What Should Stay Human? A Practical Approach to AI and Automation for Associations

AI and automation have become regular topics in association technology planning. Associations are exploring AI assistants, automated workflows, integrations, and new ways to use the data they already have in iMIS and other systems.

As those capabilities expand, there is another question worth considering: What work should remain with your staff?

Most associations have plenty of work that can be automated. Staff members move data between systems, process routine requests, update records, route emails, send follow-ups, and manage processes that follow the same basic steps every time. Reducing that administrative workload is one of the most practical uses of AI and automation today.

At the same time, associations depend heavily on the knowledge and experience of their people. Member service, problem solving, decision-making, strategy, and relationship management all benefit from staff involvement.

A good automation strategy should account for both.

Start by Looking at How Work Gets Done

Before evaluating another technology platform, take a close look at some of the processes your staff handles every day.

Most association workflows have evolved over time. A process may have started years ago and been adjusted as staff changed, new systems were added, or new requirements came along. Eventually, a relatively simple process can include several manual steps that nobody has had much reason to reconsider.

A member fills out a form. A staff member receives an email and reviews it. Information gets entered into iMIS. Someone updates a spreadsheet. Another person gets notified. A confirmation goes back to the member.

There may be nothing particularly wrong with the process. It gets the job done. But multiply those steps across hundreds of members, registrations, renewals, applications, or other transactions and they can consume a considerable amount of staff time.

The question is fairly simple: Which parts of this process actually require a person?

Reduce the Amount of Manual Data Movement

Moving information between systems is one of the most common examples of work that can be automated.

Associations typically use several applications alongside iMIS. There may be systems for events, email marketing, learning, accounting, online communities, forms, surveys, and other functions. Information generated in those applications often needs to be added to iMIS or used to trigger another process.

Without an integration, staff members end up doing much of that work manually.

They download reports and upload them somewhere else. They copy information from one application into another. They maintain spreadsheets to keep track of information that exists across several systems. They check one system to determine whether something needs to be updated in another.

Automation can handle many of these routine connections.

Zapier for iMIS, for example, can connect iMIS with other applications used by the association. Information can move between systems automatically based on the workflow the organization establishes. A completed form can update information in iMIS. An event registration can trigger another action. A change to a member record can initiate a process in another application.

Staff still decide what should happen and how the workflow should operate. They simply do not have to move the information themselves every time.

Take a Similar Look at Routine Administrative Work

Data movement is only one area where automation can help.

Many association processes include administrative work that follows predictable patterns. Email is a good example.

A shared inbox may receive dozens or hundreds of messages each week. Staff members read the messages, determine what they are about, forward them to the appropriate person, look up records in iMIS, make updates, and send responses.

AI can help identify what an incoming message is about and pull out relevant information. Automation can route the request or start the appropriate workflow. Information can be added to or retrieved from iMIS as part of the process.

Similar opportunities exist with membership updates, event registrations, internal notifications, routine follow-ups, data entry, and other administrative processes.

This is where AI can have a very practical role inside an association. It becomes another capability within an existing workflow rather than a separate destination staff members need to visit.

Keep People Involved in Member Service

Member service is different.

Associations work with people who often have questions or situations that do not fit neatly into a standard process. A member may have an unusual membership issue. A chapter leader may need help resolving a problem. A sponsor may have a question that involves several departments.

Technology can still help. A staff member preparing to speak with a member could have access to membership history, event participation, previous communications, purchases, or other relevant information from iMIS. AI may be able to summarize some of that information and make it easier to review.

The staff member can then use that information to handle the conversation.

The same principle applies to volunteer leaders, sponsors, exhibitors, committee members, and other important relationships. Automation can take care of some of the work surrounding those interactions without trying to replace the interaction itself.

Leave Room for Staff Judgment

Not every association process can be reduced to a fixed set of rules.

Exceptions happen regularly. A member may have circumstances that require a different approach. A financial issue may need review. A policy may apply differently depending on the situation. An event problem may require input from several departments.

Technology can make the information needed for those decisions easier to find. AI can summarize activity, organize information, or identify relevant records. Automation can handle the routine steps before and after the decision.

The decision itself may still need to be made by someone who understands the organization and the circumstances involved.

Associations should account for these review points when building automated workflows. Some processes can run from beginning to end without staff involvement. Others may automate several steps and then stop for approval or review.

Use AI to Support Strategy

AI also has a growing role in analysis and planning.

Associations have years of information about members, events, programs, transactions, communications, and engagement. AI can help organizations work with larger amounts of that information and identify patterns that may otherwise be difficult to see.

For example, leadership may want to understand how participation has changed among different member groups, which programs tend to attract highly engaged members, or how event attendance has changed over several years.

Leadership still needs to determine what the findings mean for the organization.

Decisions about membership strategy, programs, budgets, staffing, events, and the overall member experience require knowledge of the organization and its priorities. Better information can improve those decisions, but the responsibility for making them remains with the people running the association.

Give Staff More Time for Higher-Value Work

The practical value of automation often comes down to how staff time is being used.

Association professionals bring knowledge of the organization, its members, its programs, and its industry or profession. That experience is valuable.

Spending several hours each week entering the same information into multiple systems is probably not the best use of it.

Neither is manually routing predictable emails, updating spreadsheets that duplicate information stored elsewhere, or repeatedly checking one system to see whether something needs to happen in another.

Reducing that work gives staff more time for member service, program development, volunteer support, analysis, planning, and other responsibilities that benefit from their experience.

For many associations, that may be one of the most useful measures of a successful automation project. Staff should spend less time administering the process and more time doing the work the process is intended to support.

Keep iMIS at the Center

For associations using iMIS, automation also needs to fit into the larger technology environment.

Adding AI should not mean creating another disconnected source of member information. The same applies to adding automation tools and integrations.

iMIS can continue to serve as the system of record while other applications perform the functions they were selected to perform. Automation provides the connections between those systems and reduces the amount of manual work required to keep information current.

This also becomes increasingly important as associations begin using AI with their organizational data. Reliable AI workflows depend on reliable information. Keeping member data organized and accessible through iMIS provides a stronger foundation for those uses.

The association can continue using the specialized applications it needs without losing sight of where its core member data belongs.

A Practical Place to Begin

Most associations already have several processes worth reviewing.

Look for spreadsheets that staff maintain alongside iMIS. Look for information being entered more than once. Review processes that involve downloading and uploading files. Pay attention to shared inboxes that require staff to sort predictable requests. Identify routine follow-ups that happen repeatedly throughout the week.

Then look at where staff knowledge and judgment enter the process.

AI and automation can take on more of the routine work happening throughout an association. Staff can spend more of their time working with members, solving problems, making decisions, and improving programs and services.

For Armstrong, that is part of the idea behind Better iMIS: using automation, integrations, and AI to improve the way work gets done while keeping iMIS at the center of the association’s technology environment.

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