Keeping Established Members in Lions 

Most clubs put a lot of effort into welcoming and supporting new members, but retention doesn't stop once someone has settled in.

Established members change too. What they want from Lions, how much they want to do, the roles they want to take on and what is happening in their lives can all change over time.

This resource looks at some of the things clubs can do to keep established members interested, involved and wanting to stay, while recognising that what works for one member may be completely different from what works for another.

1. Retained Doesn't Mean Permanently Retained

When someone has been a member for several years, it can be easy to assume they are happy with Lions because they are still there. They know how the club works, have friendships and connections, and may have been involved in projects or leadership roles for years.

But what they want from Lions may not be the same as when they first joined.

Over time, people can get tired of doing the same jobs, want to try something different, take on more responsibility or decide they have had enough responsibility for a while. Their lives outside Lions change too, and the way they want to be involved can change with them.

When clubs make room for those changes, members don't have to choose between continuing exactly as they always have or leaving. They can find a way of being involved that works for them now, while the club keeps their experience, knowledge, skills and connections.

Keeping established members is not about keeping them doing what they have always done. It is about making sure there is still a place in Lions that works for them now.

2. What Does This Member Want from Lions Now?

People don't necessarily want the same things from Lions throughout their membership. Someone who was happy to help in the background for years may now be interested in taking on more. Another member may have spent years leading projects, holding positions and being the person everyone calls, and would be quite happy to hand some of it over.

There can be two members sitting in the same club thinking completely opposite things:

“I'd really like to have a go at something different.”

“I've done enough for a while. I'd like to do less.”

Neither is a retention problem if the club knows about it. The problem is when we assume we already know what established members want because we know what they have always done.

Giving members room to change how they are involved can keep Lions interesting and worthwhile for them. It can also uncover people who are ready to take on something new, while giving others the freedom to step back without feeling that the only alternative is to leave.

The best way to know what someone wants from Lions now is to ask them.

3. The Reliable-Member Trap

Every club has members who can be relied on to get things done. They put their hands up, take responsibility and often know how to do jobs that nobody else knows how to do.

That's enormously valuable to a club, but it can also become a trap.

When the same people keep taking on the same jobs, it becomes easy for everyone to assume they will keep doing them. Sometimes they do because they genuinely enjoy it. Sometimes they do because nobody else volunteers, they don't want to let the club down, or it feels easier to do the job themselves than find and teach someone else.

Over time, something they once enjoyed can start to feel like an obligation.

Sharing responsibilities and knowledge gives experienced members the option to keep doing what they enjoy without feeling responsible for everything. It also gives other members the chance to learn, contribute and eventually take over when someone is ready to step back.

A member shouldn't have to leave Lions just because they want to step away from a position or responsibility.

If the club would be in trouble if one person stopped doing something tomorrow, that's not only a succession problem. It's a retention problem.

4. Growth, Challenge and Boredom

After several years in Lions, a member may find that their involvement has started to feel a bit stale to them. They may have worked on the same projects and fundraisers for years and still enjoy being part of the club, but want something different from their involvement.

That might mean more responsibility or leadership, but it doesn't have to. An established member might have an idea they'd like to pursue, skills or experience that haven't really been used in the club, or an interest in becoming involved beyond their own club. They might not even know exactly what they want to do differently. They may just be ready for a change.

Clubs benefit when there is room for that to happen. Members who still have plenty to contribute can stay interested and involved, while the club benefits from their ideas, experience and abilities in new ways.

Established members also have a part to play in making room for change. Experience and history are valuable, but they can sometimes make us attached to the way things have always been done. If established members want opportunities to grow and try new things themselves, they also need to be willing to make room for other people's ideas and different ways of doing things.

5. Succession Works Both Ways

Succession is often talked about as finding the next President, Secretary, Treasurer, project leader or other office bearer. However, there are two people involved in that change: the person who might be ready to take something on, and the person who might be ready to hand it over and let it go.

Some established members want the opportunity to take on more responsibility, develop their skills or try something new. If the same people remain in the same positions year after year, other members can start to feel there is nowhere for them to go, even when they are willing and capable.

Over time, both the person holding a position and other club members can start to think of it as belonging to that person. Someone else may be interested in the position but reluctant to nominate because they feel they would be challenging the person who already holds it.

Someone who has held a position or run a project for years may also be more than ready to hand it over. Where another member is learning the role, their experience can be enormously valuable during the transition and afterwards, without the outgoing person continuing to carry the responsibility.

