The State of the Association

Getting Healthier: A 2017 New Year’s Resolution for NCAP

It is a new year and during this time, many of us think about our health and how to get healthier. At the NCAP Convention on November 5th, Executive Director Shelton provided a “State of the Association” address that was framed around the context of organizational health and just how healthy is our Association. Organizational health can be assessed by a variety of definitions and metrics, but overall is usually described as: the healthier an organization, the greater its agility and ability to function effectively. The more nimble an organization, the greater its ability to adapt and respond to internal needs and external pressures. McKinsey & Company, a global organizational consulting firm with decades of qualitative analysis on leadership structures and management decisions in both public and private sectors has found that healthy organizations, regardless of size or mission, are the ones that are both stable and dynamic. Stable, meaning the organization has processes built in to allow for resilience, reliability and efficiency; and dynamic, referring to the organization’s nimbleness and capacity for timely adaptation.

In the world of non-profit membership associations, such as NCAP, the health of the organization is also based on relevance, as defined by the ability to: 1) align people around a clear vision, strategy and inclusive culture, 2) successfully execute initiatives, and 3) adapt overtime to new needs and changing trends. In essence, NCAP’s health is dependent upon our ability to engage, be effective and stay current. The effectiveness and success of membership associations, like NCAP, are often determined based on metrics examining governance, membership, planning, operations, services, resources and finances. In Shelton’s convention address, she was transparent regarding areas of concern, what work has been devoted to these areas of concern and where ongoing improvement is needed. She shared with the audience that the NCAP BOD had been developing a sound Strategic Plan that would serve as the guiding document for the Association’s resurgence and transformation. There are five overarching goals within the Strategic Plan and each addresses an aspect essential to the sustainability and relevance of the Association. The Strategic Plan can be found in this issue of The North Carolina Pharmacist or online at the Association’s website at www.ncpharmacists.org.

During the third and fourth quarters of 2016, the BOD examined closely NCAP’s governance, volunteer and operational structures. Considerable time was devoted to determining an optimal Board size, one for which the Board positions better facilitate performance and outcomes, as well as changes to various working groups to help improve organizational connectedness and effectiveness. Changes to the Bylaws were addressed, and are currently being enacted. Orientations for all leadership groups, including training for new Directors on the Board are in progress in an attempt to more clearly delineate roles and expectations. Regarding internal operations, Shelton shared with the membership that she had been updating many of the operational policies and procedures, as well as a number of contracts. The focus has been to ensure the Association is operating legally, ethically, efficiently and as cost effectively as possible.

From a financial standpoint, Shelton portrayed confidence in the Association’s financial procedures, assuring

the membership that NCAP has excellent accounting principles, including a number of redundancies in place to serve as sound operational checks and balances. All financial statements, tax documents and budget information are shared with the BOD for timely review and approval. In 2016, significant funding was pulled down from the earnings of the Association’s investments, which are managed by a separate Endowment Board. Shelton reported that NCAP is in the middle of major transformation and, until we can improve membership and grow other non-dues revenue, the next couple of years are likely to continue to require infusions of cash from our investments to sustain operations and our rejuvenation efforts.

Membership, meeting and educational resource revenues for the Association have all been trending down over the past few years. Shelton indicated that specific standing committees would be formed in 2017 to refocus on cultivation of these important Association needs. Services and resources are two key metrics for examining the value and success of membership associations. The greater NCAP’s ability to offer tangible and meaningful resources, products, and services the better our potential to grow membership. NCAP has a number of existing resources for which we need to do a better job promoting, and there are needs among our members for which our Association can do a better job providing access to resources to help address these needs.

In 2017, the Association will continue to work on improvements to Association-related technologies. One such improvement is to address deficiencies in the NCAP website, such as improved informational resources and better logic to content, which should help with navigation. Early environmental scanning conducted by our new Executive Director found there is great interest in the building of communities or networks around common interests. The technology to support these communities will be explored in 2017. Since Shelton’s hiring, communication outreach to members has increased and the Association has also stepped up its social media presence. However, a new Communication and Outreach Committee will be launched in 2017 to help further enhance awareness of the Association.

The number one NCAP benefit consistently identified by members is “advocacy.” Shelton reported that significant energy would be invested to develop and support the Association’s advocacy agenda. The Association has hired Tony Adams to help us with our agenda as well as monitor pharmacy and healthcare related issues being addressed in the legislature. Mr. Adams has been described as one of the most effective lobbyists in our state. The Association has greatly improved advocacyrelated information being communicated to members via electronic newsletter and on the NCAP website. There were two messages that Executive Director Shelton conveyed during the advocacy portion of her presentation and those were: 1) “We need to take advantage of the fact that we are an umbrella organization for pharmacy in our state. We need to start supporting each other and thinking of ourselves as a ‘pharmacist’ first. Regardless of whether you are a hospital, longterm care, community or some other type of pharmacist, you are a pharmacist first and a win for one sector of our profession is a win for all of us;” and 2) “Pharmacists are the most underutilized healthcare professional, and pharmacies are a resource often overlooked when thinking about healthcare-related solutions. The Association needs to do a better job. We all need to do a better job of using our voice and highlighting this fact, in order to bring about change.”

Shelton closed out her presentation with a simple slide asking for help. “There’s a lot that we can accomplish together, but I need your help.” Call for volunteer cards were distributed to the audience, and an electronic call for volunteers went out to the membership shortly after the convention was over. Those calls to action are what led to the make-up of the standing committees found in this issue of the Journal.

It’s a new year, and many of us make resolutions to improve our health each year. Some of us are more successful than others. It has been said that most resolutions fail due to inadequate planning or lack of true commitment or perhaps too lofty of a goal. Consider adding a professional New Year’s Resolution to your personal ones. Think about what you can do to help NCAP achieve a healthier profile. There will be other requests for help, campaigns for contributions and calls to volunteer during the year. Resolve to do something on behalf of YOUR pharmacy association. This is one resolution that will be simple to keep, simple to accomplish, because it’s a resolution we will do together.