Discussion Groups Place Value of ASQ Member Benefits at More Than $14,000

May 11, 2006 — During the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement, ASQ Market Research—along with Rigsbee Research—conducted two Member Value discussion groups in which ASQ members were asked to identify ASQ membership benefits and assign a dollar amount to each benefit. While this research is not meant to b e representative of all members, members can use this information as a guide to estimate his/her own value of their own membership, thus demonstrating its value to employers. This is the second year in which ASQ has conducted this research.

Research Methodology

Since this research is conducted at the World Conference, ASQ members were randomly selected from the conference attendee roster.

Using the list that the 2005 Member Value discussion group created (see the July 2005 ASQ news release, Member Value Discussion Groups Assign Dollar Value to Membership in ASQ), the participants discussed and agreed upon a dollar value for each benefit on the list. The dollar values for the benefits were then added together to determine the total yearly sustainable dollar value of ASQ membership.

Findings

The discussion groups estimated the average yearly sustainable value of ASQ membership to be $14,235. Put another way, for an annual investment of $119 (Regular membership dues), members believe they receive $14, 235 worth of value in benefits. This represents a significant increase from 2005 when participants determined the average value to be $6,625. Researchers believe part of this increase can be attributed to the fact that members attending the 2006 sessions did not have to create the list again, allowing more time to debate the values of each benefit. Training and Sections were the two categories that accounted for the highest increases in value between the 2005 and 2006 groups.

The following is a brief list of 2006 findings and comparisons with the 2005 findings.

• As was the case in 2005, Certification was the benefit with the highest dollar value at an average of $3,000 per year. Members said they believed that the job promotion opportunities and increased responsibilities they received from ASQ certification more than offset the costs of membership and the exams.
• Participants in the 2006 discussion groups rated Training the second highest value at $2,500. While the participants did acknowledge that nonmembers can participate in ASQ training, members felt that the early notification about training opportunities and the member discounts equate to the high member value.
• Section Involvement was assessed a value of $1,750—a marked increase from $500 in 2005. However, the reasons for section value stayed the same: opportunities to visit local businesses, listen to local speakers, and attend local training or workshops.
• Networking was estimated to heave a value of $1,750.

Ongoing Study

In order to continue gathering information regarding member value, ASQ has posted a survey on the MyASQ Web site. Any ASQ member can provide feedback for the survey. If you have any questions regarding the research or survey, please contact Julie Sharp, 800-248-1946, ext. 7647.