From Joining to Staying: Rethinking Younger Professional Engagement

<p>In this episode of <em>The Association Insights Podcast powered by OnWrd &amp; UpWrd</em>, we kick off our September series focused on how associations can better attract, engage and retain younger professionals—powered by our partners at <strong>Highland</strong>.</p><p>Our guest is <strong>Jon Berbaum, President of Highland</strong>, who joins host Colleen Gallagher to explore why younger professional engagement has become an association-wide strategic issue—and why getting someone to join is only the beginning.</p><p>🎧 If your association is working hard to attract younger professionals but struggling to keep them, this conversation is for you.</p><p><strong>Key Highlights:</strong></p><p><strong>Joining vs. Staying:</strong> Why younger professionals increasingly join for a specific, transactional reason—and why associations need to treat the decision to stay as an entirely separate challenge.</p><p><strong>The Long-Term Stakes:</strong> How low younger professional engagement can impact an association&#39;s mission, revenue and long-term relevance.</p><p><strong>From Customer to Member:</strong> Why the initial joining decision is an opportunity to begin building the experiences and relationships that give younger professionals a reason to stay.</p><p><strong>AI and Career Partnership:</strong> How associations can look beyond staff efficiency and use AI to create new member value by coordinating resources and personalizing career support.</p><p><strong>Trust Over Ownership:</strong> Why the question is shifting from <em>What products and benefits do we own?</em> to <em>What trusted position do we occupy in someone&#39;s career?</em></p><p>🎧 <em>Tune in</em> for a thought-provoking conversation on earning the decision to stay and becoming a more meaningful part of younger professionals&#39; career journeys.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Resources:</strong></p><p>🌐 <strong>Learn more about Highland:</strong><a href="https://www.highlandsolutions.com"> </a><a href="http://www.highlandsolutions.com"><u>www.highlandsolutions.com</u></a></p><p>📊 <strong>Take the Young Professional Membership Index:</strong><a href="https://www.highlandsolutions.com/member-index/sign-up"> <u>https://www.highlandsolutions.com/member-index/sign-up</u></a></p><p>The <em>YPMI</em> takes just 15 minutes to complete and helps association leaders see where their organization is strong, where it may be stuck and where to focus next – benchmarked against the field, with insights into young professional engagement, retention and AI maturity.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Stay Connected:</strong></p><p>Subscribe to The Association Insights podcast on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5dhc49SHcWAAm9wbVFcGAD"><u>Spotify</u></a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-association-100-podcast/id1739260875"><u>Apple Podcasts</u></a> or <a href="https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhH-dPUFm13x4oX3XUGfNieuQ9c6AdhF3&si=X9pwO5TcH2SXe81G"><u>YouTube Podcasts</u></a> to ensure you never miss an episode.</p><p>Follow us on LinkedIn at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/onwrd-upwrd"><u>OnWrd &amp; UpWrd</u></a> for the latest in association trends and strategies.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Coming Soon: </strong>Throughout September, we&#39;re exploring how associations can better attract, engage and retain younger professionals. Colleen and Highland&#39;s David Whited will sit down with association leaders to unpack real-world approaches, lessons learned and what&#39;s working—before David returns to close out the series and connect those experiences back to Highland&#39;s research.</p><p>🎧 This special series is brought to you by our friends at <strong>Highland</strong>, where strategy meets research meets action.</p>