This year we made a change in our membership cards that was welcomed by many for its environmental impact, but had a number of quality issues that we need to apologise for and swiftly did .

As we received feedback to the change we were asked a number of questions/comments that I couldn’t convey full replies to in a 90 second video, so here is a bit more detail

Since we pay x for our membership fees can’t you afford a good card?

This was absolutely not driven by the cost of the cards; it was driven by a desire to reduce plastic consumption because our members had asked us to do so. There was no significant saving from switching to a new card and I can honestly say that the cards are one of our smallest membership investments each year. Research, practical content and guides, helplines, maintaining our communities and funding our branches are the real areas where we invest – and areas where we’d ask you to keep looking out for new launches to make sure you get that value of them.

All I get for my money is this card and People Management…

If you do feel like that then please think about adding the following bookmarks to your browser

• The benefits you can access (https://www.cipd.co.uk/membership/benefits)
• Our online communities (https://www.cipd.co.uk/membership/benefits/cipd-communities)
• Our latest research (https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/latest-research)
• Our Linkedin Members community (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/106184/)
• Our factsheets (https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge)

And keep these numbers handy too…

CIPD Employment law helpline – (Available 24/7)

Phone: 03330 431 217 (UK) or Phone: 1800 812 603 (Ireland)

CIPD Whistleblower Helpline – (09:00 – 18:00 GMT) Phone: 0800 997 8839 (UK) or 1800 303715 (Ireland)

CIPD Personal Legal Helpline – (Available 24/7) Phone: 03330 431 215 (UK)

Membership gives you professional credibility and access to communities and content. It should never be about what lands on your doormat; it is about helping you in your career and with the problems and opportunities that land in your inbox as a busy professional. We know that the more aware of our benefits members are the better value for money they feel their membership is – so if you are querying the value please do make sure that you are fully aware of what you have available to you. We’ll keep communicating, but if you aren’t making the most of your membership then please do make sure you start using it to its fullest this year.

Do we still need a card in this day and age?

About 10% of the people concerned about the new card wanted to show it to employers or clients. Whilst that means for 90% of you we send you something that you might not use during the year it also means that if we just stopped cards altogether 10% of members wouldn’t have access to something they need. More on this later…

Can we have a digital card?

Had we been able to design one for this year we would have done so. That is the natural direction of travel and is even more environmentally friendly and very hard to lose. We are currently working on an app to allow people to visit our Communities more easily. It’s our first step towards a more ambitious app and we are investing in technology across the board. At the moment we are seeing if we can integrate a digital card into there and if we can we will do so.

Can we have an opt in/opt out?

What the team are currently working to is a bit of a combination. A digital card for everyone and then a more resilient physical card for those who need them that would be available on request. We hope this would address concerns of the three main groups of people expressing opinions – those who don’t want a card at all, those who want a digital solution and those who absolutely need a card.

JULY 2019 UPDATE: From September 2019, People Management magazine will now be produced and delivered in 100% recyclable packaging that has originated from sustainable sources.  Furthermore by end of September 2019 all CIPD membership cards will be made from 100% recyclable paper and a digital membership card option will also be available through our new Community App.  We will have more communications on this for members soon.

What else are you working on?

We have a large programme planned to improve and modernise all of our systems to address some regular issues members raise and also to make our content more easily accessible to you. If you have been keeping up to date with our content you’ll have seen, in response to feedback, that all of our major reports come with dedicated practitioners guides and you will see more of those in the future. We’ll keep responding to your feedback, so please keep an eye out for where you can see improvements.