Board of Directors Approves New Strategic Plan
ELFA is rolling out a new Strategic Plan that will guide the association’s activities and priorities over the next three years, from 2018 through 2020. At the Annual Convention in October, the Board of Directors approved the plan and President and CEO Ralph Petta shared highlights with the membership.
The new plan was developed over the past year from listening to members and collecting a wide range of insights from industry stakeholders to ensure that the association will continue to respond to members’ needs; provide programs, products and services to help members succeed; and support and advance the equipment finance industry moving forward.
First Step: Member Impact Study
As a first step in the strategic planning process, ELFA conducted a comprehensive Member Impact Study to assess how the association is meeting member needs. The association retained a top-notch market research firm to conduct this critical assessment for the association, guided by a diverse working group of ELFA leaders. Using a number of techniques, including in-person and phone interviews in fall 2016 and an online survey in early 2017, the study asked a broad range of members—and some nonmembers—about their business challenges, and whether and to what extent the association is helping them deal with these pressures.
Next Step: Strategic Planning
The Member Impact Study revealed that member satisfaction is high overall. It also identified a number of areas where ELFA can further advance the value proposition it offers to members. Using the study findings as a guide, the association’s leadership and staff held a series of strategic planning sessions throughout 2017 to establish a strategic direction for delivering on that value proposition.
Strategic Plan Highlights
The 2018–2020 ELFA Strategic Plan identifies five strategic priorities:
- Member Engagement
- Training/Education
- Advocacy
- Industry Awareness and Development
- Research
Each of the five priorities includes a series of vision statements and strategies. While not a comprehensive list of all the association’s activities, the plan identifies key initiatives the association has targeted for the next three years. Highlights include—but are not limited to—the following:
Member Engagement – Leverage the Emerging Talent Advisory Council to engage industry employees in the association early in their careers and foster opportunities for professional development and networking, and leverage the ELFA Women’s Council to expand opportunities for professional development, networking and career growth among female members. All members will have a positive impression of the ELFA value proposition and be able to articulate it to others.
Training/Education – In response to a desire among the membership for enhanced education and training opportunities, overhaul online course offerings and enhance training opportunities for early- and mid-career professionals. Members will look to ELFA as the premier provider of industry-specific training and development delivered in multiple formats and suitable for all career stages.
Advocacy – Foster and promote opportunities for ELFA members to create ongoing relationships with their members of Congress. Policymakers and stakeholders will be aware of the impact of the equipment finance industry on the U.S. economy, and ELFA members will be well versed in the association’s advocacy priorities and value.
Industry Awareness and Development – Communicate the value of equipment finance to end-users across key channels. Businesses of all sizes will be aware of the benefits of equipment finance and choose to finance equipment, and the news media will turn to ELFA as the recognized voice of the equipment finance industry.
Research – Deliver research in a dynamic and accessible format. ELFA’s research offerings will help members make better decisions and improve their business processes and performance.
