Contractors are likely to see changes in membership benefits from the Professional Contractors Group following the appointment of Iain McIlwee in the new role of Head of Commercial Development.
McIlwee, who has an impressive pedigree in the professional and trade association arena, has been recruited to evaluate existing member benefits and create a strategy for developing the current offering and increasing membership.
“The continuing growth in membership clearly indicates that PCG’s membership offering is what contractors want,” explains McIlwee, “so there is clearly no need to revolutionise member services.”
Enhanced membership benefits
“One of my objectives is to identify where we can build on the existing prospect for members,” continues McIlwee, “and build on existing strengths in membership retention and growth.”
McIlwee, an engineer by training with an MSc in Materials Science and Engineering, brings with him the experience of working for trade bodies where he was responsible for generating revenues from non-subscription sources.
What members want
The continuing growth in membership clearly indicates that PCG's membership offering is what contractors want
Iain McIlwee, PCG
In the intense two-week period since his arrival at PCG, McIlwee has gone through a steep learning curve, spending time with colleagues and contractors, plus gathering data about the contractor marketplace.
He cheerfully admits that his passion for engineering was quickly superseded by an avid interest in how markets work: “I started work with an engineering consultancy but very quickly became more interested in the firm’s market dynamics. This led me to apply for a role as a Business Researcher at the British Plastics Federation (BPF) and I soon found myself promoted to Business Services Manager.”
McIlwee’s focus on membership needs was continued in his next role as Regional Director for London at the Federation of Master Builders, which has a membership not unlike PCG’s, with small and micro businesses plus sole traders.
Ongoing service improvement
According to McIlwee, PCG is planning some quick wins for members, through an eagerly awaited upgrade of the website. “PCG has very strong IT infrastructure and a membership that is highly tech savvy, and we are planning an imminent website upgrade that should greatly enhance members’ experience.”
Additional changes to PCG’s services will be carefully evaluated, as McIlwee explains: “Because membership is consistently growing and the number of those who leave is very low, PCG’s existing proposition must be what contractors are looking for. So we have to be very careful not to add new features at the expense of the core services.”
For an industry body to have grown so quickly from a standing start in just ten years to have over 18,000 members is quite an accomplishment
Iain McIlwee, PCG
Tenth anniversary year
“For an industry body to have grown so quickly from a standing start in just ten years to have over 18,000 members is quite an accomplishment,” says McIlwee, “and the intention is to celebrate the achievements of the last decade with the 10th Anniversary dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 2nd May.”
And, says McIlwee, contractors should ‘watch this space’ for a series of continuous membership improvements that will be introduced during this special year for PCG, building the foundations for another ten successful years.
Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009
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