4 Ways IIBA Membership Harmonization is Bringing the Community Together

Receive free IIBA updates and exclusive content!     Join Now!

Spring is a great reminder of how wonderful change can be. On May 4th IIBA Chapter and Global Membership is coming together under Membership harmonization! Now, in addition to an IIBA Member’s existing benefits, they will also gain access to over 120 Chapters worth of events, networking, and professional development opportunities in every time zone and numerous languages. This is definitely a positive change! 

 

What exactly is Membership harmonization? I recently sat down with Jared Gorai, Director of Chapters and Membership Engagement to talk about Membership harmonization and why it is so important. Put simply, harmonization is combining Chapter and IIBA Global Membership, improving access to Member benefits globally, and simplifying internal processes to reduce the workload for our 120+ Chapter Leader volunteers around the world. What’s more, instead of  being asked for separate IIBA global Membership and a Chapter Membership fees, you will pay one annual Membership fee and you’ll automatically be enrolled in your local Chapter. IIBA is doing this by integrating Chapter Membership and streamlining some of IIBA’s backend administration processes that are invisible to users. IIBA is implementing harmonization now to streamline processes and automate the new processes with technology. 

An important reason for centralizing Chapter processes is to make Chapter management more efficient for our volunteer Chapter Leaders and to assign every Member a Chapter Membership. “Making these change will provide a consistent experience for IIBA Members around the world,” says Jared Gorai, Director Chapters and Membership at IIBA. “While removing an administrative burden, this widens every IIBA Member’s access to not only their local Chapter, but every Chapter around the world!” 

4 Changes for Members: 

1. One IIBA Membership: IIBA Global and Chapter Memberships are combining into one annual fee. Membership fees haven’t changed since 2012: harmonization of IIBA Membership provides an experience that’s in line with 2021 standards! 
   
   
   • All existing IIBA Members will not be charged an additional fee in May and may see an increase in fees on their next renewal date post-May 2021 depending on global location. IIBA has realigned our region classifications for countries based on their economic growth and the average Business Analyst’s salary, cost of living, and statistics from the World Economic Forum. This means that Membership pricing has increased slightly for some; you can see a breakdown of pricing here. Members whose country has moved to a higher region (ex. Region 2 to 1) will have a slightly higher fee to reflect this change. “The good news is that you are getting significantly more Membership benefits with the harmonization of Chapter and Global Membership,” notes Jared, which leads us to our next change… 
2. IIBA Member Access to All Chapters, Worldwide: Every Member will be assigned a home (assigned) Chapter based on their address, but no matter your assigned Chapter, you will be an IIBA Member to ALL Chapters, worldwide. It's easy to change your Chapter home in your IIBA Member profile. If you’ve already selected a Chapter in your profile, it will not change. 
   
   
   • The new Membership pricing includes complimentary access to your local Chapter, access to all Chapter events globally, as well as Connections, IIBA’s all-new global online community. Under harmonization Chapters will now receive additional support from IIBA Global providing the potential for more networking and event opportunities through an expanded Chapter network. For Members, this means strengthened networking opportunities with other professionals to gain new perspectives, fresh ideas, and knowledge. “Members are gaining access to both local networks and global resources with more benefits you can easily access,” adds Jared.  
     
     Harmonization will help Members by growing the Chapter Membership to develop local access, which during face-to-face events helps Members to raise your profile by sharing your expertise with your local Chapter. Members will have access to join virtual Chapter events in every time zone! 
3. Connections | IIBA’s Global Online Community: Individuals who do not have a local Chapter within reasonable travel distance will be assigned to a new online community called Connections.  
   
   
   • Although initially designed with the needs of our Members based in underserved areas in mind, this resource will be available to all IIBA Members. Stay tuned for more information about this coming soon! 
4. Access Chapter Websites with Your IIBA Global Login: Single Sign On (SSO) allows you to access Member benefits on Chapter sites as well as the IIBA Global site with one simple sign in. 
   
   

Become an IIBA Global Member Now, Get Upgraded in May 2021 

If you aren’t currently an IIBA Member and want to join, take advantage of existing rates to receive IIBA Membership now, and be automatically upgraded in May at no additional charge. You don’t have to wait: IIBA Global is hard at work putting the pieces together for a smooth transition, but you can join here and attend an upcoming Chapter event! “While we are finalizing harmonization updates Members can still join a local Chapter. Just be sure to add your Chapter to your profile,” reminds Jared.” We’ll have more exciting news to share in the next few months.” 

Joining IIBA connects you with Business Analysis professionals around the world through attending events in your local time zone and through IIBA’s online community called Connections. IIBA Membership has always brought Members great networking opportunities with professionals locally and around the world. Unifying Chapter Membership and IIBA Global Membership opens up your network to the global business analysis community and spotlights the importance of local involvement in your career development.  

Harmonization: Bringing the World to Your Network 

Connect 

After talking with Jared, it’s clear that at the heart of Membership harmonization it’s about improving the Membership experience and creating more networking and learning opportunities. IIBA has been planning and formulating Membership harmonization well before the pandemic began, but there’s never been a more crucial time to have new and different avenues to connect with people while we’re still largely in a socially distanced reality.

Streamline

Harmonization is also about streamlining processes to make it easier to access information and make backend processes seamless to Members. It’s about using technology to improve operations and ensure consistency. 

One Membership for More Benefits, More Ways 

Membership harmonization changes are designed to give Members more flexibility to access benefits. What if I’m from IIBA Brussels but see an interesting event in IIBA France? What if I love the study groups in IIBA Winnipeg but want to access the interactive BABOK® Guide at the same time? Now all you need if your IIBA Membership for access to all these benefits because we’re a stronger community together.  

“As remote work continues to grow, Business Analysis Members are able to access more job opportunities and career advancement tools and support…and along with that more career advice and answers to your questions around business analysis,” says Jared. 

Stay tuned for more information on Membership harmonization. 

 

 

---

 

About The Author: