Just as the world reacts to a new threat from the Omicron COVID-19 variant by taking more lockdown precautions, practitioners and professionals told us in the 3^rd Wiley survey of practitioner society members that they wanted more human contact. Ironic, isn’t it?

We know from last year’s survey that the main reasons practitioners join societies and associations are for many of the same reasons as their academic peers: to be part of a community, to get access to society content, and to get help with their career. This year, members are letting us know what they have missed most over the last 12 months. Let’s dig into the data.

The draw of community

Most professionals are motivated to join a society to be an active part of a community, especially those in the United States. Over half of all our survey respondents say that they join to be kept up to date on industry news and information, and 50% say that it’s about being part of an active community. 44% are motivated by being able to attend the society conference and if you combine that with a desire for expert advice respondents give a membership recommendation score of 70, which is way above the survey average of 15.

Our survey findings suggest that to keep your members engaged and positive about their membership, societies should provide them with up-to-date information, access to guidelines and standards, and a vibrant community for networking.

Careers, training, and certification

Community isn’t the main driver for all members, though. If you’re a newer or less experienced member or living in Central Asia, the Middle East, or Africa then it’s career development that makes the difference. Across the survey, 33% are looking for greater support for educational advancement, 32% join to access career development tools and resources, and 21% for certain certifications.

47% of professionals hold one or more certificates and a further 12% are working towards one, making this their main motivation for joining a society. Practitioners whose jobs require training such as hospital workers and those in a medical setting appreciate career development more. Of those that have used a society career service, 77% said that certification and credentialing opportunities were very important. You know your community best, but if training and certification are typical and expected then your members are looking to you to provide it.

Missed opportunities

It’s not just networking and face-to-face interactions that professionals have missed over the last year or so. Over half said they had missed opportunities from not attending conferences and 39% told us that the increased stress of the pandemic had impacted on their work productivity.

We can’t be sure what’s to come with the Coronavirus pandemic, but our survey indicates that getting back to meeting in person is high on the list of priorities. More people say that virtual conferences are only ‘a nice supplement’ to in-person events, and fewer indicate that they are not preferred but are still needed. Though there’s likely to be a virtual component to most conferences in the future, there is an ongoing requirement amongst professionals to meet face to face.

After well over a year of working in isolation, it seems that for progress to be achieved many believe that personal contact is one of the biggest things we’ve lost. For respondents to the survey, it was all about networking, conferences, and community. Yes, access to content and support for career development are also crucial, but in the end, it comes down to people working with people. What’s more hopeful than that?