What We Learned About the Future of Chambers at ACCE 2022
The RoleCall team spent last week presenting, exhibiting, conversing, mingling, traipsing, and shoe modeling at the ACCE conference in Indianapolis. One word to sum up the experience?
Wow.
Not only did it feel invigorating to be around our colleagues in person for the first time in a couple years, the energy of the event matched the tenor of the chamber industry in general right now: excited, focused, innovative, with a renewed sense of purpose and clarity and a readiness to execute on big, bold ideas.
We had hundreds of conversations with chamber leaders from across the country, and came away with some clear takeaways about where this industry is headed, what’s important, and who’s leading the charge.
The pandemic clarified the role and value of chambers.
One of the major issues chambers have faced historically is a general lack of understanding about the value they offer members and the role they play in the community. When the pandemic hit, businesses were thrust into a new reality of financial uncertainty and complicated loan applications — and they turned to their local chamber of commerce for help. Chambers mobilized to become a guiding force and support system for not just their members but the entire business community, assisting with PPP loans, finding new ways to creatively promote local businesses, or just lending a listening ear to business owners who weren’t sure they would make it to the next week.
Chambers now have the opportunity to build on this renewed sense of purpose and affinity. Members saw their chambers step up for them during a crisis. Now’s the time to show them what you can offer them day to day and into the future. Resilience is over. Now’s the time for resurgence.
Chambers have the power to build — and strengthen — community connections.
We were especially excited about this year’s ACCE conference because it marked the debut of RoleCall’s new Community Onboarding product: WayFinders. The core idea behind WayFinders is that chambers are powerful catalysts for community building and connection, and could be even more effective at this work with easy-to-use tools and infrastructure.
Y’all. The response was incredible. Chambers from across the country were so excited to have a structured way to welcome newcomers, leverage community connections, engage employers, and activate their ambassadors and current residents.
We saw a clear future where chambers become the face of their community, taking the lead to welcome and engage new residents. We want chambers to be known and relevant far beyond their membership and business community. We want chambers to touch the lives of new and longtime residents in meaningful, tangible ways. It’s happening now, and with programs like WayFinders, this trend is only going to grow.
Talent Attraction is still priority #1.
From the packed-to-the-gills Talent Attraction sessions to the hundreds of conversations we had at our booth, Talent Attraction was the most popular and central topic on chamber leaders’ minds. Chambers are hungry for real solutions to labor shortages and Talent Attraction obstacles, and they’re ready to innovate, collaborate, and invest in bold strategies and infrastructure.
Chambers are doubling down on providing value by solving real problems for their members.
Speaking of Talent Attraction: proactive, future-thinking chambers are not only listening to their members’ struggles and concerns, they’re seeking out bold solutions and delivering tangible results.
For years, chambers have heard from their members over and over that they are struggling to find workers and dealing with place marketing obstacles when trying to attract talent. In the past, chambers might have sought out external resources to support their members with talent, or offered assistance that wasn’t trackable or tangible. Today, progressive chambers’ role in Talent Attraction is central, active, and absolute:
“If our members need talent, we’re going to be the ones delivering it to them.”
Do you want to know why this makes the RoleCall team so excited? When we were first conceptualizing our company and digging into what we would do, how we would do it, and most importantly, WHY this work is so important, a four-word phrase came up over and over again. You’ll find it scrawled in our old notebooks, written in block letters on white boards, and mentioned in almost every meeting we have to this day:
“Make chambers the hero.”
We always wanted the work we do to underscore the relevance of chambers and showcase the integral role they play in the community. Spending the last week immersed in a dynamic group of creative, forward-thinking chambers affirmed this vision, and made us even more excited for the future.
Want to talk about the future of YOUR chamber? It’s our favorite topic. Schedule some time with us to connect.