Will the association lose its identity when contracting with an AMC?

The short answer is no. Members shouldn't even realize that the association does not have direct employees and a separate office. Most AMCs answer the telephone with a generic “association headquarters” or “association offices.” Many stand-alone associations with tongue-twister names (e.g., International Society of Left-Handed Neuropsychopharmacologists) use a similar phone greeting. Even with the increased use of voice mail, these sophisticated systems can be programmed to give members easy phone access to association staff.
Association leaders often express fear that they will become lost within the AMC’s staff structure—that no one will be responsible for their needs. But with many AMCs using a team approach to client management, there is always at least one, and often several, individuals who are intimately familiar with the association’s members, programs, and culture.

How can an AMC be dedicated to more than one client?

AMCs have professional executives with years of education and experience. Like lawyers and accountants, association managers attend to the affairs of each of their clients without disclosing confidential client information or co-mingling client funds. Even where client associations have contrary positions on public policy issues, so long as key staff for each association are separate and confidential client information remains secure, the associations can be assured of discretion.

What are the staffing advantages of AMCs?

Because the relationship of an AMC to a client association is that of an independent contractor, the association is freed of employment responsibility and liability. Employee relations is an increasingly complex management responsibility. Hiring, firing, worker compensation, fringe benefits, avoiding discrimination in a host of protected areas, and employer liability are only some of the concerns employers face. AMCs relieve an association’s board from all of these concerns.

The flexibility in staffing levels that an AMC provides an association is another distinct advantage compared to having a direct staff. A well-staffed AMC can provide the appropriate person with necessary skills to complete an association project when needed. When the project is completed and staffing needs decrease, the individual goes on to the next client’s project. The shared resources of an AMC help smooth out the peaks and valleys of staffing needs. And this shared-resources concept allows AMC clients to realize savings in computers and other office equipment, office space rental, insurance, and the host of other expenses that go into maintaining a business office.

Why do AMCs want past and current financial information when responding to a request for proposal?

Financial statements are necessary because they provide the AMC with information about the extent and breadth of the association’s activities, giving the AMC a truer picture of the association. A current financial statement reveals the budgetary priorities of the association and helps identify projects and activities that consume staff time. It also gives the AMC the opportunity to see how well the association’s finances are handled and if the prospective client is, in fact, solvent.

Are AMCs ideal only for start-up associations?

No. An AMC can be an asset at any time within the life cycle of an association. AMCs can be particularly useful in assisting in the start-up of associations. They have the experience, contacts, and expertise to get the newly formed association over many hurdles, saving volunteers time and effort and husbanding scarce association resources.

But AMCs are equally adept at managing mature associations. The interchange of ideas that is fostered by the AMC’s management of multiple organizations helps them introduce fresh concepts to their clients. An active AMC office is a hothouse of germinating ideas, budding programs, and growing talent--the very thing needed to bring life back into an aging organization.

Key Questions About AMCs

Running an association isn’t always a day at Disney World. In addition to achieving the main goals and objectives of your organization, you are faced with daily details such as bookkeeping, answering phone inquiries, hiring and training staff, and publishing your association’s newsletter. These tasks can absorb large chunks of time and resources. Does an easier way exist? Could an association management company be the answer? Before you make that decision, here are some essentials you should know about AMCs.

If you hire an AMC, who will be accountable?

If you hire association staff, the chief staff executive reports to the board of directors and is responsible for all staff. That doesn’t change if you hire a management company. You will have a contract or letter of agreement with the company, spelling out, to everyone’s satisfaction, issues of accountability, responsibilities, and roles and relationships. Such an agreement makes disappointments or surprises highly unlikely.

How does the management company stay focused on the interests of my association when the company serves other clients as well? Will the AMC’s loyalties get divided?

Doctors and lawyers have many clients, yet this does not compromise either their quality of service or their assurance of confidentiality. An AMC works in the same way. Client files and projects are kept separate and confidential. Some management companies even have one or more staff members assigned exclusively to each client. Even if your management company isn’t structured that way, you can be assured that your association will receive the full attention it requires. A professionally run management company can capably handle even competing clients without choosing sides and without varying the level of service it provides to either client.

Does the association lose its identity as an individual entity when it hires an AMC?

Not at all. Depending on your preference, your phones will be answered with either your association’s name or a neutral greeting, such as "Association headquarters. May I help you?" All documents and correspondence will go out with your association’s logo, not that of the management company. Unless you choose to reveal the arrangement, your members and the general public will believe they’re dealing with an in-house staff.

Will an AMC be more motivated by profit than by serving the nonprofit values of my association?

A management company that concentrates on profit over and against the needs of its clients’ members will soon have no clients to manage. A management company doesn’t make money by concentrating on profits; an AMC profits by concentrating on serving clients better than any other company could. If your organization doesn’t think it’s getting good value for the fees you pay, you hold the right to find a different management company.

Is a management company a good choice for a small or start-up association or for one with limited resources?

It’s an excellent choice for each of these situations, because a management company can make your limited resources go much further than before. For starters, you can negotiate a flexible pricing arrangement in your contract. And because an AMC’s clients share resources and staff expertise, the company can realize substantial savings in its operating, equipment, space rental, and insurance costs. That translates into reduced costs for your association. Likewise, since AMCs function as independent contractors and not as hired staff, your organization doesn’t have to worry about taxes or providing benefits.

What other advantages are there to hiring a management company?

AMCs provide a consistent level of quality, accountability, and dependability that can be difficult to find in a strictly volunteer-run organization for reasons of leadership turnover alone. Add to that the convenience of having the management company handle your association’s research, lobbying, staff hiring and training, planning, bookkeeping, public relations, and publishing activities. This leaves more time for your volunteers to devote to the organization’s policies, membership, and strategic goals.

Another advantage of using an AMC is that, for a fraction of the cost, your association has at its disposal a variety of specialists without having to deal with the time and expense of finding, hiring, training, and paying them. In addition, you may be able to take advantage of an AMC’s buying power for better discounts on supplies and services.

Even with all these facts in hand, you may still have questions about whether an AMC is the right choice for your association. So pick up the phone and call one--or two, or three--to find out how an AMC might serve your needs.