At the end of each year, we survey our members to find out what’s working and what more to consider to advance IHAF’s program and service offerings.

Most recently, we received an overwhelming response to our year-end satisfaction surveys—so much so that we decided to share a few member responses and tell you how we’re incorporating this feedback in the new year.

With what are you most satisfied when it comes to your IHAF membership?

• “Performance Evaluator, webinars, and networking. I'm so thrilled we are members.”
• “The Huddles, the resources, the conferences and awards shows.”
• “The conference was excellent this year. Offerings throughout the year with webinars, whitepapers and other industry content are also terrific.”
• “(IHAF) opens a whole new world of non-agency agency creative.”
• “Simply being connected to a range of other in-house agencies from all sizes of businesses is extremely helpful.”
• “Awards and conference this year was fantastic…valuable conversations on LinkedIn…daily news is a great way to see what else is happening in the design world.”
• “I am most satisfied with the research and information provided on the website as well as the IHAF Brief that is provided.”
• “IHAF has continued to evolve and grow over the years—keeping pace with what's going on in the world of advertising and marketing. I'm happy that it’s not standing still since things are changing so quickly around us.”

Thanks for that, folks. We’re thrilled that you’re taking advantage of the content and events that IHAF delivers throughout the year. And we agree with you, the IHAF Masters Conference this past October was as inspiring as it was informative with leaders from four very different in-house agencies walking us through the steps they took to develop their teams.

We’re also delighted to know you’re connecting with one another, as we’ve heard time and time again that people join IHAF for the content and stay for the community.

While we’d prefer to bask in the glowing commentary, we’re realists at IHAF. So we constantly revisit the programs and benefits we offer to ensure we’re keeping pace with the changing needs of our members. In fact, member feedback is a leading indicator of what gets fine-tuned each year—so let’s take a look at what more they have to say.

With what are you least satisfied and/or what would you like to see improved in the coming year?

• “Unless I'm not hearing about it, I'd like to see more networking for IHAF members. Coffee, drinks, networking lunches…something that gets members to connect. Right now it seems the only place to mingle with members is every year at the awards/conference.”
• “Would love to see more participation on LinkedIn. More robust conversations with higher level professionals.”
• “The process for entering the In-House Agency of the Year award was not as straightforward as I thought it would be. We would have liked to have entered but we didn’t have time to provide all the information that was required in order to be considered.”
• “The Annual Conference format—go back to having an inspirational keynote speaker.”
• “I feel there should be more webinars, networking events and opportunities to hear speakers.”
• “$12 per glass of house red (wine) on awards night? Ouch!”

Thanks for that feedback as well. With so many members and moving parts, it’s hard to be all things to all people—but that doesn’t stop us from trying! That’s why we’re introducing a brand new networking opportunity for our members in 2014—IHAF Pop-Up Breakfasts. These two-hour events will “pop-up” in various cities across the country throughout the year, enabling IHAF members to get together and talk about whatever is topical for them at the time. These morning meet-and-greets will also enable members to easily connect with other in-house professionals in their local area.

Our IHAF Huddle discussion group series is back again this year—half-day meetings where participants come together to share their challenges and success stories within the context of a facilitated, themed discussion. IHAF Huddles will be held in five different cities this spring which, when combined with the Pop-Up Breakfasts, delivers in-person programming to at least ten U.S. cities in 2014.

LinkedIn is another place where sharing happens, though the content and conversation online is almost entirely sustained by our members. If you’re an IHAF member and you’d like to see increased activity on LinkedIn, don’t be shy—start posting. We currently have nearly 700 individuals who have opted into IHAF’s members-only forum on LinkedIn. The numbers support a dynamic exchange so get in on the conversation.

Webinars are another vehicle IHAF uses to disseminate information. From the comfort of your desk, these one-hour learning sessions are a great way to gain exposure to a range of topics that are relevant to the business of advertising communications and in-house agency operations. In response to member feedback, we’re offering nearly 50% more sessions in 2014. For the full line-up of webinars and other events we have planned, visit our Upcoming Events page throughout the year.

As for the $12 glasses of wine at last year’s IHAF Awards, we hear you. While each attendee was supposed to have received two free drink tickets upon retrieving their badge at check-in, the price of drinks was higher than we would have liked for those who purchased later in the night. We’re exploring alternate venues for the 2014 IHAF Awards Show & Annual Conference, which we hope will include more-reasonable rates for beverage service.

Member satisfaction matters at IHAF—which is why your opinion is so important to us. Tell us what you’d like to see IHAF offer in 2014. And if you’re not a member, we hope you’ll consider joining us soon.