Business Analysis Blog | Benefits of Joining a Membership Association | IIBA (2024)

Last year, membership associations experienced significant growth. According to the 2019 Benchmarking Report, 45 percent of associations saw membership grow, and just 26 percent had a decline in membership.¹ These organizations are growing because professionals across many different sectors benefit from association membership in a number of ways. 

3 Benefits of Joining a Membership Association

 Joining a membership association is a good career move for just about anyone. Here are a few of the benefits of joining a membership association: 

1. Greater access to resources and information -- One of the primary reasons professionals join membership organizations is because they make relevant resources and information readily available to members.

“When polled, individual and small business members stated that access to the most up-to-date information and professional development or educational offerings were the most important benefits when deciding to join a membership organization,” stated the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.²

As a result of increased access to consistently updated resources that pertain to their industry, association members can quickly grow in their professional knowledge. Membership organizations also may publish information about job openings. 

For example, International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) offers their members access to an online library containing over 9,000 online books and almost 2,000 audio books to help support the variety of career paths leveraging business analysis skills. This type of benefit offered by such organizations vastly outweighs most nominal membership fees and could not be easily obtained without the organizations pooled resources. 

2. Discounts on training, events, and more -- Membership associations are appealing because they offer perks to their members. Perks often include discounts on professional training, publications, and event tickets.

“A prime example is the Australian Institute of Training and Development's (AITD) annual conference, for which registration was offered to members last year at a 25% discount, easily covering the cost of membership,” wrote a contributor to eLearning Industry.3 Another example is the 20 percent off discount IIBA offers their members to attend the annual BBC conference, the largest gathering of business analysis professionals in the world, which can save their members over $600. That is a significant savings compared to the roughly $110* cost of annual membership to IIBA.

Such discounts enable members to continue their education by participating in training and attending events designed to help them gain in-demand skills and expand their professional network, both of which will benefit their career.  

3. A better resume -- Professionals who are interested in bettering their resume may find that joining a membership association will be helpful to them. For example, association members usually have more training opportunities than other individuals. Through advanced career training, they will gain competencies that can be listed on their resume.  

Being part of a membership association also helps those who are brand new to a profession have something to put on their resume. This doesn’t just apply to recent college or university graduates, but also to people who change careers later in life. “If you are an extremely active member of the association, you may even get a chance of internship that will earn you valuable work experience,” stated 13 Benefits of Joining a Professional Organization.⁴  

Association Membership Can Grow a Business Analyst’s Career 

Business analysts can greatly benefit from having access to up-to-date, industry-specific resources and information, as well as opportunities for training and networking. By joining a membership association such as the International Institute of Business Analysis, those practicing business analysis can experience exponential career growth and become recognized leaders in their industry.

A few specific benefits of IIBA’s membership program include: 

• Online, interactive access to the BABOK® Guide
• A robust online library access to over 11,000 titles, including over 9,000 online books and almost 2,000 audio books
• Access to Chapter Membership, networking events, and member only webinars
• Free access to the industry standards of content and IP, reports, articles, industry papers, and IIBA’s annual Salary Survey curated from the global community
• Significant discounts on industry conferences
• Discounted pricing on globally recognized business analysis certifications

References:  

1. Walsworth. Association membership trends. https://www.walsworth.com/blog/association-membership-trends. 

2. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Why join a membership organization? https://institute.uschamber.com/why-join-a-membership-organization/.  

3. eLearning Industry. Top 6 benefits of membership organizations: are they still relevant to eLearning? https://elearningindustry.com/top-6-benefits-membership-organizations. 
4.  EDUCBA. 13 benefits of joining a professional organization. https://www.educba.com/joining-a-professional-organization/.

   
   *IIBA. Membership Pricing.

   https://www.iiba.org/membership/membership-pricing/.