Good succession gives one member room to step forward and another room to step back, keeps knowledge and experience in the club, and reduces the risk of the club being left scrambling when someone can no longer continue in a position.

6. When the Member Changes

The Lion who joined years ago may not have the same life, capacity, priorities or interests today. The amount of time, energy and interest they have for Lions can change too.

A member who was once very involved with their club may reach a point where that no longer works for them. A change in participation doesn't necessarily mean a change in commitment. They may still value the club, the friendships and being part of what it does, even if they no longer contribute in the way they once did.

How the club responds matters. Comments about someone “not coming much anymore”, disappointment when they say no, or continuing to expect the same level of involvement can make a member feel that what they contribute now isn't enough.

Rather than measuring someone against how involved they used to be, make room for what works for them now. That may mean more involvement, less involvement or a different kind of involvement altogether.

Retain the person, not their participation level.

This is one of the central ideas behind Modern Volunteering With Lions: involvement can change as people's lives change, without their value as a member changing with it.

7. Experience Is Valuable. So Is Change.

Established members carry a lot of knowledge about their club. They know what's been tried before, what worked or didn't, how projects came about, and often have community relationships that have taken years to build. That experience benefits clubs in many ways. 

Experience can also make us cautious about changing something that has worked well, or revisiting something that didn't work in the past. However, circumstances change. There may be different members involved now, the community may have changed, or an idea that wasn't right five or ten years ago may be worth another look today. Past experience should inform the decision, but it shouldn't necessarily make the decision this time around.

Change shouldn't mean dismissing the experience of established members either. People are more likely to support change when their knowledge and experience are respected, rather than feeling that what they have contributed is being pushed aside or no longer matters.

A good club discussion can usually bring both together. Listen to the experience behind the old way, listen to the reasons for the new idea, and work out what makes sense for the club now. Sometimes the best decision will be to keep what works; sometimes moving forward will require change.

8. The Established Member Conversation

We often check in with new members to see how they're settling in, but those conversations shouldn't stop once someone has been in Lions for a few years. Established members can benefit from being checked in with occasionally too.

It doesn't need to be formal or feel like a review. A genuine conversation about what they're enjoying, what they'd like to change and how Lions is working for them now can tell you a lot.

Not everyone will speak up in a club discussion. Some members are comfortable sharing their opinion in a meeting, while others rarely do. Going around the room and giving everyone an opportunity to contribute can help, as can letting members know they are welcome to share their thoughts privately afterwards.

What members say also needs to go somewhere. Not everything can be changed or fixed, but if someone raises a concern, suggests an idea or tells you something isn't working for them, acknowledge it and follow it up where you can. These conversations can bring up things that may never otherwise be raised and give the club an opportunity to respond before dissatisfaction turns into disengagement or resignation.

9. More Than the Work They Do

People stay in Lions for more than the work they do. Friendships, shared experiences and feeling part of something can become every bit as important as projects, positions or volunteering.

This can be easy to overlook when an established member becomes less involved. If much of their connection to the club came through a position or project, stepping away from it can also mean losing some of the contact and sense of purpose that came with it. They may need fewer responsibilities without wanting less connection to the club or the people in it.

A member's involvement may change many times over the years. If the club remains something they enjoy being part of, where they feel they belong and can contribute in ways that work for them, there is much more reason to stay.

10. Retention Is a Whole-Club Responsibility

Keeping members isn't the responsibility of the Membership Chair, President or a membership committee alone. Everyone in the club contributes to whether it is somewhere people want to stay.

A big part of retention is being mindful of how we treat each other. The things that make someone feel valued or undervalued are often small, everyday interactions rather than major problems. How we respond when someone says no, whether people feel heard, the assumptions we make about what someone will do, and whether we notice when somebody starts pulling away can all make a difference.

It can be worth having a club discussion about retention while things are going well, rather than waiting until someone is unhappy or thinking about leaving. What makes our club a good place to belong? What do we do that might frustrate people or make involvement harder? Is there anything we could do differently?

A discussion like this also reminds everyone that retention isn't something one person can fix for the club. Members can bring forward their own ideas and think about what they personally can do to help make the club somewhere people enjoy belonging to.

Keeping People, Not Just Members

Retention isn't about convincing people to stay in Lions regardless of whether it is still working for them. It is about creating a club where people have good reasons to want to stay.

Established members bring experience, friendships, knowledge, skills and connections that have often been built over many years. Keeping those members means continuing to make room for them as people, including when what they want or can give to Lions changes.

Sometimes the most useful thing a club can do is ask, listen and be willing to change too.