% (5) 21.9% (7) 3.1% (1)

62.5% (20) 21.9% (7) 15.6% (5) 0.0% (0)

51.6% (16) 22.6% (7) 12.9% (4) 12.9% (4)

53.1% (17) 12.5% (4) 31.3% (10) 3.1% (1)

6. Flywheel scribes usually spend between 30 minutes and 1.5 hours writing

the Program summary. It can become a burdensome task.

How do you feel about limiting the program summary to 100 words (1 or 2 paragraphs)?

I prefer the current length of the program notes (typically 400-800 wrds.)

I would be happy with a summary of about 100 words.

12 (37.5%)

20 (62.5%)

Nearly 2/3 of the Flywheel visitors said they would be happy with a 100 word summary of the Program.

7. Assuming you are not now a scribe, would you be willing to volunteer for this critical club service? We are considering rescheduling the scribe's duty to occur only once a month, 6 times yearly.

Yes

No

5 (18.5%)

22 (81.5%)

We now have 6 scribes. If we add to that the 5 people answering “yes” to this question, we would have 11 scribes.

8. Have you ever been, or have you ever proposed, a program speaker?

Yes

No

29 (90.6%)

3 (9.4%)

Nine out of 10 members have presented, or found a presenter for our meetings. Our members do contribute strongly to the content of our meetings.

9. Why do you look at the Flywheel? #1

It's like my rotary "Drudge Report" for the week. Heck, I want to know what's going on with the club and members. Like today finding out about Don Law's mom dying. He's very good friend and I didn't know. Thanks

To keep informed about what is going

Keeps me in touch w/Rotary and our membership.

It's the life link of the club

just to remind myself of what happened and I don't attend to see what happened. Always enjoy reading the flywheel whether I attend or not. Thanks for doing this.

To stay connected to the club (calendar), its members (happy/sad & announcements) and our community (missed program, archive of past program), to invite someone to something that interests them (upcoming program).

9. Why do you look at the Flywheel? #2

Various reasons (general review of meeting info, clarity about something not fully noted, enjoy scribe's recap of meeting flow and member banter, etc.),

Cuz it's there

It keeps me connected to the group, even though my attendance has been very poor. That's why I like happy/sad dollars

I am proud of Richmond Rotary and its many activities and accomplishments. I feel privileged to be able to participate even slightly with my contributions.

To remind myself what happened, especially if it was interesting

Can't attend regularly as don't have a driver's license anymore. So the Flywheel is very important to me.

9. Why do you look at the Flywheel? #3

I enjoy it

Generally to refresh my memory or to see if I missed something of import.

curious

To find out about things that are going on that I may have missed.

See meeting and event calendars.

To see what I missed

Great way to keep abreast of what is important to our club

I'm the ADG supposed to assist the club (and look over it for the District.) I also like your members and periodically attend

Most of the time it's a review, in case I missed something.

Our recommendations

and a club discussion to follow.

Thank you!