Member Retention & Recruitment: Interview with Christine Pope, President of ATMS

Christine’s background spans 20 years in risk management within investment banking, including roles at Macquarie Bank and AMP Henderson, before her career as a natural medicine practitioner.

Christine’s commercial acumen, coupled with her passion for helping patients, has been instrumental in rebuilding memberships as a 9,000-member strong association. As she prepares to participate in the ‘Membership Rapid: Boosting Retention and Recruitment’ panel at the Associations Forum National Conference 2024 (AFNC 2024), we had the opportunity to sit down with Christine to discuss ATMS’ journey to success and exciting prospects ahead for the association.

1. How does your background shape your role as President of ATMS?

My risk management experience offers a valuable perspective on a board level. As directors, it’s essential to consistently assess risks and strategise on managing or mitigating them effectively.

Additionally, I’m committed to anchoring ATMS’s initiatives in data-driven insights. We conduct a member survey every three years to find out who are members are, what we are doing well, what we need to do more of, and what we are not doing that we should be doing. While the data we gather are invaluable, it’s important to recognise the limitations of our resources as a smaller association. My expertise lies in distilling the wealth of information gathered and making strategic decisions that prioritise initiatives that provide the greatest value to our members. From there, we dive into the details, formulating a budget and rollout plan to ensure our initiatives are delivered efficiently.

2. The Association Membership and Services Survey 2024 published by the Associations Forum revealed ‘lack of perceived value’ as one of the most common reasons for non-renewal. How does ATMS address this challenge and communicate its value proposition to members?

ATMS’s retention is sitting very well – at about 95% year-on-year. It comes down to supporting our members throughout their professional journey.

For example, we do the very important but all time-consuming work of setting up our practising members with over 38 health funds. We do this on behalf of our members because we recognise it’s a lot of work for an individual to tackle, especially if you are new to practice.

We also run an extensive Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program. Members can choose from a diverse range of educational opportunities, including 50-60 webinars, face-to-face events and symposia each year, in order to maintain their health fund status. Members have an obligation to maintain currency in their training, and ATMS provides the opportunity for members to stay compliant on multiple levels.

3. Can you share recent member initiatives that have proven beneficial in enhancing your member retention efforts?

The annual Natural Medicine Week continues to go from strength to strength. This nationwide initiative, encompassing all modalities, thrives on the participation of our members and members of other professional associations. Together, they organise clinic open days and workshops, and contribute blog articles, to connect the general public with accredited practitioners.

4. Could you please elaborate on ATMS’s membership model and the rationale behind its structure in terms of pricing and benefits?

ATMS offers three membership categories tailored to different stages of practitioners’ careers. Accredited membership caters to practitioners who are registered with health funds. Fellow membership, which sits under Accredited membership, is offered to members who have been with ATMS for over 10 years. Associate membership caters for our retired members who still want to stay in touch with the industry but are no longer practising, then we have the student membership.

We made the decision to offer student memberships at no cost because we wanted to engage with students, graduates and early-career professionals at the outset of their careers and offer them the opportunity to be part of a professional community. We hired a field officer to visit colleges and hold webinars to recruit students to ATMS which have been very successful. The conversion from student to professional membership had been slow because not everyone who graduates go on to practise, or they may join another professional association, however conversion has been promising at the start of this year. We offer a low-cost membership upgrade to recent graduates setting up their own practice and support their transition to practice through community and networking opportunities, like symposia and AGM days.

5. Are there any upcoming initiatives or developments within ATMS that you are excited to share?

Our focus remains on advancing our strategic goals, with advocacy efforts at the forefront. We are championing for the recognition of Chinese Medicine practitioners in the same way as other allied health practitioners, and advocating for 16 modalities that had been removed from health funds to be reinstated.

We recently welcomed our new CEO, Annie Gibbins, who has done a remarkable job in improving turnaround for member enquiries in the first eight weeks on the job. We are working to amplify the reach of our ‘Find a Practitioner’ page, and continue to improve our renowned CPE program.

We are also excited about our growing Awards Program, adding to the list of award categories to recognise our high achievers, those emerging, and industry champions. It’s a member-favourite – we received over 400 nominations last year!

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You can connect with Christine on LinkedIn and find out more about ATMS on their website.

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