Testimonials // Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) of Ontario.

The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) of Ontario

HRPA, a Canadian association for HR professionals, uses MeetingOne solutions to improve collaboration, reduce travel costs, and help safeguard intellectual property for members and staff

Website

http://www.hrpa.ca

Industry
Professional Association

Department of Marketing and Membership

Challenges

• Connect thousands of dispersed members while reducing travel costs
• Increase member, staff, and volunteer satisfaction
• Provide safe and protected online content, live and on-demand
  

Solution

• MeetingOne AudioOne Conferencing integrated with Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional web conferencing
• MeetingOne Professional Services

Results

• Significantly reduced travel costs
• Enhanced collaboration and engagement inside and outside the organization
• Expanded member access to content at anytime and from anyplace
• Improved the delivery of professional development services to members
• Reduced volunteer burnout caused by constant travel
• Increased staff and member turnout for corporate meetings and functions

A local human resources association with worldwide clout
The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is a global leader in advancing the human resources profession. As a nationally recognized and highly respected association with more than 18,000 members, the HRPAis dedicated to its vision of the human resource (HR) profession as the essential driver of business strategy and organizational success. The HRPA, the third largest HR association in the world, continually connects its members to a wide range of HR information, resources, professional development, and networking opportunities despite having only 35 employees and 900 volunteers.

For instance, the HRPA Annual Conference and Tradeshow provides members with management and leadership support and delivers powerful learning opportunities for HR professionals at all stages of their careers. It is the second largest HR conference in the world, offering more than 150 sessions and attracting thousands of delegates and hundreds of exhibitors.

Saving time and money
Despite all that the HRPAoffers, the association wanted to further enhance member services by delivering professional development to them wherever they may be. “In order to do this,” says Chris Larsen, HRPA’s director of marketing and membership, “we wanted to employ the very best in eLearning platforms and found MeetingOne Web and Audio Conferencing solutions to be outstanding.”

Since effectively managing a largely volunteer-driven association like the HRPA depends on making it as easy as possible for stakeholders to communicate and collaborate with each other, the Association set out to find a versatile, easy-to-use conferencing solution. After an extensive evaluation of available solutions, the organization selected MeetingOne for its rich conferencing capabilities, topnotch service, and integration with Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional. “MeetingOne provided us with features that competitors like Citrix GoToMeeting, WebEx, and Microsoft NetMeeting just didn’t have,” says Larsen.

Since adopting MeetingOne solutions, the HRPA has minimized the time, expense, and volunteer burnout associated with travel. Because Ontario is almost the size of the U.S. eastern seaboard, the association previously spent a lot of money flying people to Toronto from Thunder Bay, Windsor, or Sault Ste Marie. One roundtrip ticket could cost upwards of $1,000 dollars.

“Delivering face-to-face learning in a province that is nearly one million square kilometers is not practical,” says Larsen. “For a volunteer-based organization with more than 15 board committees and whose governance model demands participation from all areas of the province, travel costs can get out of hand quickly. MeetingOne has helped us contain these costs. Our members, volunteers, and staff couldn’t be happier.”

Convenience, security, and value all in one
For its members’ convenience, the HRPA wanted to ensure it could provide on-demand content and record live presentations that could be published, without jeopardizing the confidentiality of content. “This was important to our members and to us,” says Larsen. “Because of this, MeetingOne developed a way for hyperlinks to expire after 48 hours to avoid unauthorized distribution of links of recorded content. Now, we provide members with information they may have missed, while knowing our intellectual property will remain confidential.” The Association currently has 50 downloadable webinars on its website and is planning to have a total of 80 by year’s end.

Employee and director onboarding and orientation have also improved due to MeetingOne solutions. This has enabled the HRPA to attain levels of consistency in delivering materials that were not possible in the past. The association will continue using MeetingOne Web and Audio Conferencing solutions, integrated with Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, and MeetingOne Professional Services to deliver news and information free to its members. “These solutions have resulted in retention and faster ramp up, higher value and productivity for member dollars, and better engagement at all levels,” comments Larsen.

Solid returns from MeetingOne
Larsen is impressed by the immediate results delivered by the MeetingOne solution, as well as the company’s efficiency and commitment to service. “At our headquarters and chapter offices, the tools are now in place to connect members with each other and with professional development, from anyplace and at anytime,” he says.

For the HRPA, the benefits from using MeetingOne are evident. The organization has improved communication with members and boosted overall service satisfaction levels. In addition, the HRPA is providing better stewardship of membership dues by reducing travel costs. “The savings in travel costs more than offset our initial investment in MeetingOne,” says Larsen. “Also, we now have the chance to realize new revenue from eLearning business lines that would not have been possible without MeetingOne.

More Information:

• Adobe Acrobat Connect Web Conferencing
• AudioOne Conferencing
• Event Services